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Under appreciated point from @ThePlumLineGS

Recognition of the legitimacy of your political opposition is the cornerstone of liberal democracy.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
@ThePlumLineGS Adam Smith called it "sympathy." Early liberal thinker Pierre Bayle described it as perspective taking. Hegel talked about "recognition" of yourself in the other.

Without mutual recognition, power sharing devolves into domination or outright civil war.
niskanencenter.org/future-liberal…
@ThePlumLineGS The emphasis on *reason* is critical. There's nothing instinctual about agreeing to pass power on to leaders of the opposing tribe. This is why the liberal democratic equilibrium is fragile and requires external institutions.
@ThePlumLineGS It's also why the "democracy" part of liberal democracy cannot be neatly separated from the liberalism part...
@ThePlumLineGS I have a newsletter where I talk about this stuff in the context of domestic economic policy, for anyone interested: strugglingregions.com/newsletter

Here's the one I did on legitimacy crisis:
us9.campaign-archive.com/?u=276eacc7fc4…
@ThePlumLineGS The most recent letter discusses the concept of liberalism as a "durable political settlement" us9.campaign-archive.com/?u=276eacc7fc4…
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More from @hamandcheese see all

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Samuel Hammond 🌐🏛
@hamandcheese
"The worse the better" doesn't have an ideological valance. Zizek supported Trump, for example, because he believed it would reinvigorate the American left.

This essay makes a lot of questionable leaps, like a Glenn Beck chalkboard lecture on Obama, Marxism and Bill Ayers.
There is no doubt an accelerationist strain of the alt-right, that wants to embrace white nationalism to "accelerate" American racial tensions and spark some kind of race war or secessionist movement.

But that doesn't mean anyone who uses that term belongs to the same strain...
The cyber-punk / libertarian strain of accelerationism really is quite distinct.

It wants to "accelerate" the erosion of legacy institutions through technological agorism, eg. crypto-currency, Silk Road, smart contracts, p2p encrypted internet protocols, tax evasion, sea steads
Read 9 tweets
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Samuel Hammond 🌐🏛
@hamandcheese
Irreversibility arises from entropy, and states of low entropy can be either be stable or unstable.

An empire that enforces global order through credible deterrence and trust of allies is an unstable low-entropy system. One event, eg Suez Crisis, can cause irreversible decline.
Other kinds of systems are low entropy but stable, yet entropy is nonetheless always increasing. Such systems become increasingly disordered and dysfunctional, like our tax and regulatory codes, the accumulation of judicial precedent, the accretion of institutional "kludges" etc.
Stable low entropy systems can become high entropy without collapsing. They just reach some kind of disordered equilibrium, like cream mixed into coffee.

If they collapse, it's because there's a tipping point connected to an underlying unstable system, eg. public legitimacy.
Read 19 tweets
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Samuel Hammond 🌐🏛
@hamandcheese
I'm in the Fall issue of National Affairs with an essay on the China Shock and America's globalization-driven political realignment

Give'er a read: nationalaffairs.com/publications/d…
The US manufacturing sector suffered a severe trade shock following the passage of "permanent normal trade relations" with China in 2000, and their entry into the WTO in 2001.

I discussed the economic effects of the China Shock in depth here:
thebulwark.com/the-cost-of-tr…
In this new essay, I discuss the China Shock's political ramifications.

PNTR passed with strong support from Republican lawmakers. But today, many conservatives decry "neoliberalism" by name, as if they've dusted off their Chomsky Readers.

What's going on?
Read 31 tweets

Related threads

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Greg Sargent
@ThePlumLineGS
Trump's deranged rally stunt made a powerful case for reining in his warmaking authority. It wasn't just a string of insults. It was a clear statement that Trump views the opposition and any constraining role for Congress at all as illegitimate. New piece: washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
Trump called @RepAdamSchiff "you little pencil neck."

He railed that @SpeakerPelosi is "not operating with a full deck."

