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> Continuing the senseless partisan drive of the 20 years does. I think what the government is going through right now is wrapping up the last political syste

by swalsh 2y ago

> Continuing the senseless partisan drive of the 20 years does. I think what the government is going through right now is wrapping up the last political system. The idea that Democrats and Republicans just need to learn how to work together is just wrong. The parties are being destroyed, and I think we should all cheer that. They were built to address the issues of the 20th century, and neither party in the current form is ready to address 21st century issues. I think AI, Climate change, world demographic changes around the world (ie: low birthrates) is going to seriously alter everything about our world from geopolitics, to economy, even social issues. The democrats are stuck in supporting the new deal bureaucracy and the post ww2 order. That's over, it's crumbling right now, and i'm not going to try and defend any of it personally. It's just obsolete. The old Republican party your dad probably supported is dead too, that died a while ago. The new Republican party seems to be an alliance of people who just really want to cheer the crumbling of the old system (MAGA) and the first emergence of what politics in the 21st century is going to look like (the tech alliance). Democrats would be smart to understand it's a new century we have new threats, new challenges, and need new institutions.... and this IS NOT a once in a lifetime opportunity to fix our government. This is the first draft of our new political system, and they have a choice to participate in shaping it, but they will need to get votes, and to get votes they need to stop stalking about obsolete ideas.

OvbiousError 2y ago
Consolidating power in the hands of the few very rich is not something new, it's just the old come again.
mrtesthah 2y ago
Is this new political system akin to a banana republic? Because that’s what happens when you replace non partisan workers with loyalists in order to eliminate all accountability and oversight. Turning the rule of law into a partisan issue is a receipt for endemic corruption. And even if you think the rule of law is antiquated, you’re misanthropically cheering the destruction of the largest institution in the world that 330 million people depend on for survival.
bastardoperator 2y ago
I might cheer if the replacements weren't objectively worse in every measurable way.
jrussino 2y ago
>The democrats are stuck in supporting the new deal bureaucracy and the post ww2 order > The new Republican party seems to be an alliance of people who just really want to cheer the crumbling of the old system I agree, and I think this is a bizarre flipping of the "Democrat ~= progressive / Republican ~= conservative" dynamic that has been largely assumed throughout my lifetime. We need both conservative and progressive forces in our society. Someone needs to be saying "here's what's wrong with our system; here's what needs to change", and someone else needs to balance that with "here's what we're doing right; here are the parts that are working well and that we should not get rid of". It seems to me that now, instead of that tug-of-war discussion happening between the two parties, it is happening in parallel within them. Unfortunately, the sane and responsible version of that discussion is happening entirely within the boundary of the Democratic coalition, in a way that is completely ineffectual because (a) the internal conservative moderating force is relatively strong in a moment when the populace seems to want more progressive action, and (b) to they have so little ability to effectively wield political power. Meanwhile, the Republicans are dominated by a bizarro "progressive" faction that wants to pull us all in an entirely different (IMHO regressive) direction. And that faction is completely unchecked by any internal "conservative" moderating force within its own party, so it is for the moment able to push us as hard and fast as possible in its preferred direction.
- swalsh 2y ago
  > It seems to me that now, instead of that tug-of-war discussion happening between the two parties, I'm REALLY looking forward to 2028, because I think that potentially will be the first election where we start to see what modern politics will look like. I wouldn't be surprised if there are multiple new parties, and multiples of them have a real chance. If it seems one sided right now, it's just because one side found their way to the start line first... but make no mistake, history shows that over time new political factions will form that offer resistance to bad ideas, and clear a path for the good ideas. Given the rate of change with AI, We're going to have a real idea on what a world being disrupted by AGI (whether that is true AGI, or something close to it) looks like. At the same time Healthcare is only getting worse, and Trump is NOT going to fundumentally address it. China is going to be rising, and they're a real geopolitical threat. The war in Ukraine has completely changed what warfare looks like, and we're going to have to completely restructure our military (just like we have to restructure our healthcare). I also wouldn't be surprised if Trump's war with the cartel turns out to be far harder than expected because cheap autonomous drones allow a small military to compete against a large traditional military. All of our prior assumptions on retirement are different too, retired boomers are not the same as the pensioneers from their day. They're not impoverished, instead they're flush with cash. I'm not sure in a world with an aging workforce you're going to be anti-immigrant... and all these benefits we give to retirees may not make sense in a world where retirees are wealthier than the regular workforce supporting them. The general theme for the next decade is going to be throw out all the old books, 80% of our prior assumptions no longer apply.

