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>I think this is a jab at some or a group of politicians Yes, all of them. The last politician that matter who believed in government was Nixon. Everyone sinc

by konjin 6y ago

>I think this is a jab at some or a group of politicians Yes, all of them. The last politician that matter who believed in government was Nixon. Everyone since then has done their best to weaken it, with the result being a country that is unable to build any engineering project larger than a football stadium without cost and time overruns larger than the original projections. The US right now is in the position of the barbarian tribes squatting in the former Roman Empire. Using the infrastructure build before them, wearing togas and pretending to be Romans, constantly sniping each other over who is more virtuous, while everything rots and falls apart, only it's happening slowly enough that no one notices. We didn't need those baths anyway: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ruin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ruin

spijdar 6y ago
Ah, fair enough. That's far before my time, so my frame of reference was much shorter. Can't say I haven't thought the same about where we are as a civilization, and how eerily similar it really is in some regards to the "End Game Roman Empire". I guess we had a good run while it lasted?
- konjin 6y ago
  >Can't say I haven't thought the same about where we are as a civilization, and how eerily similar it really is in some regards to the "End Game Roman Empire". I guess we had a good run while it lasted? The Romans managed to avert disaster for two centuries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisis_of_the_Third_Century https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisis_of_the_Third_Century There is no reason why we can't do the same. It doesn't help that we expected Obama to be Augustine, but we got a Julian the Apostate wannabe instead.
- edgyquant 6y ago
  There are almost zero similarities between the current US and the late Roman Empire. You could make a case that there are similarities to the late republic, but even that is a fools errand
dragonwriter 6y ago
> The last politician that believed in government was Nixon. If your definition of “politician” is “US President from the GOP”, that's maybe true (George H. W. Bush might make even that wrong, though.) If it's any broader, then, just, no, not even close.
- konjin 6y ago
  >If it's any broader, then, just, no, not even close. Apart from Sanders name one Democratic president or major presidential candidate that wanted to re-nationalize anything since the 70s. That isn't some sort of radical socialism, it was policy under the New Deal.
nickik 6y ago
That's a pretty terrible argument. First of all 'believe' can not be measured, and the argument that Nixon believed more in government then Obama is more then questionable. In fact it was Nixon who totally fucked up the manned space program, so your analysis makes no sense in that aspect. It seems you are not addressing NASA or know much about it, you are just trotting out your hobby horse. > The US right now is in the position of the barbarian tribes squatting in the former Roman Empire. Another terrible argument. > Using the infrastructure build before them, wearing togas and pretending to be Romans, constantly sniping each other over who is more virtuous, while everything rots and falls apart, As somebody who a deep interest in roman history, it is incredibly clear that you have not studied, and just repeat boring old cliches that every single modern scholar of the roman empire would laugh at.

by konjin 6y ago

spijdar 6y ago

Ah, fair enough. That's far before my time, so my frame of reference was much shorter. Can't say I haven't thought the same about where we are as a civilization, and how eerily similar it really is in some regards to the "End Game Roman Empire". I guess we had a good run while it lasted?

konjin 6y ago
>Can't say I haven't thought the same about where we are as a civilization, and how eerily similar it really is in some regards to the "End Game Roman Empire". I guess we had a good run while it lasted? The Romans managed to avert disaster for two centuries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisis_of_the_Third_Century https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisis_of_the_Third_Century There is no reason why we can't do the same. It doesn't help that we expected Obama to be Augustine, but we got a Julian the Apostate wannabe instead.
edgyquant 6y ago
There are almost zero similarities between the current US and the late Roman Empire. You could make a case that there are similarities to the late republic, but even that is a fools errand

dragonwriter 6y ago

> The last politician that believed in government was Nixon. If your definition of “politician” is “US President from the GOP”, that's maybe true (George H. W. Bush might make even that wrong, though.) If it's any broader, then, just, no, not even close.

konjin 6y ago
>If it's any broader, then, just, no, not even close. Apart from Sanders name one Democratic president or major presidential candidate that wanted to re-nationalize anything since the 70s. That isn't some sort of radical socialism, it was policy under the New Deal.

nickik 6y ago

That's a pretty terrible argument. First of all 'believe' can not be measured, and the argument that Nixon believed more in government then Obama is more then questionable. In fact it was Nixon who totally fucked up the manned space program, so your analysis makes no sense in that aspect. It seems you are not addressing NASA or know much about it, you are just trotting out your hobby horse. > The US right now is in the position of the barbarian tribes squatting in the former Roman Empire. Another terrible argument. > Using the infrastructure build before them, wearing togas and pretending to be Romans, constantly sniping each other over who is more virtuous, while everything rots and falls apart, As somebody who a deep interest in roman history, it is incredibly clear that you have not studied, and just repeat boring old cliches that every single modern scholar of the roman empire would laugh at.