Madison was correct that a dispersal of special interests over a large land mass could protect a republic from tyranny, but he failed to foresee that special interests are no longer restrained by mere distance and geography. They now exist in the cloud.
Read MoreThe meritocracy of China is a challenge to the popular democracy of the United States. For too many of us the restraints on democracy and the accountability of capitalism have become irrelevant philosophical constructs. Our democracy has descended into self-interested voters voting for both lower taxes and more spending, and our political fools are aware that reality is a useless campaign tool.
Read MoreWhen Mnuchin claims that the steel and aluminum tariffs will only add a few cents to a beer can or a few dollars to an auto he displays as much ignorance as Nancy Pelosi who contends that a raise of only $20 a week is crumbs. It is the classic broken window fallacy of Bastiat, the inability to understand and acknowledge what is unseen.
Read MoreToday’s populists are resentful of being called racist and intolerant while they watch intellectuals such as Charles Murray being physically attacked for speaking at an elite liberal arts college with an annual tuition price tag of $60,000 a year.
Read More“Liberalism is no longer about winning arguments. It’s about intimidating people into silence. Shutting people up. De-platforming them. Doing whatever it takes to make sure that only the liberal opinion is considered because liberalism can’t win in a fair fight of ideas. “
Read MoreIn Nassim Taleb’s new book Skin in the Game, he refers to the Lindy effect; that the best predictor of continuity is survival. This is why I general insist that any book on history, politics, sociology, or economics be at least 20 years old, preferably (but not absolutely required) still in print.
Read More“Like the chief of a military junto, he did not check backgrounds or discriminate against idiosyncrasies, he required only absolute loyalty. Hence he could accept the perpetual flux of his supporting coalitions and advising associates and extract the greatest benefit from them.”
Read MoreWhat DT is risking is not just some political points in the rust belt and trade promises. When this trade war ends like all the rest do, and the economy takes a hit- it will not be his stupid trade polices that are blamed, it will be his ‘stupid’ tax cuts.
Read More“We end up with a political discourse in which both sides are, at their broadest points, heavily invested in their insistence that there is no good-faith disagreement about policy — there is only the eternal conflict between the guys in the white hats and the guys in the black hats.”
Read MoreWhat threatens us is not the division of factions but the myth of unity, even within a single party. Unity does not rise, it is forced. The will of the people is what their demagogue tells them it is.
Read More“But these are stupid times, especially for Republicans, who in their pursuit of fleeting political advantage must pretend to be something other than what they are and pretend that Trump is something other than what he is. “
Read MoreTreasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has expressed approval for a weaker dollar. Trump is promising higher tariffs. These moves threaten to undo the benefits of his work on tax cuts and regulations.
Read More“When the moral equivalent of World War II is not available, then the next best thing is the moral equivalent of Hitler. “
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