Some of my earliest posts around here were taxonomies. I wrote an early multi-part taxonomy on positions on the Iraq War—that was back when Matt Yglesias, Kevin Drum, and Josh Marshall all supported it. I like this taxonomy of ideas (hat tip: Barry Ritholtz).
Using that taxonomy here’s how I would rate some political decisions:
| PPACA: | Half-baked |
| Invasion of Afghanistan: | Half-baked |
| Invasion of Iraq: | Terrible |
| Balance of powers: | Smart |
and some technologies
| Microsoft Windows: | Half-baked |
| Apple Mac: | Neat |
| Xerox Star: | Clever |
| Toyota Prius: | Interesting |
| Chevy Volt: | Dumb |
| Autarky: | Sh*t |
| Comparative advantage: | Incredible |
| Lysenkoism: | The Worst |
| Selective breeding: | Smart |
| Direct current: | Good |
| Alternating current: | Genius |
I can’t think of any political ideas by anybody I’d put in the “Genius” category. Maybe that’s just familiarity. I can think of so many I’d put in “The Worst” category it isn’t even worthwhile starting.
I welcome your own nominees in comments.
The internet, brought to you jointly by the United States Government and the porn industry – genius!
I’d give a “genius” nod to the old-fashioned book as well. What an incredible piece of technology. Yes, it’s being replaced, but my God, look what it’s done, look how great its basic design is.
As for political ideas, I’d argue that the very best rating possible is half-baked. The best ideas, representative democracy, balance of powers, freedom of speech, are still like those pizza places that sell you a pie you have to take home and cook yourself. It’s abetter when a political idea has to be shaped and adjusted and made better.
I agree with you on the book: it’s genius. A truly great design.
Not so sure on the Internet. I think I’d grade the Internet itself as “smart” and the World Wide Web as “elegant”. Maybe I know too much about it.
BTW, the Internet is DARPA (U. S. government) and the World Wide Web is CERN (European Center for Nuclear Research—the EU). What kicked them into the stratosphere was the first graphical Windows-based browser, implemented by the lab at the University of Illinois.
Government didn’t really invent the “internet” though. Government invented packet switching which is the basis for not just the internet, but all kinds of networking. So I’d say packet switching is genius.
TCP, the packet-switched protocol that’s the foundation of the Internet, was developed by DARPA. Packet switching itself precedes TCP and the other protocols that are the Internet by a few years. We were using it in the late 60s in the computer lab at my alma mater.
Yes, but there were switching technologies developed through ARPA before TCP became the standard. Packet switching is a more fundamental technology and is the real genius IMO.
Hedy Lamarr and George Antheil and the cellphone.
Not too many people are aware that Hedy Lamarr holds one of the patents that makes cellphones possible. Originally for torpedo guidance, IIRC.