Listening to @rauchway's "Why the New Deal Matters", I' once again struck by FDR's characterization of democracy not simply as a procedure for electing leaders, but as a deep and pervasive ideology that could and should define all aspects of society.
This is something I think we've lost, and need to regain: Democracy as a way of life, not just a process of elections. Democracy in social relations, democracy in business, democracy in culture.
FDR also believed that democracy was the only ideology that could stand up to fascism and make a better world. He was right. Communism, despite its battlefield victories in WW2, ended up looking much like fascism after a while. Democracy, in contrast, built a better world.
Roosevelt's vision of democracy ended up winning the 20th century. It wasn't a lack of ideology; it was the only 20th century ideology that successfully delivered on its promises.
We have forgotten the ideological power of democracy. But it's exactly what we need right now, to fight back against the darkness that's once again creeping over our world.
I will write more about this soon.
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We need research to tell us how the world really works. Suppressing results for ideological reasons doesn't just damage the credibility of the scientific process; it leaves us less capable of actually making the world better.
2/The first good thing about capital gains taxes -- as opposed to corporate taxes or payroll taxes or sales taxes -- is that you can make them very progressive, so they mostly tax high earners.
Biden wants to do exactly this.
3/The second good thing about capital gains taxes is that they won't throw the country back into recession.
Capital gains taxes are macroeconomically safer than most other kinds of taxes.
2/In the 1980s, as Japan threatened to overtake the U.S., many observers were wowed by the Japanese government's performance in directing the country's economy.
In 1989, Bill Emmott wrote a book pointing out some of that government's mistakes.
3/In fact, Japan's bureaucracy and industrial policy had never been infallible; the cracks in the model appeared decades before we started to notice it, and decades before they had real macro consequences.
I mean, what is the conservative plan for the future of our country? Moar tax cuts? Anti-trans legislation? Border wall and deportation sweeps?
Who gets up in the morning and is excited to fight for that?
Conservatism has a total lack of ideas and vision right now. In 1980 you knew the kind of country conservatives wanted to build -- Christianity, family values, tax cuts and deregulation, etc etc. Now what do they want to build? I don't even know.