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No paywall: https://outline.com/GjXK6r https://outline.com/GjXK6r An interesting read, thank you. Interesting points are made- but very little attention paid t
by ip26 7y ago
No paywall: https://outline.com/GjXK6r https://outline.com/GjXK6r
An interesting read, thank you. Interesting points are made- but very little attention paid to questions of checks & balances. In other words, I'm curious how they see their ideal systems remaining resilient when faced with bad faith actors in positions of authority. I may have to read those books and see if they talk about it more.
- api 7y agoThe standard issue answer is that corruption and incompetence in authoritarian societies is dealt with via Darwinian struggle between societies or by coups led by stronger factions within. They never mention the instability this creates or the human toll it takes on regular people. Democracy is not about always making the best decision in the short term. It's about long term resiliency and being "antifragile." You can see a modern example of the alternative in Africa. Much of that continent's persistent poverty is due to the warring strong men system of governance. Why invest in anything when the next revolution, coup, or invasion will result in it just being looted or destroyed?
- remarkEon 7y agoThis is different from non-authoritarian societies how?
- api 7y agoIn non-authoritarian societies there are less disruptive mechanisms for change, such as party realignments and political (rather than violent) revolutions. These can be disruptive but nowhere near as much as being invaded or having a violent coup.
- dredmorbius 7y agoAlso: http://archive.is/ukq7b http://archive.is/ukq7b