At a time of populist ascendance, his theme is bracingly countercultural.
I suggested that the editors that we might want to allude to the Bernie Sanders phenomenon as making the book particularly timely, but they demurred.
In the end, I find providing checks on the voters to be the wrong solution to the wrong problem. Once you get lots of Fear Of Others’ Liberty, the FOOLs are all rooting for the exercise of government authority. I doesn’t matter whether you label it “the will of the people,” “technocratic independence,” or “state capacity,” the bottle is still filled with poison.
But Nothing, why does Something still permit
That sacred monarchs should at council sit
With persons highly thought at best for nothing fit,
While weighty Something modestly abstains
From princes’ coffers, and from statemen’s brains,
And Nothing there like stately Nothing reigns?
– John Wilmont, 2nd earl Rochester
I would prefer the Hanson-Taleb version, “10% more skin in the game”.
Arnold:
What concerns is me is the balance between regulatory processes and market processes.
What concerns ME is that the colleges, where “technocrats” as academics, with certificates and tests and accreditation, are hotbeds of intolerance and injustice. As far as I can see, nowhere without a small-gov’t “philosopher king” / benign dictator has created any technocratic gov’t that produces better results for poor people than current USA.
I, too, want changes — but it’s important to measure what is already there vs the realistic other big country alternatives: China, India; Indonesia, Pakistan, Brazil, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Russia, Mexico.
https://internetworldstats.com/stats8.htm
(Actually very few with over 100 million citizens, adding only Japan, Philippines & Egypt tho it is rising, with Ethiopia and Vietnam soon to cross the 100 million mark)
In ALL of those countries, lots more want to leave for the USA rather than the reverse.
“Skin in the geographic game – where to live”.
The FOOLS get support from those who envy the successful, the same kind of group of identity politics folks who have done all the genocides for the last 11 decades.
I suggested that the editors that we might want to allude to the Bernie Sanders phenomenon as making the book particularly timely, but they demurred.
Haven’t you got the memo…Hunter Biden is back to being Public Enemy #1 and whatever happened after Biden’s HUGE victory in South Carolina, it is clear Biden is leading the Primary at this point. The D Primary is not over yet, but Sanders is not gaining California mail-in ballots so this chances fall daily and Biden is leading in biggest states.
And the coming Florida Sanders Massacre is March 17th which is likely a Biden victory by 40 – 55%.