Question: What is your inspiration?
Alan Dershowitz: I don’t look within my field. I find that looking at the law alone is often a very sterile enterprise. I came to Harvard 43 years ago to teach law “and” . . . I love the “and.” Law and . . . initially it was psychoanalysis. Then it was psychiatry. Then it was psychology, philosophy, politics.
When I was a college student, I took a very eclectic background. Philosophy, economics, political science, a range of other issues.
So I find my inspirations outside the law. I find my inspirations in the widest range of activities.
Literature. When I first read Dostoevsky’s “The Brothers Karamazov” and “Crime and Punishment,” that had more influence about how I think about criminal law than any criminal law textbook I ever read.
When I read Saul Bellow or when I read writings of other people who are able to probe deeply into the human intellect and into human experience, it gives me more insights.
I’ve just finished reading hundreds and hundreds of letters by Thomas Jefferson, which gave me more insight into how America was founded, and the proper role of church and state in America than textbooks.
So I try to find my inspiration from outside. I’m also a good observer. I’m, in that way, influenced by Thomas Jefferson who said, “Watch the world. Look. See.” His philosophy grew out of observation and experience. And so I like to look and watch.
I like to bring together a variety of things. My wife says about me that I’m able to go to an opera and watch it, and then come home and write an article about criminal law. Go to a basketball game and bring some experience from outside into what I’m thinking about. I’m a terrible date for that reason.
No matter what I’m doing, I always have that little pad in my pocket. And I take it out and I take notes, and people around me think I’m a reviewer. But I’m not writing about the opera. I’m getting an idea about something that I want to write about.
Recorded on: June 12, 2007
Discuss
Robert Austin on June 10, 2008, 11:16 AM
Why are Senator McCain and so many others reflexively antagonistic toward universal healthcare? Would McCain and other opponents of universal healthcare have opposed the national interstate highway system instituted under President Eisenhower? The interstate highway system is a nationwide system funded by tax dollars. It has, for better or for worse, made possible of the tremendous growth of the United States economy since the 1950's. It is a publicly funded investment in our nation's economic health. Imagine such a system made up solely of privately funded highways with tolls every several miles! That is what our current healthcare system is. Why not look at our highway system as a kind of model for healthcare? We have a publicly funded interstate system that is indispensible for transportation and commerce, but we also have toll highways for those who are willing to pay extra in order to travel on better maintained, less cluttered highways. Our healthcare system can provide similar options. Make everyone invest in a universal plan that provides good healthcare for everyone, but give those who are willing to pay the option of more expensive private care. I have seen universal healthcare in action in Germany, and there is no question in my mind that the United States is far behind the curve when it comes to providing good healthcare to its citizens. I see no excuse for objecting to a program that provides better healthcare to its citizens at lower cost. His unequivocal objection to such a plan convinces me that John McCain is no maverick; rather he is nothing but just another politician corrupted by the moneyed interests of Big Pharma and the insurance companies.
Robert Austin on June 10, 2008, 11:33 AM
I want to amend my previous thought on what Senator McCain had to say. I do not like the last few lines I wrote, implying that Senator McCain was just another corrupt politician. Below is how I wish I had originally responded to Senator McCain's comments.
Why are Senator McCain and so many others so afraid of universal healthcare? Would McCain and other opponents of universal healthcare have opposed the national interstate highway system instituted under President Eisenhower? The interstate highway system is a nationwide system funded by tax dollars. It has, for better or for worse, made possible of the tremendous growth of the United States economy since the 1950's. It is a publicly funded investment in our nation's economic health. Imagine such a system made up solely of privately funded highways with tolls every several miles! That is what our current healthcare system is. Why not look at our highway system as a kind of model for healthcare? We have a publicly funded interstate system that is indispensible for transportation and commerce, but we also have toll highways for those who are willing to pay extra in order to travel on better maintained, less cluttered highways. Our healthcare system can provide similar options. Make everyone invest in a universal plan that provides good healthcare for everyone, but give those who are willing to pay the option of more expensive private care. I have seen universal healthcare in action in Germany, and there is no question in my mind that the United States is far behind the curve when it comes to providing good healthcare to its citizens. I see no excuse for objecting to a program that provides better healthcare to its citizens at lower cost. By expressing his unequivocal objection to universal healthcare Senator McCain is allying himself with the moneyed interests of Big Pharma and the insurance companies rather than the citizens he is sworn to serve.
Robert Austin on June 10, 2008, 3:16 PM
Why are Senator McCain and so many others reflexively antagonistic toward universal healthcare? Would McCain and other opponents of universal healthcare have opposed the national interstate highway system instituted under President Eisenhower? The interstate highway system is a nationwide system funded by tax dollars. It has, for better or for worse, made possible of the tremendous growth of the United States economy since the 1950’s. It is a publicly funded investment in our nation’s economic health. Imagine such a system made up solely of privately funded highways with tolls every several miles! That is what our current healthcare system is. Why not look at our highway system as a kind of model for healthcare? We have a publicly funded interstate system that is indispensible for transportation and commerce, but we also have toll highways for those who are willing to pay extra in order to travel on better maintained, less cluttered highways. Our healthcare system can provide similar options. Make everyone invest in a universal plan that provides good healthcare for everyone, but give those who are willing to pay the option of more expensive private care. I have seen universal healthcare in action in Germany, and there is no question in my mind that the United States is far behind the curve when it comes to providing good healthcare to its citizens. I see no excuse for objecting to a program that provides better healthcare to its citizens at lower cost. His unequivocal objection to such a plan convinces me that John McCain is no maverick; rather he is nothing but just another politician corrupted by the moneyed interests of Big Pharma and the insurance companies.
Robert Austin on June 10, 2008, 3:33 PM
I want to amend my previous thought on what Senator McCain had to say. I do not like the last few lines I wrote, implying that Senator McCain was just another corrupt politician. Below is how I wish I had originally responded to Senator McCain’s comments.
Why are Senator McCain and so many others so afraid of universal healthcare? Would McCain and other opponents of universal healthcare have opposed the national interstate highway system instituted under President Eisenhower? The interstate highway system is a nationwide system funded by tax dollars. It has, for better or for worse, made possible of the tremendous growth of the United States economy since the 1950’s. It is a publicly funded investment in our nation’s economic health. Imagine such a system made up solely of privately funded highways with tolls every several miles! That is what our current healthcare system is. Why not look at our highway system as a kind of model for healthcare? We have a publicly funded interstate system that is indispensible for transportation and commerce, but we also have toll highways for those who are willing to pay extra in order to travel on better maintained, less cluttered highways. Our healthcare system can provide similar options. Make everyone invest in a universal plan that provides good healthcare for everyone, but give those who are willing to pay the option of more expensive private care. I have seen universal healthcare in action in Germany, and there is no question in my mind that the United States is far behind the curve when it comes to providing good healthcare to its citizens. I see no excuse for objecting to a program that provides better healthcare to its citizens at lower cost. By expressing his unequivocal objection to universal healthcare Senator McCain is allying himself with the moneyed interests of Big Pharma and the insurance companies rather than the citizens he is sworn to serve.
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