Summers' memo

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Fri Apr 28 09:11:21 PDT 2000


Ken Hanly wrote:


>What are their real sentiments that are being "cloaked"?

That the worth of a human life can be measured by a discounted cash flow analysis. On some level they feel embarrassed to be so crass, but it's the impeccable logic of their discipline.


>If they believe in
>the principles that are expressed ironically in the memo this is hardly
>cloaking. Swift was not throwing a cloak over his views that Irish infants
>could be a tradeable commodity in his Modest Proposal surely.
>How on earth does irony make everything OK?

It doesn't of course. It's a way to conform while appearing critical, or knowingly above conformity.

Doug



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