4 ms·

Time to stop considering the US a democracy? It feels the country is it’s own weird system now, not sure how to classify it but something I would call Trumpocra

by dgellow 2mo ago

Time to stop considering the US a democracy? It feels the country is it’s own weird system now, not sure how to classify it but something I would call Trumpocracy. The democratic processes don’t seem to serve the people, it’s all hacks to try to use the system against itself to entrench the administration ideology (some might draw parallels to history here)

gpvos 2mo ago
Parts of it still work, but the core is rotten.
- dgellow 2mo ago
  The local democratic processes seem to be in better shape than at the federal level. At least as seen from afar
markvdb 2mo ago
https://www.v-dem.net/documents/75/V-Dem_Institute_Democracy_Report_2026_lowres.pdf https://www.v-dem.net/documents/75/V-Dem_Institute_Democracy...
- dgellow 2mo ago
  Now I want to read a version of that report with 2026 events taken in account. It feels like the US is on its way to be an elected autocracy according to that framework
softwaredoug 2mo ago
The US is returning to its pre WW2 norm. The postwar era was the exception. US democracy has long been tenuous or for the “right people”.
- cucumber3732842 2mo ago
  Pre (like 20+yr) WW2 the scope of the activities that the government laid claim to was infinity smaller so the blast radius was likewise infinitely more limited. This is how you wound up with historically ethnic banks, universities, etc, etc. Black guy, pole, whatever, can't get a loan (well they can, at a "fuck you" price) from the wasp bank so they go to the lending group they know through their church or whatever. After a few years of that the guys who are doing that lending say fuggit, quit their day jobs and start a bank. Wash rinse repeat to varying extents for just about every sector business. They'd never allow that today. The incumbents would get the enforcers to kill that before it becomes a legitimate standalone business. And the enforcers have a lot more ammo today because of past 70yr of (mostly civil) law and jurisprudence. But any modern equivalent isn't done along racial/ethnic lines and so the useful idiots will think it's all fine and dandy and defend it out of one side of their mouth while complaining about a lack of opportunity out of the other.
  - softwaredoug 2mo ago
    I’m not as sure. It feels that way. But society was also smaller in its footprint. Keep in mind the US government pre watergate did a lot of spying on political opponents (MLK, Malcolm X, etc). Presidents impounded funds pre Watergate at alarming rates. We put US citizens in camps during WW2 for being of Japanese descent. See also native Americans and the Federal govts enforcement of slavery. You might say the govt has just grown in proportion to the container it’s held in.
- dgellow 2mo ago
  An 80y exception in a 250y timeline?
  - softwaredoug 2mo ago
    It may more accurately be pre-Watergate. But yes, a lengthy period with a unifying adversary that felt like an existential threat did a lot to unify the US

by dgellow 2mo ago

gpvos 2mo ago

Parts of it still work, but the core is rotten.

dgellow 2mo ago
The local democratic processes seem to be in better shape than at the federal level. At least as seen from afar

markvdb 2mo ago

https://www.v-dem.net/documents/75/V-Dem_Institute_Democracy_Report_2026_lowres.pdf https://www.v-dem.net/documents/75/V-Dem_Institute_Democracy...

dgellow 2mo ago
Now I want to read a version of that report with 2026 events taken in account. It feels like the US is on its way to be an elected autocracy according to that framework

softwaredoug 2mo ago

The US is returning to its pre WW2 norm. The postwar era was the exception. US democracy has long been tenuous or for the “right people”.

cucumber3732842 2mo ago
Pre (like 20+yr) WW2 the scope of the activities that the government laid claim to was infinity smaller so the blast radius was likewise infinitely more limited. This is how you wound up with historically ethnic banks, universities, etc, etc. Black guy, pole, whatever, can't get a loan (well they can, at a "fuck you" price) from the wasp bank so they go to the lending group they know through their church or whatever. After a few years of that the guys who are doing that lending say fuggit, quit their day jobs and start a bank. Wash rinse repeat to varying extents for just about every sector business. They'd never allow that today. The incumbents would get the enforcers to kill that before it becomes a legitimate standalone business. And the enforcers have a lot more ammo today because of past 70yr of (mostly civil) law and jurisprudence. But any modern equivalent isn't done along racial/ethnic lines and so the useful idiots will think it's all fine and dandy and defend it out of one side of their mouth while complaining about a lack of opportunity out of the other.
- softwaredoug 2mo ago
  I’m not as sure. It feels that way. But society was also smaller in its footprint. Keep in mind the US government pre watergate did a lot of spying on political opponents (MLK, Malcolm X, etc). Presidents impounded funds pre Watergate at alarming rates. We put US citizens in camps during WW2 for being of Japanese descent. See also native Americans and the Federal govts enforcement of slavery. You might say the govt has just grown in proportion to the container it’s held in.
dgellow 2mo ago
An 80y exception in a 250y timeline?
- softwaredoug 2mo ago
  It may more accurately be pre-Watergate. But yes, a lengthy period with a unifying adversary that felt like an existential threat did a lot to unify the US