Virginia Postrel
Virginia Postrel
Virginia Inman Postrelis an American political and cultural writer of broadly libertarian, or classical liberal, views...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth14 January 1960
CountryUnited States of America
military objectives tendency wars
Wars without military objectives have a tendency to go on forever.
close donors kidney kidneys last longer tend
Kidney donors don't have to be close relatives of recipients, but they do need to have the right blood type. And kidneys from living donors tend to last many years longer than kidneys from deceased donors.
buyer general people production sector since stock swings tends translate volatile
As a general rule, durable-goods production tends to be the most volatile sector of the economy. Since people usually have a stock of durables in use, when times get tight, they put off new purchases. What seem like small cutbacks to the end buyer translate into big swings for the producer.
attract figure idle impulse less natural retailers tend unlike
Like Disneyland, luxury retailers have long had to figure out how to overcome customers' natural inertia. Unlike less pricey stores, they tend not to attract idle browsers who make impulse purchases.
central depends drives gather knowledge progress sort surprise
Surprise drives progress because innovation depends on the sort of knowledge no one can gather in a central place.
makers policy science scientists studying worried
Even before Sputnik, scientists and policy makers worried that not enough Americans were studying science.
children freaks less tube
Like the 'test tube babies' born of in vitro fertilization, cloned children need not be identifiable, much less freaks or outcasts.
cuts human including indeed
Habituation is indeed a fact of human psychology. That's one reason we like novelty, including different cuts of jeans.
became life radically ubiquitous urban
Before it became a ubiquitous part of urban life, Starbucks was, in most American cities, a radically new idea.
cannot offer science
Science is about exploring the unknown and cannot offer guarantees.
approaches government medication patient reasonable singapore sound states threaten tolerant united until
The United States government approaches patient choice in medication as Singapore does free speech: its pronouncements sound reasonable and tolerant until you threaten its prerogatives.
art complex dare episodes evolving existence great hollywood joy mere pathos playful produce proves stories terrible themes wrong
The mere existence of 'Buffy' proves the declinists wrong about one thing: Hollywood commercialism can produce great art. Complex and evolving characters. Playful language. Joy and sorrow, pathos and elation. Episodes that dare to be different - to tell stories in silence or in song. Big themes and terrible choices.
afford art best dying flourish free freedom grand life living opportunity room science supposed
Religion, art, and science flourish best in a free society. True, freedom does not afford much opportunity for grand gestures. It has little room for martyrs. But life is not supposed to be about dying well. It is about living well.
possess response
Glamour is not something you possess but something you perceive, not something you have but something you feel. It is a subjective response to a stimulus.