The Houseman Report

My mind is still peering at the discarded analysis of Hauptman's after he was smacked down. What happed to his analysis? Who gathered the briefcase, papers, chip, etc.,? Whatever was the fate of his entire works? And what was its worth after deleting Masada from the equation?

Some economic course was eventually followed. Was it, in most part, Houseman's?

Brigade XO wrote:Someone didn't mention to Houseman that one of those two neigboring systems wants the other totaly subjugated or, failing that, devoid of all human life, as the result of a centuries old religious blood feud in which GOD has demanded the heretics be crushed or expunged. Hell, Mesada would burn Grayson lifeless before letting the heretics remain.

I saw the same thing. Odd that Houseman would conveniently "forget" that little detail.

Great man Mr. Houseman, his politics and theory must be praised. Perhaps he would like to immigrate to Masada and spend the rest of his (short) life explaing all this to the Masadans?

It's fun to contemplate.

robert132 wrote:

Brigade XO wrote:Someone didn't mention to Houseman that one of those two neigboring systems wants the other totaly subjugated or, failing that, devoid of all human life, as the result of a centuries old religious blood feud in which GOD has demanded the heretics be crushed or expunged. Hell, Mesada would burn Grayson lifeless before letting the heretics remain.

He just went back into politics. Wasn't he Second Lord under Janacek?

Once the battle at Grayson took place, the deal was a done deal. His analysis might have been used. But, of course, everyone on all the Manticore/Grayson planets knew what happened. Honor would suffer for that but, of course, she came back strong.

robert132 wrote:

Brigade XO wrote:Someone didn't mention to Houseman that one of those two neigboring systems wants the other totaly subjugated or, failing that, devoid of all human life, as the result of a centuries old religious blood feud in which GOD has demanded the heretics be crushed or expunged. Hell, Mesada would burn Grayson lifeless before letting the heretics remain.

I saw the same thing. Odd that Houseman would conveniently "forget" that little detail.

Not really odd Houseman can not picture a world that something other the economic prosperity would be the first priority. The idea that the Masadans would impoverish their worlds economy to either subjugate or destroy Greyson is also unthinkable. He also believes all conflicts are economically based. So if you fix the economic problem you solve the conflict.

Hello Cthia,

Don't you mean Houseman, not Hauptman?

No.

I strongly doubt it was Houseman's analysis that guided Grayson's booming economy, as he got his degree from Mannheim University, or "Socialist U" as it is clearly stated in the textev; ie hardly a supporter of capitalism, free trade and all that made and makes Manticore great.

So it is extremely unlikely that anyone but his fellow irrational liberals bothered to read his nonsense, if he bothered to finish his obviously ridiculous 'report'.

The SKM's economic offers to potential treaty pardners in the MA were wise, thoughtful, generous, helpful etc; the antithesis of Houseman and his liberal party's irrational and illogical approach to reality, life in general and Manticore's economy and society in particular.

Even Janacek considered him to be an idiot he had to put up with for the sake of the government coalition, not someone who ever made any intelligent suggestion.

The best use of his papers and chips would have been in some latrine or barn somewhere.

L

cthia wrote:My mind is still peering at the discarded analysis of Hauptman's after he was smacked down. What happed to his analysis? Who gathered the briefcase, papers, chip, etc.,? Whatever was the fate of his entire works? And what was its worth after deleting Masada from the equation?

Some economic course was eventually followed. Was it, in most part, Houseman's?

cthia wrote:My mind is still peering at the discarded analysis of Hauptman's after he was smacked down. What happed to his analysis? Who gathered the briefcase, papers, chip, etc.,? Whatever was the fate of his entire works? And what was its worth after deleting Masada from the equation?

Some economic course was eventually followed. Was it, in most part, Houseman's?

lyonheart wrote:Hello Cthia,

Don't you mean Houseman, not Hauptman?

No.

I strongly doubt it was Houseman's analysis that guided Grayson's booming economy, as he got his degree from Mannheim University, or "Socialist U" as it is clearly stated in the textev; ie hardly a supporter of capitalism, free trade and all that made and makes Manticore great.

So it is extremely unlikely that anyone but his fellow irrational liberals bothered to read his nonsense, if he bothered to finish his obviously ridiculous 'report'.

