Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

The more I look at this photograph, the more I like it. I took it from my seat at the Ballpark in Arlington on 27 July. Click to enlarge.

[W]hat are the achievements of Anarchy, State, and Utopia? [Robert] Nozick has very few disciples in academic political philosophy, yet almost every book published on justice, property, or political obligation in the last [sic] decade and a half contains discussions of, or at least references to, his work. With [John] Rawls, Nozick continues to dominate political philosophy. But why should this be so, if so few philosophers agree with what he has to say?

The first virtue of Anarchy, State, and Utopia is that it forcefully presents a position in political philosophy which is striking, powerful, uncompromising, and original at least in so far as such a view had not been presented to the mainstream of academic philosophy for a century, and never with such vigour. But it is not simply the views presented which have made such an impact, but the manner in which they are presented. The book bristles with arguments of great ingenuity, alarming and bizarre counterexamples to comfortable views, presented with wit, and sometimes, corn. Political philosophy had not been done like this before, and has rarely been so abstract and so clever. Also it is rare that a single work has managed to challenge so many received views. Finally, Anarchy, State, and Utopia attracts attention because it represents an extreme position. Thus it marks out one of the boundaries of political philosophy and so receives attention from all those who wish to stop short.

(Jonathan Wolff, Robert Nozick: Property, Justice and the Minimal State, Key Contemporary Thinkers [Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1991], 139)

Note from KBJ: There is much to quibble with in these two paragraphs. Wolff says that "Political philosophy had not been done like this before." Wrong. Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was at least as provocative and ingenious as Nozick, and probably far more so. Surely Wolff has read Leviathan (1651), which is "striking, powerful, uncompromising, and original"! As for libertarianism being "an extreme position," it's not as extreme as anarchism, which has always had (and continues to have) its adherents. Indeed, Nozick devoted a substantial part of his book to finding fault with anarchism. Only someone on the far left could think that Nozick is an extremist. His views are actually in keeping with the American tradition of limited government and individual rights.

Wunjo (1986).

Did you see this two nights ago? Amazing! The 400-meter world record was held by Michael Johnson of the United States, who covered the distance in 43.18 seconds on 26 August 1999. Johnson's average speed was 20.72 miles per hour. His mile pace was 2:53:72. Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa lowered the record to 43.03 seconds on 14 August 2016, which means Johnson's record stood for almost 17 years. Van Niekerk's average speed was 20.79 miles per hour. His mile pace was 2:53:11. I get chills watching the video. Katherine and I saw the race live on Sunday evening.

Here are two things to keep in mind when you see polls to the effect that Hillary Clinton is ahead of Donald Trump:

1. It's cool to be in favor of the first female president. Some percentage of people will tell pollsters that they intend to vote for Clinton when in fact they intend to vote for Trump or stay home. Everybody wants to be seen as cool.
2. It's uncool to be in favor of Trump, who is being vilified by the mainstream media, Democrats, and even some Republicans. Some percentage of people will tell pollsters that they do not intend to vote for Trump, or even that they intend not to vote for him, when in fact they intend to vote for him. Nobody wants to be seen as uncool.

I don't think there's any question that these two phenomena are occurring. The only question is what the percentages are. I think the percentages are high, and for that reason polls should be ignored (or at least discounted). Donald Trump is far more popular, and Hillary Clinton far less popular, than polls show. Don't be surprised to see a Trump landslide on 8 November. You heard it here first.

Here.

Here.

To the Editor:

Re “The Secret of Jamaica’s Runners” (Sunday Review, Aug. 14):

Orlando Patterson may be a bit too hasty in dismissing a genetic explanation for the success of Jamaicans at track. It may be true that we have few outstanding West African sprinters today, but contemporary West Africans are not the relevant population.

Perhaps that subset of West Africans who wound up in Jamaica years ago was a population greatly enriched for genes that contribute to sprinting skills and an inclination toward running. People harboring such genes would delight in exercising their skills and might well establish a culture in which track was the favorite sport and the one to which many young people aspired.

DAVID S. HODES

Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.

I'm telling you, folks: He's five steps ahead of everyone. Get right with Donald.