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The Education of David Stockman
Uses interviews with then budget director David Stockman to depict the implementation of President Reagan's economic policies and describes the effect of the original article
161 pages, Paperback
First published September 18, 1982
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 8, 2025
David Stockman was President Ronald Reagan’s “point man” to cut government agencies and the budget down to size. There are plenty of hints in the cornucopia historical documents published subsequently about how that played out. Greider’s account is by far the most interesting because:
1. The details are, otherwise, difficult to come by, and,
2. Greider points to facets of our politics and culture that provoke further consideration.
Here is a relevant sample that you might find worthy of considering in light of current events.
“No one likes to confront the possibility that, as Stockman put it, the “random elements” are out of control. Officers of government, in particular, will struggle to convince their opponents, foreign and domestic, that they really are in charge of events when clearly they are not. These powerful people who run government are, after all, fallible human beings like the rest of us.
“But citizens crave a sense of order, too. If the general public does not believe democratic government is functioning in its behalf, then how can it function at all? This question leads some political scientists, those who are more preoccupied with the problems of the governing elite than with the yearnings of popular will, to complain about the occasional disclosures of inner chaos in government. It is not that they deny the haphazard reality revealed by the portraiture, but they think it is unwise to share that gloomy knowledge with the general public. People will only be frightened and lose faith.
“...The core of democratic possibilities lies in the realization by ordinary people that the political elite who decide things, whether it is foreign policy or budget forecasts, are not so different from themselves. Members of the elite have collected specialized knowledge and discovered how to enter the channels of power and influence outcomes. But they react to daily life with the same collection of uncertainties and imponderables that govern the lives of individuals anywhere else in society.”
Greider indicates that paying attention to what is going on and asking questions and determining whether the responses are really answers are the key elements of an engaged democracy. Trusting an individual or group of individuals to do so with such feedback is courting disaster.
4*
1. The details are, otherwise, difficult to come by, and,
2. Greider points to facets of our politics and culture that provoke further consideration.
Here is a relevant sample that you might find worthy of considering in light of current events.
“No one likes to confront the possibility that, as Stockman put it, the “random elements” are out of control. Officers of government, in particular, will struggle to convince their opponents, foreign and domestic, that they really are in charge of events when clearly they are not. These powerful people who run government are, after all, fallible human beings like the rest of us.
“But citizens crave a sense of order, too. If the general public does not believe democratic government is functioning in its behalf, then how can it function at all? This question leads some political scientists, those who are more preoccupied with the problems of the governing elite than with the yearnings of popular will, to complain about the occasional disclosures of inner chaos in government. It is not that they deny the haphazard reality revealed by the portraiture, but they think it is unwise to share that gloomy knowledge with the general public. People will only be frightened and lose faith.
“...The core of democratic possibilities lies in the realization by ordinary people that the political elite who decide things, whether it is foreign policy or budget forecasts, are not so different from themselves. Members of the elite have collected specialized knowledge and discovered how to enter the channels of power and influence outcomes. But they react to daily life with the same collection of uncertainties and imponderables that govern the lives of individuals anywhere else in society.”
Greider indicates that paying attention to what is going on and asking questions and determining whether the responses are really answers are the key elements of an engaged democracy. Trusting an individual or group of individuals to do so with such feedback is courting disaster.
4*
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March 18, 2021Horrible. Declares Reaganomics a failure and scoffs at the idea it would lead to the biggest bull market in decades. Which is exactly what happened. Worse yet, most of the book is pretty dull.
January 5, 2023
the long atlantic article that constitutes the first half of the book is online. read it for free: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/...
the second half of the book, about how people are "educated" during their washington careers, is worth the $6-10 bucks you'll pay for a used copy of this book on amazon. this and secrets of the temple are peak greider; the rest of it was more matt taibbi-style takes-as-journalism stuff (he even preceded taibbi at rolling stone). highly recommended.
the second half of the book, about how people are "educated" during their washington careers, is worth the $6-10 bucks you'll pay for a used copy of this book on amazon. this and secrets of the temple are peak greider; the rest of it was more matt taibbi-style takes-as-journalism stuff (he even preceded taibbi at rolling stone). highly recommended.
January 1, 2008
read 08.29.86
April 6, 2023
i'm so unbelievably obsessed with this. every paragraph i read felt like a new high. long live david stockman.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews