Two American Power Centers Are About to Clash

Not long ago I attended an informal session in San Francisco on, basically, how to make the world a better place. Most of the attendees were from the Bay Area, and the technology industry. I was struck by how their approaches and perspectives differed from what I am used to, living in Northern Virginia, just outside of Washington.

Many participants announced visions of a better and very different future, such as letting top scientists operate without financial constraints. It was implied that we can figure out a way to get there. My inclinations, I am perhaps a bit ashamed to say, were more legalistic. I was thinking the whole time in terms of changing specific laws to alter the behavior of specific bureaucracies, with smaller final benefits.