Walter Russell Mead...................

Even casual readers of this blog will realize that I am a fan of WRM and his Via Meadia blog.  Here are a few recent excerpts that may help you understand why:

Our suggestion: American wonk wannabes spend too much time in school studying IR and economic theory, leading them to think about the world in ideological ways. Less theory, more history would make for a smarter and more cautious wonkocracy. We especially recommend the study of the long effort to spread liberal governance and cultural ideals, an effort that began in the early 19th century and that has had many successes, failures and hard-to-categorize surprises since. Today’s democracy promoters, whether liberal or conservative, are almost always illiterate about the rich and complex history of the endeavor they usually cluelessly seek to push forward.      As excerpted from here.

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The policy needs to be carefully considered and managed at the very top—and not just as a warm and fuzzy Kumbaya songfest in which we all hold hands. Clarity of vision, strength of purpose, coordination of policy, and a reasonable degree of consistency are what’s needed. We aren’t there yet.   As excerpted from here.

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But this revision is bad news for alarmist greens, who are finding that once again, their exaggerated claims turned out not to be true. This, in turn, is bad news for their less alarmist peers, since green scaremongering is the leading cause of climate skepticism. Add this to the impracticality, and in many cases sheer absurdity, of green policy recommendations and it’s clear why this movement keeps punching well below its weight.  As excerpted from here.