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The difference between america and China, as authoritarian party-states, is that in America, you whine about it and make petty shots on political enemies, and in China, you use it to govern for a holistic civilizational strategy.
Americans have a lot of growing up to do.
Americans have a lot of growing up to do.
Growing up starts with a simple declaration: "I endorse the growing power of the party. We can do great things with it. I am excited about these new technologies of power. They can create a wiser, safer, and more ambitious society. Now let's just figure out how."
The future reality is bigger and better powers than we have ever seen or imagined. Americans have to quit it with the petty anti-authority posture, and start stretching our imaginations about what we can do with all this new power.
Power is dangerous. Its dysfunctions are painful. Ultimately, they stem from not caring enough, which stems from not having a compelling vision of what to do with it, which stems from trying to fight it.
Embrace reality, learn to use the tools it offers for great ends.
Embrace reality, learn to use the tools it offers for great ends.
Being honest about power, political order, and the messiness of rule must not be conflated with whining about it. If we can't honestly talk about the calculus of what we are doing, we can't do it well.
Behind closed doors, people are excited about building the tools of the new digitally-enabled super-state. They are excited about using them to solve problems.
But there is a reflectivity and governance vacuum. How are we to think of ourselves, now augmented by these new powers?
But there is a reflectivity and governance vacuum. How are we to think of ourselves, now augmented by these new powers?
Does getting excited about the future mean denying our problems? Hell no. America is in decline. Our elite discourses and incentive structure is dysfunctional. Most people are socially and economically immiserated. Let's fix this.
But it starts with positive imagination.
But it starts with positive imagination.
