38 / CHRONICLESnkinship and politics are almost synonymous.nAlong the way, he makes annumber of useful observations—nonenof them particularly original: architectsnof the state are often concerned withnbreaking up family unity and tend tonbehave like the tyrants described bynHerodotus: they make themselves richnand commit sexual outrages, hi addition,nthe narratives of native politiciansnmake for interesting reading. On balance,nhowever, the work does morenharm than good.nMany of the sins are of omission.nSagan thinks, for example, that kinshipnis natural but the urge for power is not.nIn neither case does he display the leastnfamiliarity with the swelling literaturenon the biological basis for kinship—nonmention of the contributions of Trivers,nHamilton, Fox, et al. Worse, his assumptionnthat man is by nature anfriendly, egalitarian creature needs atnleast some proof in an age when booksnare written describing the human speciesnas innately aggressive, territorial,nand hierarchical.nSagan’s indifiFerence to evidence extendsnto his discussion of native cultures.nIt is clear that the Hawaiian statenis a secondary formation, made possiblenby the arrival of Europeans and Euro-n”What man would be consolednat the loss of an armnby the knowledge that hencould buy his shirts 40npercent cheaper?”nTHE NEED FOR AnNATIONAL INTERESTnTRADE POLICYnDR. JOHN M. CULBERTSON, Professornof Economics at the Universitynof Wisconsin, argues that “‘Balanced,nmutually advantageous trade betweennnations’ is the valid goal that mustnreplace the false goal of ‘free trade.'”nPROFESSOR WILLIAM R. HAWKINSnargues the conservative case for anselectively mercantilist trade policynaimed at protecting strategic/basicnindustries.nTo order: send $2.00 to: USICnEducational Foundation, 200nWaverly Building, Brentwood, TNn37027, 615/377-4792.nUNITED STATES INDUSTRIALnCOUNCIL EDUCATIONALnFOUNDATIONnpean firearms. In Buganda the situationnis less clear-cut, but the very fact thatnthere were European witnesses gives atnleast some indication that the rapidngrowth of the Bugandan state was notnentirely a homegrown affair. What hendoes find time to discuss, however, arenthe entirely irrelevant speculations ofnSigmund and Anna Freud. Throw in anplea for the innocence of Sacco andnVanzetti, diatribes against capitalism, ansubjective narrative style that would benout of place even in a novel (the text isnpeppered with “we may assume” andn”surely” and “probably”), and the resultnis a stellar piece of political pornographynwith no redeeming social value.n(TF) ccnRefuting thenPlannersnby Tommy W. RogersnCompeting Visions: The PoliticalnConffict Over America’s EconomicnFuture by Richard McKenzie, Washington,nDC: CATC Institute, $8.95.nRichard McKenzie, a member of theneconomics department of ClemsonnUniversity, here assesses the probablenimpact of new government reguladonnof the economy under what politiciansnlike to call “National Industrial Policy”n(NIP). He sets forth the major legislativenpolicy proposals promoted undernthis rubric, and he examines their probableneffect upon international trade,ncapital taxation, and central planning.nCiting hard empirical data, McKenzienexplodes the hoax of deindustrialization,nthe mythology of the displacednworker, and fhe ideology of employeen”rights.” Though advocated as a freshnnew idea, McKenzie finds that the basicnNIP doctrines are “at least as old as theneighteenth century’s mercantilism andnas familiar as this century’s disastrousnexperiments with central planning, thencorporate state, and five-year plans.”nHe warns that more government involvementnin the economy would meannmore politically arbitrary decisionsnmade in Washington, more wastednresources, and ultimately a poorernsociety.nThe noble concerns voiced by NIPnchampions do nothing to redeem theirnimplausible arguments with ProfessornMcKenzie, who finds them replete withninternal contradictions that “draw intonquestion the movement’s intellectualnfoundation.” Further, NIP’s backers eithernfail to realize or choose to ignorennnthe fact that government control ofnworkers, businessmen, and consumersn”ultimately translates into the control ofnpeople, whether the control is institutednby democratic or by authoritariannmeans.”nThe author maintains that centralizednplanning “is bound to fail to producenwhat people want because it cannotnobtain the information needed tonmake those calculations without thenmarket it seeks to supplant.” Further,nplant-closing laws and trade restrictionsnwould not protect American jobs, nornwould National Industrial Policy makenU.S. companies more competitive internationally.nMcKenzie illustrates hownprotectionism invariably becomes corporatenwelfare by pointing out how autonexecutives received enormous bonusesn(ranging into the millions of dollars) inn1984 at a time when the Federal governmentnwas forcing the Japanese tonwithhold, “voluntarily,” its cars fromnAmerican markets.nThe overriding objective ofnMcKenzie’s analysis is to redirect policyndiscussion toward ways to free the marketnfrom political control and interference.nIn his “Alternative Vision of OurnEconomic Future,” McKenzie makes anstrong case against governmentmanagedncapitalism. Too few Americansnunderstand that many of our currentneconomic problems have beenncaused by the breakdown of constitutionalnconstraints on government. If ournnational economic future is to be prosperousnand free, we must heednMcKenzie’s warning as we retrace thensteps we have already taken towardnmanaged markets and the interventionistnstate. ccnTommy Rogers is a sociologist whonwrites from Jackson, MS.nTrue GritnJon Tuska: The American West innFilm: Critical Approaches to thenWestern; Greenwood Press; Westport,nCT.nTuska’s thesis is that’ Westerns are notnattempts to portray the old West withndocumentary fidelity, nor do theynmerely reflect the attitudes of the Americannpublic. They are the creation ofndirectors and producers, great and insignificant,nmen indifferent to historicalnaccuracy and full of their own insightsnand biases. Furthermore, these insightsnand biases rarely reflect the attitudes ofnthe bienpensant liberal. This book willn