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i dont really think there's a prerogative to pretend that the state of the country is fine so much as * a majority who see problems aren't able to meaningfully implement reforms, because * the specific reforms necessary are contested, * to the extent they exist at all https://t.co/RuRxfEpvlU
there's not a single giant Problem with the united states like there was with the ussr (the communist party). but we have a million small to medium problems standing in the way of any given useful reform is a massive army of lobbyists representing some vested interest or another
some of these are ngos, some of these are universities, some of these are bureaucracies defeating any one of these groups would be a mammoth undertaking with a low probability of success and those are just the easy cases!
you want to make the country solvent? better get ready to take on Big Old People (they vote religiously, lacking anything better to do) good luck overcoming the telegenic, popular Big Bloated Medical Professional Cartel (and watch what they're injecting at your next procedure)
this does not even begin to grapple with the fertility crisis, which famously seems to be totally impervious to policy levers; nor the decay of american asabiyyah do americans _like_ each other anymore? do they even like america? often they seem to barely tolerate themselves
these are not novel problems, historically speaking https://t.co/csKvLDygOI
while it's true that rome did manage to truck along, greatly changed--and even with some good years!--until the crisis of the third century, in a real way it was never again really a roman empire https://t.co/16pTkOljqi
Healthy young elite class goes to conquer, gets pumped with massive shot of wealth, doesn't feel good and changes - DECADENCE. Many such cases! https://t.co/NHPD4vLTm1
what were we talking about again https://t.co/xAuy7Wv7OE
i guess my point was that i don't see much pretending the country is "fine" instead people know things are a real hash but don't really have any levers to push to fix things which is probably why we're all bitching online as we build our little walled country villas fin