Thread by @ezraklein

I enjoyed this @VitalikButerin post on the Bulldozer vs. Vetocracy axis, but I think the problem is vetocracies are, by nature, complex and opaque, and people often don't even know the vetocracies shaping their lives. vitalik.eth.limo/general/2021/1…

Which is to say: This might be a good way of thinking about the problems of different societies, i.e., China's has bulldozer problems, America has vetocracy problems.

But I'm skeptical it's a good way of thinking about individual or even collective preferences.

Also: People's preference for veto points tend to change a lot with who's in power. I don't find that irrational or insincere, as some do, but it makes it harder to pinpoint an abstract preference in the area.

Last point here: Vetocracies are often the product of decay. A process that began for good reason is abandoned (or never taken up) by most agents, and left to special interests. California has lots of these: nytimes.com/2021/07/08/opi…

That said, Vitalik's ending note about how crypto structures are very vetocratic strikes me as important, and I suspect that will eventually come to cause more problems than people now think, but either way, it's a very important dynamic.