All They Really Want To Do
Back in 1964, Dylan wrote “All I Really Want To Do”. Here are the first 4 stanzas:
I ain’t lookin’ to compete with you
Beat or cheat or mistreat you
Simplify you, classify you
Deny, defy or crucify you
All I really want to do
Is, baby, be friends with you
No, and I ain’t lookin’ to fight with you
Frighten you or tighten you
Drag you down or drain you down
Chain you down or bring you down
All I really want to do
Is, baby, be friends with you
I ain’t lookin’ to block you up
Shock or knock or lock you up
Analyze you, categorize you
Finalize you or advertise you
All I really want to do
Is, baby, be friends with you
I don’t want to straight-face you
Race or chase you, track or trace you
Or disgrace you or displace you
Or define you or confine you
All I really want to do
Is, baby, be friends with you
Bryan Caplan channels Dylan in a tweet:
Bryan’s a much better person than me. I want to crush Trump, humiliate Trump, frighten Trump, silence Trump, irritate Trump, defeat Trump, discredit Trump, delegitimize Trump, depress Trump, frustrate Trump, and ostracize Trump.
And I don’t want him for a friend.
Seriously, Bryan’s obviously correct. So why do so few intellectuals see things this way? I suspect it’s because there’s a difference between intelligence and wisdom. Every day, I see incredibly bright people make a fool of themselves on Twitter. (I avoid that humiliation by not tweeting.)
It’s hard to be really smart. It’s much harder to be really good. Bryan is both.
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9. August 2023 at 12:01
I love reading Bryan’s posts, especially when I disagree with him. In those cases, I have to do an uncomfortable amount of thinking. He’s a very original thinker and, while I disagree with him often, he forces me to see things from a new perspective.
9. August 2023 at 15:18
If you could talk Trump into being a much better person and then have him for a friend, that would be great. Of course, it’s quite unlikely.
9. August 2023 at 15:36
Some people really hate Donald Trump. Other people really hate Mary Rapinoe. Try moving offshore. Perhaps you get a more global perspective.
Study Indonesian fiscal and monetary policies. Try something fresh. Get out of your zone.
9. August 2023 at 16:34
“Perhaps you get a more global perspective.”
Foreigners hate him more than we do.
9. August 2023 at 16:49
Take three policy positions:
A: Nominal GDP Targeting
B: Open Borders
C: China Dovishness
Who would be a more effective advocate for…
A?
Bryan
Scott
B?
Bryan
Scott
C?
Bryan
Scott
One might say A=Scott, B=Bryan, C=Toss-Up. Based solely on issue area expertise, I’d agree.
Based on track record of policy impact, though, I’d say it’s Scott down the line, and based on patience and communication abilities, it’s Bryan down the line.
So, what kind of person would you want advocating for these positions? In a world full of Scotts, be a Bryan? Or is Scott necessary sometimes?
9. August 2023 at 23:25
I want to crush Trump, humiliate Trump, frighten Trump, silence Trump, irritate Trump, defeat Trump, discredit Trump, delegitimize Trump, depress Trump, frustrate Trump, and ostracize Trump.–Scott Sumner
“Foreigners hate him more than we do.”
Well, possibly, I have not seen any reliable polls. I can say I have never heard a non-US person speak like you do regarding Trump.
Many national Chinese actually like the Trumps, and probably Russians too. From national Indians I usually get the “Trump is a curiosity or oddity” vibe.
People around the world are much more interested in, and emotional about, their own countries.
All anecdotal from me.
10. August 2023 at 03:06
You hate Trump?
Biden just declared a “national emergency” and issued an executive order banning US companies from certain tech investing in China.
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Biden orders ban on certain US tech investments in China
By Karen Freifeld, Andrea Shalal and David Shepardson
August 10, 20232:53 PM GMT+7Updated 3 hours ago
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, Aug 9 (Reuters) – President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order that will prohibit some new U.S. investment in China in sensitive technologies like computer chips and require government notification in other tech sectors.
The long-awaited order authorizes the U.S. Treasury secretary to prohibit or restrict U.S. investments in Chinese entities in three sectors: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies and certain artificial intelligence systems.
The administration said the restrictions would apply to “narrow subsets” of the three areas but did not give specifics. The proposal is open for public input.
The order is aimed at preventing American capital and expertise from helping China develop technologies that could support its military modernization and undermine U.S. national security. The measure targets private equity, venture capital, joint ventures and greenfield investments.
Biden, a Democrat, said in a letter to Congress he was declaring a national emergency to deal with the threat of advancement by countries like China “in sensitive technologies and products critical to the military, intelligence, surveillance or cyber-enabled capabilities.”
—30—
A”national emergency”?
10. August 2023 at 07:37
zshu223, What record of policy impact?
Solon, “You hate Hitler? Stalin just declared . . . “
10. August 2023 at 12:25
I always thought that was a Byrds song. Learned something new today!
10. August 2023 at 16:08
Solon, “You hate Hitler? Stalin just declared . . . “–Sumner
Poor analogy.
Biden is Trump’s successor, and expanding upon his policies. An accelerating continuum.
And Biden’s language—a “national emergency”—is hysterical.
Trump was about terms of trade. Commercialism. Call it mercantilism if you like.
Biden is demonizing China.
10. August 2023 at 17:18
Solon, You struggle with logic. You say I can’t hate person A because person B is bad? How is that logical? Maybe I also hate Biden.
12. August 2023 at 06:14
Maybe I struggle with logic.
On the plus side, I don’t hate anybody.
12. August 2023 at 10:04
Solon, You got me there. You’re a better man than me.