tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post9017873470484898765..comments2024-03-29T02:03:49.151-04:00Comments on History Unfolding: How the world comes undoneDavid Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05020082243968071584noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-40073301849475334322011-05-28T12:41:24.107-04:002011-05-28T12:41:24.107-04:00http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2011/05/weve-gone-fro...http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2011/05/weve-gone-from-a-nation-of-laws-to-a-nation-of-powerful-men-making-laws-in-secret/<br /><br />The USA is going in the wrong direction from being a positive example for 3rd world development.<br /><br />According to the above link USA has been in a state of emergency where lawmakers have and citizens have no access to the laws or reasoning of the govt. and a shadow govt. already exists. Due to sheer habit then elections still take place and regular courts are sitting but it is just pro forma. By a big crisis of some sort de facto it will all end as in old Rome and a dictator will take over without any pretense of legality as Bush had, elections, etc. Such a crisis could be around the corner. The population is so empty, laws are passed without reps. reading or understanding them that it is no wonder this oculd come to pass. We are so used to relying on experts as the world is so complicated that the absurd fact of living unknowingly in a dictatorship is possible. People criticize Russia but USA is has become it's parallel of a fake democracy that is really a dictatorship. Lincoln, FDR had emergency powers for some years in declared wars. It seems a permanent police state is coming into effect. Wars stopped being declared in Korea, Vietnam and were just called police actions. Now a permanent state of emergency is in effect for ten years. How long till martial law takes effect?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-33260788102622404982011-05-25T10:39:55.325-04:002011-05-25T10:39:55.325-04:00Great article, David. While I am generally a conse...Great article, David. While I am generally a conservative politically, I always enjoy your opinion on all things geo-political, even when I find myself frequently disagreeing. Our two political parties are not apparently up to the task for the hard work ahead. And you are correct IMO by saying that there is a dearth of leadership, unlike what we had in 1933 and 1940...and I would include the 1950s (Eisenhower years), which happened to have Federal tax rates of 91% for the wealthy {as we paid down the WWII debt}.<br /><br />One question: you say the European Union is the most politically advanced govermnment in history...how do you factor in the debt difficulties (Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal) as a potential factor for dissolution of said Union? What's happening is almost Randian: the producers (i.e. Germany) are becoming resentful of 'carrying' the non-producers and profligate spenders.Steven Winsornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-65170472021832701652011-05-24T19:47:46.241-04:002011-05-24T19:47:46.241-04:00Haven't read the book to which you refer, but ...Haven't read the book to which you refer, but I live in Western Massachusetts, and the Shays Rebels are still respected around here. Without the rebels who drove the King out of what is now southern Vermont and western Mass in 1774-75, thus creating a core of independent territory, dear Mr. Franklin and his friends might well have hanged separately. The redcoats had no problem quelling the Boston mob, it was patriots from the countryside who fought at Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill; who seized Fort Ticonderoga and its guns and dragged those guns through snow and ice and mounted them on Dorchester Heights, driving the British from Boston. And those patriot soldiers were royally (republicanly?) shafted by the Boston merchants after the war. They made some mistakes, and they were hugely outnumbered. Just because they lost, doesn't mean they weren't heroes.JRnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-36525652119756977762011-05-23T07:50:35.796-04:002011-05-23T07:50:35.796-04:00On the cultural front, they're already talking...On the cultural front, they're already talking about "expostmodern" <br />http://mipitr.com/expomod/<br />meaning that not only 20th century Modernism is dead, but so is its backlash, postmodernism. Having done its morally relativistic work by deconstructing everything, it, too, is gone."The single most notable shift is the decline of alienation," and "(Joining a tiny group of outsiders is so last decade.)"<br /><br />This is going to be the nucleus of the new politics for sure, and I have to say it has a very Millenial flavor to it.Pat Mathewsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-77539425766023434982011-05-23T05:24:35.893-04:002011-05-23T05:24:35.893-04:00Dear Dr. Kaiser,
Your international graph suggest...Dear Dr. Kaiser,<br /><br />Your international graph suggests that there remain only two bits of earthly ground still at risk of being captured and held: South Korea and Israel. Given that these two targets are also ridiculously well defended, humanity seems for the first time to be effectively free of the threat of old-school wars of conquest. <br /><br />But standing armies persist, and there is a pattern in their persistence. The US army is a lever presidents use to present an illusion of control and strength vis à vis political rivals. The Israeli army is a means to control collective thought by mandatory indoctrination. The Chinese army enforces the state’s putative control of reproductive competition. The Russian army’s primary responsibility is to control access to its nuclear materials. In recent months, the Libyan, Syrian, and Saudi armies moved to control fractious citizens, and the Egyptian army rose to control its own commander in chief.<br /><br />This pattern requires a new model of understanding. Graham Allison’s I) Rational Actor, II) Organizational Behavior, and III) Political Bargaining models do not explain it. The fourth model—significant because it comprises completely irrational behavior—could be called IV) Illusions of Control.<br /><br />Control is an attempt to compel conformance. But control is an illusion, because conformance is always a choice. If one conforms under duress there is no control, only a temporary choice based on self-interest. If one chooses not to conform, he/she chooses to rebel. Again and obviously, there is no control. So at best, efforts to control delay rebellions; at worst, they incite them. <br /><br />The crucial awakening for humanity will come when we collectively abandon control as a political strategy. Since no leader has never made or even understood this choice before, history and reason will not point the way to our brightest future. While the wisdom required for such a change is in short supply among elites, it manifests itself daily in the increasingly public dialogues of ordinary people everywhere. They have declared war on illusions of control, and no standing force will be sufficient to suppress their will indefinitely.<br /><br />With respect and affection,<br />Jude HammerleJude Hammerlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00765872893740924266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-34173940597646282582011-05-23T04:02:53.814-04:002011-05-23T04:02:53.814-04:00Terrific post, thank you!Terrific post, thank you!Bob Hallahannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-88090781764452970482011-05-22T14:46:31.653-04:002011-05-22T14:46:31.653-04:00Great post!
Welcome to the Hollow Years.
Your ...Great post!<br /><br />Welcome to the Hollow Years. <br /><br />Your post defines the cause and nature of the "Crisis" we are in. The truth is that both the Right and the Left as they currently exist are intellectually and morally bankrupt, and there is nobody in the current elite strong enough to fill the vacuum. The nation faces a total lack of legitimacy in its creative minority.<br /><br />Nature abhors a vacuum. And any old thing (or person) can rush in to fill this vacuum. Beware!<br /><br />Wisdom takes time to build (or restore). To me, it seems like the only thing that can heal this is time, and the rise of new generations, as the ideas of Late Modernity burn themselves out.<br /><br />A long Crisis lies ahead of us, I fear.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8746692.post-82591377961449003832011-05-22T11:49:59.164-04:002011-05-22T11:49:59.164-04:00Professor:
Great stuff!
Many thanks,
GMProfessor:<br /><br />Great stuff!<br /><br />Many thanks,<br />GMBozonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18078858723231122013noreply@blogger.com