Lawyers, Guns, and Money

[Tim May]

On Saturday, August 25, 2001, at 07:41 AM, Declan McCullagh wrote:

> On Tue, Aug 21, 2001 at 06:05:04PM -0400, Faustine wrote:
>> Great points. If you're looking to make a difference re: cypherpunk 
>> and pro-
>> libertarian issues and have a scientific and practical streak, why not 
>> get
>> an advanced degree in policy analysis instead? You get a rock-solid
>> grounding in a number of critical disciplines, and put yourself in a
>> position to seriously affect policy on the broadest possible stage. 
>> Not for
>
> Alas, the best policy analysts I've seen are lawyers. Folks in DC, at 
> least,
> look down at people who got an easier "policy analysis" degree as people
> who couldn't or didn't want to go to law school.
>

And then there are those who care so much about others (whales, persyns 
of color, and other living things) that they get a "History of 
Consciousness" degree from here at UC Santa Cruz. Where else could they 
study under unreconstructed communists like Bettina Aptheker (daughter 
of militant communist Herbert Aptheker) and Angela Davis?

And they get to remain in their beloved Santa Cruz afterwards, 
waittressing at Zachary's!

I can't honestly say that I wish all of the lawyer wannabees here on the 
list good luck, as I think lawyers generally create entropy and 
inefficiency, no matter their intentions. But at least they ought to 
think long and hard about their career path and which schools will help 
them the most.

--TIm May