Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Libel from Harvey Mansfield

A reader emails me:

Harvey Mansfield, your Harvard colleague in Poli Sci, wrote the following paragraph in a recent piece for the New Criterion:

"In the brand new building where I work, the lights go on and off, the shades go up and down, and the toilets flush, automatically, without your having to turn a switch or push a handle. Rational control has replaced individual virtue, which is subject to vagaries and may not be active or awake. The building where I used to work was shared with economists, who, living the sort of life they describe, had no incentive to flush and sometimes failed to do so."

Looks like another "ouch" for your blog.

As a long-time resident of Littauer, the building to which Harvey alludes, I can attest that this is not a problem.

This is my last scatological post for a while. I promise.