These aren't just insults. Respect for the opposition's legitimacy is a pillar of accountability in government, which he despises:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
@RepAdamSchiff @SpeakerPelosi The war powers measure that lawmakers are debating would reinvigorate the constitutional role of Congress in declaring war.

We *want* our elected Reps to debate and vote on war. That means more accountability to the people. Here's what's at stake:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
Read 3 tweets
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Greg Sargent
@ThePlumLineGS
The epic rant from Rep Jim Himes about the both-sidesing of the Ukraine scandal is a seminal moment.

The whole episode shows how Trump's propaganda works: The goal is to get disinformation treated respectfully.

That's what happened here.

New piece:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
We should focus on what Biden *actually did* in Ukraine.

In that context, all these diplomats have also testified to a bigger story, in which Trump's use of Ukraine as a pawn also aligns us with corrupt kleptocracy against western liberal democracy.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
In many ways, the Ukraine scandal is really all about *disinformation.*

That's why getting a *public* statement from Ukraine was so key.

And as Steve Bannon has candidly revealed, getting the MSM to launder disinformation is the whole ball game:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Read 3 tweets
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Karol Cummins
@karolcummins
💣RageTweets💣

Trump signals bad news coming out of New York in extended rant against state investigations re Trump Foundation

NYAG: Trump Foundation Will Dissolve, Accused of ‘Shocking Pattern of Illegality’

Or did he confuse Trump Foundation with Trump Org?

📌Incoming:
💣RageTweets2💣

New study shows RU propaganda may really have helped Trump

The study does not prove RU interference swung the election to Trump. But it did find Trump's poll #s improved when RU trolls were active.

Ivanka Tests Her Diplomatic Chops and Riles a Legion of Critics
💣RageTweets3💣

Trump’s Making the World Safer for Autocrats (TOC), Western Liberal Democracy, not so much.

Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan & Saudi’s MbS, basked in Trump's attention, humor and respect

TOC vs WLD

Ex-Judge Hit With $2.85M Suit Over Probation Power Grab
Read 78 tweets
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Karol Cummins
@karolcummins
‼️Yes, please👇🏼

@TheDemocrats @KamalaHarris @JoeBiden

Pentagon study:

Russia outgunning U.S. in race for global influence
A divided America is failing to counter Moscow's efforts to undermine democracy and cast doubt on U.S. alliances, says the report, which warns of a surge in 'political warfare.'
politico.com/story/2019/06/…
Read 8 tweets
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Karol Cummins
@karolcummins
🇺🇸Remember🇺🇸

Americans rank Barack Obama as best president of their lifetimes.🏆

Former DNI James Clapper makes it clear that Trump would not have won without Russia's help

Evidence ‘Staggering’ Trump Would Have Lost 2016 Election Without Russian Help, Clapper Writes In Book
🇺🇸Remember🇺🇸

“Power tends to corrupt & absolute power corrupts absolutely,”

Every abuse of power, when left unchecked, leads to a bigger abuse. The latest but far from final is the wholesale assault on democracy launched by Trump this past week, building on his prior assaults.
🇺🇸Remember3🇺🇸

Trump falls short on infrastructure after promising to build roads bridges & consensus

Trump’s Tweet Interaction Rates Have Plummeted Since He Took Office

Trump is now surrounded by lickspittles who will affirm, on command, that he is an ‘extremely stable genius’
Read 55 tweets
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Steven Schooner
@ProfSchooner
My sense is that @nancyleong is spot on, and one wonders if, despite her well-honed political instincts, @SpeakerPelosi may not fully appreciate this aspect of the public zeitgeist. Indeed, @justinamash is onto something....
/2 And it's not surprising that, days later, almost none of @justinamash's detractors addressed the substance of his detailed argument for impeachment. Nor have they challenged his assertion that most lawmakers haven't read the report. usatoday.com/story/opinion/…
/3 There's no good answer, and there's no happy ending. Which is why the process may be of particular importance. As one member quipped: When you’re dealing with a completely lawless administration, then at some point in time you’re going to have to act. wsj.com/articles/impea…
Read 45 tweets

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