THE GEOGRAPHY OF BITTERNESS

Thought of the day: "Common sense can, therefore, be profoundly misleading, obfuscating or disguising real problems under cultural prejudices. Cultural and traditional values (such as belief in God and country or views on the position of women in society) and fears (of communists, immigrants, strangers, or 'others') can be mobilized to mask other realities." So sayeth David Harvey, geographer and critic, in his brilliant, if sometimes flawed, book, A Brief History of Neoliberalism (2005). For you wonks, the quote can be found on page 39. Sound familiar? Harvey must be required reading in Hyde Park, though I'm guessing that Austan Goolsbee hasn't cracked the book's spine.