What "Serious People" believe

When I read the following in Paul Krugman's column in the NY Times, I thought of the herd of "progressive" lemmings in local government and politics: "When I was young and naive, I believed that important people took positions based on careful consideration of the options. Now I know better. Much of what Serious People believe rests on prejudices, not analysis. And these prejudices are subject to fads and fashions."

The most prominent policy fads in SF politics: the bicycle fantasy and anti-carism in general, the transit corridors myth, and the neighborhood destroying assumptions underlying the dense development and residential highrise bunk promulgated by the Planning Dept. A lot of these fashionable planning cliches are supposedly based on the writings of Jane Jacobs, who I suspect would be appalled at how her work is being interpreted by the "new urbanists."

 

Krugman also has a must-read blog.