Christmas Lights

On my evening walks, I have noticed that some houses have beautiful displays of lights. That’s good to see, satisfying a hunger for light at this time of year, and adding some beauty to the neighborhood.

Walter Williams, R.I.P.

Reason magazine carried an obituary of Walter Williams, a black economist and obstreperous libertarian.

I heard him speak at Penn State once, back when I was a graduate student in Materials. I don’t remember everything he said, but he talked about the superiority of the free market in getting people to work together and provide for each other’s needs; he said that ranchers in Wyoming (or wherever) wouldn’t provide New Yorkers they didn’t know or like with steak out of the goodness of their hearts, but the market made it profitable for them to do so, so people in Manhattan got to eat. He wanted limited government and a balanced budget; this was back when balancing the budget was controversial, instead of being firmly rejected by both major parties.

Afterward, during the Q&A, some white student reproved Williams for rejecting the views of his ancestors and the whole black community, or words to that effect (I don’t believe he presented an argument that Williams’s ideas were wrong). I don’t recall the whole exchange, but Dr. Williams definitely wasn’t intimidated.

Rest In Peace.