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As an admirer o f H L Mencken, I have difficulty seeing how his quote on democracy, published in a column about women (in whom I'm not sure he was in favor) has any relevance to the following column on investing, which actually has nuggets of wisdom.
As an admirer o f H L Mencken, I have difficulty seeing how his quote on democracy, published in a column about women (in whom I'm not sure he was in favor) has any relevance to the following column on investing, which actually has nuggets of wisdom.
@STB65, Thanks for mentioning Mencken. I’ve dug up the quote you’re referencing, which Ed Studzinski used as his opener in this month’s MFO Commentary:
“Democracy is grounded upon so childish a complex of fallacies that they must be protected by a rigid system of taboos, else even half-wits would argue it to pieces. Its first concern must thus be to penalize the free play of ideas. In the United States, this is not only its first concern, but also its last concern.” Henry Louis Mencken, In Defense of Women (1918)
I’ll say Ed comes up with some great openers. I’m not sure they're always intended to be about investing. I think sometimes he’s just trying to get our attention.
Others may wish to share opinions on Ed’s quote. I find it a bit too deep for this late hour, so I’ll just offer up a couple simpler Mencken lines I accidentally stumbled upon while trying to locate the one you referenced:
- “A national political campaign is better than the best circus ever heard of, with a mass baptism and a couple of hangings thrown in.”
- “On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
Comments
“Democracy is grounded upon so childish a complex of fallacies that they must be protected by a rigid system of taboos, else even half-wits would argue it to pieces. Its first concern must thus be to penalize the free play of ideas. In the United States, this is not only its first concern, but also its last concern.” Henry Louis Mencken, In Defense of Women (1918)
I’ll say Ed comes up with some great openers. I’m not sure they're always intended to be about investing. I think sometimes he’s just trying to get our attention.
Others may wish to share opinions on Ed’s quote. I find it a bit too deep for this late hour, so I’ll just offer up a couple simpler Mencken lines I accidentally stumbled upon while trying to locate the one you referenced:
- “A national political campaign is better than the best circus ever heard of, with a mass baptism and a couple of hangings thrown in.”
- “On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/h-l-mencken-quotes
https://apnews.com/e64e97725923bb7b64aa8e054aabe4b2
https://latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-12-05-mn-198-story.html
https://theparisreview.org/blog/2016/04/20/the-h-l-mencken-show/
Note: I'm not saying his work should be dismissed for this reason, but these facts should be considered when reading him.