The problem is that the adhd of the masses and their ignorance aren't orthogonal. If the masses could focus for more than a couple of 24-hour news cycles, they'd shed much of their ignorance and support at least the most obviously advantageous policies - AND hold politician accountable for enacting them. Things would improve drastically, and pundits would be reduced to arguing about things for which there aren't clear and obvious answers.
Makes a libertarian think about voting for Ritalin in the water supply...
I agree with the main thesis but disagree that it is always the case. There is a cycle to protectionism and populist policies. If you are anti-populist the cycle is going against you now. The difference is that now more elites agree with protectionism. You can engage in all the David Ricardo you want but China has destabilized the free trade coalition. It is so big and its economic distortions are so large that it has created the populist response in the US and the West in general. The US was able to absorb other protectionist regimes like Japan, SK, Germany, and did force the Plaza Accord adjustments when things got too out of hand.
Of course, this will be terrible for China in the long run but to paraphrase, the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent. We can’t stand by and watch every last industrial sector get gutted by misallocation of capital from China so the response will continue. The cycle will continue until there’s a some crisis in China or until we’ve separated the world into trading blocks. My bet is on the later. We’ll all be poorer for it but China will be much poorer than the US. The risks to allowing China to continue its current course are too large on the national security front so even if we;d be richer with the status quo and waiting them out, the political pressure will be too intense.
While on the topic of revisiting posts from previous presidential election years, what’s your policy on social media this year? Have you quit social media in the same way you did in previous cycles? Have I missed such an announcement this year? Also, with the benefit of hindsight did quitting social media in the previous cycles help/work? Thanks!
The problem is that the adhd of the masses and their ignorance aren't orthogonal. If the masses could focus for more than a couple of 24-hour news cycles, they'd shed much of their ignorance and support at least the most obviously advantageous policies - AND hold politician accountable for enacting them. Things would improve drastically, and pundits would be reduced to arguing about things for which there aren't clear and obvious answers.
Makes a libertarian think about voting for Ritalin in the water supply...
Is ADHD a valid construct?
_Attention-Deficit Democracy_ by James Bovard 2005.
A whole book about this.
I agree with the main thesis but disagree that it is always the case. There is a cycle to protectionism and populist policies. If you are anti-populist the cycle is going against you now. The difference is that now more elites agree with protectionism. You can engage in all the David Ricardo you want but China has destabilized the free trade coalition. It is so big and its economic distortions are so large that it has created the populist response in the US and the West in general. The US was able to absorb other protectionist regimes like Japan, SK, Germany, and did force the Plaza Accord adjustments when things got too out of hand.
Of course, this will be terrible for China in the long run but to paraphrase, the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent. We can’t stand by and watch every last industrial sector get gutted by misallocation of capital from China so the response will continue. The cycle will continue until there’s a some crisis in China or until we’ve separated the world into trading blocks. My bet is on the later. We’ll all be poorer for it but China will be much poorer than the US. The risks to allowing China to continue its current course are too large on the national security front so even if we;d be richer with the status quo and waiting them out, the political pressure will be too intense.
While on the topic of revisiting posts from previous presidential election years, what’s your policy on social media this year? Have you quit social media in the same way you did in previous cycles? Have I missed such an announcement this year? Also, with the benefit of hindsight did quitting social media in the previous cycles help/work? Thanks!