The Forgotten Man

As we think of the recent bailout, some reflection time should be given to Amy Shlaes’ The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression.

Who is the forgotten man? In the 1880s a Yale philosopher named William Graham Sumner had spoken of a forgotten man. Sumner described his forgotten man algebraically. A, he said, wanted to help X. Nothing wrong with that. B also wanted to help X. The problem occurs when A and B get together and pass a dubious law that coerces C into cofunding their project for X.

C is the forgotten man in this instance. As Sumner wrote: “He works, he votes, generally he prays — but he always pays, yes above all he pays…He keeps the production going on.” C is the man, he also wrote, who is “never thought of.”

During the Depression many people still recalled Sumner’s forgotten man. Throughout the decade politicians debated which forgotten man, C or X, was the true forgotten man. The burden put upon C is the real story of the bailout. No matter what, C must pay. X can’t pay. And A and B will find a way that makes sure C pays. And that’s pretty much the story.

I viewed Shlaes on Booknote TV.

Religulous reviewed

See Kimball’s review here. I heard Bill Maher on Fresh Air the other day being interviewed about his new film. The bottom line – religion is ridiculous. I intend to see the film. Maher can say things that I think need to be said. He can also fall into traps so wide open that you wonder how he fell in. But there is no doubt that he reflects the spirit of the age – a deep sense of the hypocrisies and failings of the church, the use of religion to hurt. I teach a Christian Traditions course in college and I constantly run across people who are trying church again like a person testing the water of a pool with a toe. They expect to get splashed with the cold. I mean to read Phyllis Tickle’s new book The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why. She is attempting to identify a new paradigm shift, one that she writes happens to the Christian church roughly every 500 years. She locates a lot of that shift in the emerging church movement. I have only read reviews of the book but am not close enough to express an opinion. No matter what, the great good that has come to the world because of this movement that began with Jesus of Nazareth needs some sophisticated and intelligent cheerleading.

NT Wright at Park Street Church on Nov 16

NT Wright is a rich resource for evangelicals, even though he must take his necessary licks from John Piper. He will be speaking at Park Street Church in their Sunday services on Nov 16. I hope a group from Coastal will go to the 6 PM service with me. He is part of Park Street’s guest lectures series to celebrate its 200th anniversay. If you are interested in going, leave a note on the blog and I will get in touch.

I am a Palin fan, but this is still funny