Worries about Obama

2/24/09. David Brooks writes a succinct op-ed article in the NYT expressing his worries about Obama, a man he no doubt admires.

Brooks writes, "The people in the (Obama) administration are surrounded by a galaxy of unknowns, and yet they see this economic crises as an opportunity to expand their reach, to take bigger risks and, as Obama said on Saturday, to tackle every major problem at once."

Intellectuals often overestimate the power of intelligence to positively influence the complexities of society. Over the years, a diverse group of intellectuals --- such as Friedrich Hayek, Edward Banfield, Reinhold Neibuhr, George Orwell, Michael Oakeshott, and Milton Friedman --- have warned about the limits of top down rationalistic planning to reorganize society.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/opinion/24brooks.html?ref=opinion