New York, Dec. 20—The Reagan Administration should make a fundamental decision, philosophical in nature. We are poised in America for only a very short period of time, measured in historical stretches, when the opposition is at once weak, and curious. The managing editor of The New Republic, the principal tablet-keeper of orthodox liberalism, said the other day, in effect, that conservatives have been saying this-and-that for ever so long, why not go ahead and let them run the country for a while, and see what happens?
That empirical spirit is interesting both because it is organically American (“if it works, it’s good”; “nothing succeeds like success”), and because pride is a hugely important factor in the operation of governments, which after all are run by human beings. The Catholic Church asks of converts something called “internal assent.” l.e., belief in the Christian Credo utterly uncoerced. Religion cannot, really, ask for less; but politics can. It is one thing to say to John Kenneth Galbraith: 1 want you to applaud the abolition of the minimum wage because its abolition will result in a diminution of unemployment and in generally improved economic circumstances. It is something entirely different to say to John Kenneth Galbraith: We’re going to go without minimum wage for a stretch. Go ahead and ventilate your skepticism. But please try not to be obstructionist. Give us a chance—and four years from now we’ll have a look at the situation, and see if there is any improvement. Fair enough?
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