I love that whenever it's a question of going for pragmatism or saying something that's comfortable and politically correct, Sheryl picks a pragmatic argument.
The ensuing culture clashes between poetry and pragmatism (John's argument with Sophie Ward's world controller) and between love and sex (encounters with Olivia Morgan's hatchery technician, Lenina) are interesting but emotionally unengaging.
All this points to more pragmatism and less philosophical argument about the clash of civilisations.
But supporting his argument for pragmatism is the trouble that Massachusetts is finding in implementing its ambitious mandate.
It is not only that every argument from pragmatism and experience, as well as from basic human decency, argues that the programme should be halted, rethought, and only cautiously resumed.
They interfered with the order of the day, where an authoritarian pragmatism cloaks every human argument, until all we have left to believe in is brute force and the economy — "taking refuge," as Marilynne Robinson puts it, "by hiding our head in the ledger".
For an argument that pragmatism needs to incorporate the insights of feminism, especially that of Irigaray, into its metaphysics, see Kruse (1991).
Again we have the same arguments about pragmatism and how brave Clinton is for not falling for the "hope" narrative.
If morality is not argument enough, try pragmatism.
The left has to temper its idealism with pragmatism; make the pro-immigration argument on solid economic grounds, and start by advocating a looser, easier, cheaper and more hospitable legal immigration policy that would attract skilled workers in fields with employment gaps to fill.
