Pairing Ferguson's line about nations stumbling upon establishments with McCloskey's point about the French love of expert rule makes the divide unusually clear. Once you believe institutions were designed, it follows that they can be redesigned at will, and a lot of modern European politics still runs on that assumption. The Barak quote about stability and change is a nice touch too, since Britain's knack for reforming without tearing everything down has long been its quiet advantage. It would be interesting to see this applied to the EU, which often looks like the French instinct for rational design scaled up to a whole continent, with Brussels cast as the planner.
See News from Uncibal (David McGrogan), "I'm on the pavement thinking about the government" for an explanation linking France's predicament straight back to Hobbes.
Pairing Ferguson's line about nations stumbling upon establishments with McCloskey's point about the French love of expert rule makes the divide unusually clear. Once you believe institutions were designed, it follows that they can be redesigned at will, and a lot of modern European politics still runs on that assumption. The Barak quote about stability and change is a nice touch too, since Britain's knack for reforming without tearing everything down has long been its quiet advantage. It would be interesting to see this applied to the EU, which often looks like the French instinct for rational design scaled up to a whole continent, with Brussels cast as the planner.
See News from Uncibal (David McGrogan), "I'm on the pavement thinking about the government" for an explanation linking France's predicament straight back to Hobbes.
Well, we in Britain don't have a schaden to freude.