14 min
Accountable to Darwin vs. Accountable to Newton The Morgan Housel Podcast
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- Business
Woodrow Wilson was the only president with a Ph.D. in political science.
He came to office having thought more about how a government functions than most before him or since.
One of his complaints was that too many people in government held the belief that it was a Big Machine: that once you set up a series of rules you could take your hands off the wheel and let the government run on its own forever. They viewed government like physics, with a set of customs and laws that required no updating or second-guessing because they were believed to be precise and perfect as they were.
Wilson thought that was wrong. He viewed government as being a living thing that adapted and evolved.
I really don't care about politics. But he had a theory that I think is so important, and so applicable, to us ordinary people managing our money.
Woodrow Wilson was the only president with a Ph.D. in political science.
He came to office having thought more about how a government functions than most before him or since.
One of his complaints was that too many people in government held the belief that it was a Big Machine: that once you set up a series of rules you could take your hands off the wheel and let the government run on its own forever. They viewed government like physics, with a set of customs and laws that required no updating or second-guessing because they were believed to be precise and perfect as they were.
Wilson thought that was wrong. He viewed government as being a living thing that adapted and evolved.
I really don't care about politics. But he had a theory that I think is so important, and so applicable, to us ordinary people managing our money.
14 min