In the annals of instruction on leadership and statecraft, Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince (1513) was the break from the idealism of the virtues of antiquity and Christianity and the handbook for pragmatists and realists more concerned with the ends than the means of the preservation and advancement of the interests of the modern state. In […]
Archives for April 2004
The “Public” Vs. “Private” Debate
Most Pilgrim subscribers know that I am pretty heavily involved in public education reform and, in my work in this arena, at least one Texas teachers’ union has described me as a proponent of education “privatization”. An interesting characterization, no doubt intended as a pejorative in my case, and I assume it is assigned to […]
The Economy, Markets, And Election Year Messages
As an investment advisor, I am frequently asked about the immediate direction of the securities markets, and my answer has been, and will no doubt continue to be, that no markets are safe in a Presidential election year, much less one that is being conducted while in a state of war. Markets abhor uncertainties, so […]
Thoughts On The 9-11 Commission
While we are engaged in the typical American habit of self-flagellation and assignment of blame for the attacks of 9-11-01, I am reminded of an only partly facetious rule of thumb from the private sector in the form of the “five stages of a project”: (1) excitement and euphoria, (2) disenchantment, (3) search for the […]