"Ideological certainty easily degenerates into insistence upon ignorance".Conservative scepticism is not a phrase that comes to mind when you think of Mr Moynihan's successor.
And when another reformist launched a Twitter hashtag calling for the abolition of Saudi Arabia's religious police, it was quickly swamped with tweets branding liberals as pigs and degenerates.
Now and then, however, it degenerates into crowd hysteria.In extreme cases, the views of other investors are taken seriously even when flatly contradicted by such facts as may be available.
As Cliff Burgess of Perimeter Institute, a Canadian theoretical-physics centre, puts it, "The dark energy business very easily degenerates into something like a crowd of people who are each claiming to be Napoleon while asserting that all the other pretenders are clearly nutty".
His energy degenerates easily into impatience with those who disagree with him.
There were no round-ups of degenerates, dissidents or democrats, and no newspaper closures.It is tempting to argue that Hong Kong has changed China more than the other way round, as this newspaper and others forecast in 1997.
But since her ethics have now been questioned by Republican rivals, and given the investigation hanging over Mr Blagojevich's office, it may not be long before the whole race degenerates into wanton mudslinging.
Troops were given newspapers vilifying Parisians as traitors and degenerates.
The best character sketches in the book are not of whizz-kids but of Arkansas reactionaries such as Arlo Tyer who wanted to impose a tax on couples who lived together out of wedlock.But no sooner does Mr Clinton emerge on the national stage than his narrative degenerates into a blur.
Calling Mr Romney a liar is more or less a political dead end.The problem is that any political argument that degenerates into a "he said, he said" dispute instantly loses its ability to change minds or persuade the undecided.
While Jerry Springer and his ilk filled their studios with stump-toothed degenerates, Ms Winfrey introduced her book club and encouraged her viewers to improve themselves.Ms Winfrey is also an experienced brand-stretcher.
