I reviewed John A. Allison’s The Financial Crisis and the Free Market Cure for Reasonpapers. I think that one can learn from reading it. I agree with much of his analysis and I share many of his opinions. However, in my judgment the book fails to live up to the standard of argument that I want to encourage. That is, I want people to constantly consider, “What would someone who disagrees with me think about this issue? What might be the unpleasant consequences of the solutions that I am proposing?” etc.
Arnold, I am delighted you have returned to blogging. Regarding your standard of argument, it is of course essential to be aware of arguments that might be made on the other side. Perhaps what is at issue is the need to dig down to identify the differences in the underlying assumptions that are producing the conflict. However, care needs to be taken that your approach does not break down into a dithering “on the one hand, but on the other” that vitiates strong advocacy.