All the cool kids in my circle of the Internet are into it, but I’m *not* a state capacity libertarian. Seems too close to “tyranny is fine so long as it’s Effective and Competent.” It’s like people are applying for jobs with tinpot dictators or something.
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Replying to @s_r_constantin
Hunh? "State capacity" just means competent governance supportive of economic development. Hong Kong under the British, for example, had high state capacity. Seems a bit of stretch to equate that with "tyranny."
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Replying to @StephenPiment @s_r_constantin
Unless you're taking a hard libertarian line that all government beyond a bare minimum equals tyranny. Which, OK, but that's not what most people (even libertarians) mean by "tyranny."
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Replying to @StephenPiment
So I am pretty hard line, but like, there’s a certain kind of China stanning and gunning for gov’t positions that’s the subtext here. “I just want more competent institutions [run by me]. Don’t worry, I won’t raise *ethical* qualms. I’m just about value-neutral competence.”
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Replying to @s_r_constantin
I sympathize enough with Tyler Cowen’s perspective that I feel motivated to respond, although I can speak only for myself. On China: I certainly don’t stan for the CCP or any communist party. I’m about as anti-communist as they come.
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Replying to @StephenPiment @s_r_constantin
But I am a bit of a Sinophile on a cultural level. More importantly, I think we should unemotionally look at what China is doing well (e.g., in science and tech) along with the horrible things.
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Replying to @StephenPiment
I don’t know enough to have an informed opinion. What examples are you thinking of?
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Replying to @s_r_constantin
For fine-grained takes on Chinese tech, Connie Chan of a16z is excellent. Here are a few of her blog posts: https://a16z.com/2020/01/24/tech-and-chinese-new-year/ … https://a16z.com/2016/02/16/mindsets-for-thinking-about-innovation-in-and-competition-from-china/ …https://a16z.com/2019/09/06/china-is-cashing-in-on-group-chats/ …
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Replying to @StephenPiment @s_r_constantin
For a broader, more socially focused overview, this article from Palladium is good. It's more unilateral than I'd like –– I'd be far more critical of the CCP –– but it does show why we should actually look at what's going on.https://palladiummag.com/2019/10/11/the-american-dream-is-alive-in-china/ …
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Ah, I know that level of overview. I don’t have an assessment I can trust of where China is doing better and worse than the US or Europe in science & tech.
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