≡ Menu

Quotation of the Day…

… is from page 216 of Johan Norberg’s great 2016 book, Progress (footnote deleted; link added):

imagesWhen Matt Ridley, author of The Rational Optimist, is asked what he is worried about he usually responds ‘superstition and bureaucracy’, because superstition can obstruct the accumulation of knowledge, and bureaucracy can stop us from applying that knowledge in new technologies and businesses.

DBx: I agree.  Societies beset by superstition (such as the one that insists that ‘trade that crosses political borders differs fundamentally from trade that does not cross political borders’) and by bureaucracy (which itself is fueled by the superstition that people with the power to coerce peaceful others will exercise that power wisely and well) do not thrive.  They are, at best, dreary places.

Comments

Next post:

Previous post: