ABSTRACT
A mass meeting of sages at the summit is an impressive spectacle, but no one in his right mind expects that economic truths will be revealed by majority vote. If a group of cartog raphers were assembled and solemnly proclaimed the earth to be cylindrical, that would not be helpful, especially if the administration persisted in believing it to be cubical. Only one Columbus is required to announce the truth. A hotelful is neither necessary nor obtain able. But it is a wise sovereign who knows his Columbus. Alan Greenspan, unflinching opponent of newfangled ideas like the progressive income tax and protective consumer legislation, does not possess that certain innovative turn of mind necessary to qualify. He is obviously a flat earth man. When the sovereign keeps counsel with a flat earth man, the rest of us can reasonably expect that policy will be guided by the fear of falling off edges that don’t exist.