The SKM's economic offers to potential treaty pardners in the MA were wise, thoughtful, generous, helpful etc; the antithesis of Houseman and his liberal party's irrational and illogical approach to reality, life in general and Manticore's economy and society in particular.

Even Janacek considered him to be an idiot he had to put up with for the sake of the government coalition, not someone who ever made any intelligent suggestion.

The best use of his papers and chips would have been in some latrine or barn somewhere.

L

You should have followed the thread drift regarding elite universities a bit closer. It doesn't matter what Houseman's political or social slants or affiliations are. He is regarded as a brilliant economist. His field is an accredited field and he would have had to come by his brilliance under an accredited system. Unless you wish to ignore textev -- in this case?

cthia wrote:He is regarded as a brilliant economist.

By whom?

Every time we've seen Houseman, he's gained his position through political horse-trading.

Weird Harold wrote:

cthia wrote:He is regarded as a brilliant economist.

By whom?

Every time we've seen Houseman, he's gained his position through political horse-trading.

Pretty much. Yes, HotQ mentioned he had a good reputation as an economist, but only as an academic. He never had to enact actual policy until the the disastrous High Ridge government. Everyone outside the Liberals hated him - even Edward Janacek, who was hardly a bastion of moral and intellectual prowess.

Weird Harold wrote:

cthia wrote:He is regarded as a brilliant economist.

By whom?

Every time we've seen Houseman, he's gained his position through political horse-trading.

Duckk wrote:Pretty much. Yes, HotQ mentioned he had a good reputation as an economist, but only as an academic. He never had to enact actual policy until the the disastrous High Ridge government. Everyone outside the Liberals hated him - even Edward Janacek, who was hardly a bastion of moral and intellectual prowess.

I was under the impression that Houseman received his "political merit" through horse trading.

NOT his "academic and professional merit" -- which he earned. It is because he earned it, academically, which gave the horse traders some ammo.

Even a horse trader can't trade a horse with bad knees, bad eyesight and basically nothing to work with.

cthia wrote:

Duckk wrote:Pretty much. Yes, HotQ mentioned he had a good reputation as an economist, but only as an academic. He never had to enact actual policy until the the disastrous High Ridge government. Everyone outside the Liberals hated him - even Edward Janacek, who was hardly a bastion of moral and intellectual prowess.

I was under the impression that Houseman received his "political merit" through horse trading.

NOT his "academic and professional merit" -- which he earned. It is because he earned it, academically, which gave the horse traders some ammo.

Even a horse trader can't trade a horse with bad knees, bad eyesight and basically nothing to work with.

The full relivant quote from HotQ is

Honor of the Queen wrote:Houseman had a reputation as a brilliant economist and, given Grayson’s backward economy, sending him made sense, but he was also an ivory-tower intellectual who’d been plucked from a tenured position in Mannheim University’s College of Economics for government service. Mannheim wasn’t called “Socialist U” for nothing, and Houseman’s prominent family was a vocal supporter of the Liberal Party.

I, at least, am left with the impression that he went from graduation (possibly also from Mannheim University) directly into academia - and then branched out into working with the Foreign Office's diplomatic service (before so publicly wrecking himself over his myopic facile analysis of the Grayson Masada economic and military situation -- among other things he failed to noticed the public record, part of the briefing materials the delegation was given before leaving Manticore, that Masada appropriated 30% of its system domestic product to its military).

But boy, while doing a text search to see if I could find where he'd graduated from it seems nobody in the books has a good thing to say about him. I especially liked the bit from HAE about Hauptman's opinion of him

Honor Among Enemies wrote:In his own way, Reginald Houseman shared that prejudice against the nouveau riche—and by Houseman standards, even the Hauptman fortune was very nouveau indeed—but he was widely acknowledged as one of the half-dozen top economists of the Star Kingdom.
He was not, however, so recognized by Klaus Hauptman, who regarded him with virtually unmitigated contempt. Despite Houseman's innumerable academic credentials, Hauptman considered him a dilettante who personified the ancient cliché that "Those who can, do; those who can't, teach," and Houseman's sublime self-importance was immensely irritating to a man who'd proven his own competence in the one way no one could question: by succeeding