by swalsh 2y ago

OvbiousError 2y ago

Consolidating power in the hands of the few very rich is not something new, it's just the old come again.

mrtesthah 2y ago

Is this new political system akin to a banana republic? Because that’s what happens when you replace non partisan workers with loyalists in order to eliminate all accountability and oversight. Turning the rule of law into a partisan issue is a receipt for endemic corruption. And even if you think the rule of law is antiquated, you’re misanthropically cheering the destruction of the largest institution in the world that 330 million people depend on for survival.

bastardoperator 2y ago

I might cheer if the replacements weren't objectively worse in every measurable way.

jrussino 2y ago

>The democrats are stuck in supporting the new deal bureaucracy and the post ww2 order > The new Republican party seems to be an alliance of people who just really want to cheer the crumbling of the old system I agree, and I think this is a bizarre flipping of the "Democrat ~= progressive / Republican ~= conservative" dynamic that has been largely assumed throughout my lifetime. We need both conservative and progressive forces in our society. Someone needs to be saying "here's what's wrong with our system; here's what needs to change", and someone else needs to balance that with "here's what we're doing right; here are the parts that are working well and that we should not get rid of". It seems to me that now, instead of that tug-of-war discussion happening between the two parties, it is happening in parallel within them. Unfortunately, the sane and responsible version of that discussion is happening entirely within the boundary of the Democratic coalition, in a way that is completely ineffectual because (a) the internal conservative moderating force is relatively strong in a moment when the populace seems to want more progressive action, and (b) to they have so little ability to effectively wield political power. Meanwhile, the Republicans are dominated by a bizarro "progressive" faction that wants to pull us all in an entirely different (IMHO regressive) direction. And that faction is completely unchecked by any internal "conservative" moderating force within its own party, so it is for the moment able to push us as hard and fast as possible in its preferred direction.

swalsh 2y ago
> It seems to me that now, instead of that tug-of-war discussion happening between the two parties, I'm REALLY looking forward to 2028, because I think that potentially will be the first election where we start to see what modern politics will look like. I wouldn't be surprised if there are multiple new parties, and multiples of them have a real chance. If it seems one sided right now, it's just because one side found their way to the start line first... but make no mistake, history shows that over time new political factions will form that offer resistance to bad ideas, and clear a path for the good ideas. Given the rate of change with AI, We're going to have a real idea on what a world being disrupted by AGI (whether that is true AGI, or something close to it) looks like. At the same time Healthcare is only getting worse, and Trump is NOT going to fundumentally address it. China is going to be rising, and they're a real geopolitical threat. The war in Ukraine has completely changed what warfare looks like, and we're going to have to completely restructure our military (just like we have to restructure our healthcare). I also wouldn't be surprised if Trump's war with the cartel turns out to be far harder than expected because cheap autonomous drones allow a small military to compete against a large traditional military. All of our prior assumptions on retirement are different too, retired boomers are not the same as the pensioneers from their day. They're not impoverished, instead they're flush with cash. I'm not sure in a world with an aging workforce you're going to be anti-immigrant... and all these benefits we give to retirees may not make sense in a world where retirees are wealthier than the regular workforce supporting them. The general theme for the next decade is going to be throw out all the old books, 80% of our prior assumptions no longer apply.