As [William F.] Buckley said, he would rather be ruled by the first 2,000 names in the Boston phone book than by the Harvard faculty.
There is usually more common sense, indeed wisdom, in the opinions of the common man than in the theories of intellectuals and even of professional politicians.
On opening the Brussels phone book and browsing through its first 2,000 names, however, one quickly realizes that to advocate Buckley’s advice in contemporary Western Europe would lead to the installation of rulers with names reminiscent of Arabian Nights, names such as Aarab, Abbas, Abdel Kader, Abdellaoui, Al Mahi, Al Maghreb El Jadid, …
