That bracketed comment is interesting to me – I was a philosophy major, and I remember finally getting to William James’ Pragmatism and thinking, “this – ‘what works’ – is a philosophy?”
Philosophy is a great major to have pursued in times like this: generally deemed useless – and certainly worse than useless if not pursued in a sincere, disciplined manner – it is the only kind of inquiry that clarifies the moral, ideological, cultural and sentimental jetsam passed on rather incohately by our parents, grandparents, general culture and often even teachers. To paraphrase Keynes, almost everyone is unaware of the actual nature and patrimony of the ideas – or, more precisely, sentiments – he espouses.
In my view, England has produced the most successful political culture – and America, like the New Testament tacked onto the Old. The English tradition evolved, though, toward, and was often guided by, simply a spirit of “what works” – the famous muddling through. Until quite recently, it was an effective prophylactic against ideological nonsense of all kinds (though, of course, not entirely effective). So I guess I, who voted for Gore in 2000 and Bush in 2004, and who will vote for McCain in 2008 on the basis of the obvious strategic requirements of our country, am a pragmatist. I think it is the most venerable of the political perspectives, personally.
