18. I *know* the other perspective that this is wrecking traditional cultures. I see that other perspective *constantly.* I'm conflicted about it; it still causes me pain. I'm just laying out that there's something lovely about Western-universalist liberalism.
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19. But, ok, the international order is crumbling. Do I like what's filling the vacuum? I do not. Is Putin's Russia a nice place to live? Xi's China? Orban's Hungary? Modi's India? aaaaaa. I'm not sure what to think exactly but I think "aaaaaa" is justified.
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20. The "other team" -- team "listen to the experts", team CDC, team WHO -- yes, they have totally flunked the COVID-19 test. They are sclerotic and authoritarian-submissive and they are totally clueless. Two sides of a global conflict can both be bad.
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21. If someone asks you "who do you like better, Hitler or Stalin?" the right answer is "neither, asshole."
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22. Just because nationalists are agentic doesn't mean you want to be on their team. Pay attention, sometimes they have a point, but *real life is not a multiple choice test.* You don't have to say "ok these are the coalitional options, I'll pick one of the above."
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23. This whole "we need a new elite" thing -- hm. yes and no. "Be skeptical of the old institutional elite" -- yes, 100%, they get things wrong, and quite a few people who aren't part of it get things right. But anoint a new elite? Hm. Lots to think about there.
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24. Who's to anoint this new elite? Not the old elite, that's for sure. Is it a different existing power bloc? A lot of the most easily visible ones are...very. very. bad. news. very bad news *particularly* for Jews, if not now, then eventually. And as I said, I *like* living.
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25. Now if you want good ideas to be put into practice, obviously the idea guys need to sync up with some money and power guys. (Or be ideas-and-money-and-power guys all at once.)
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26. I don't know who all the right alliances are. I'm not high enough on the totem pole to have a good view of the landscape. Willing to be humble about that.
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27. Wholeheartedly agree that if you see someone who's doing an awesome job at response to COVID-19 that's a strong signal of a potential ally. It's a very clear example where humanitarian benefit and practical competence intersect.
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28. The heuristic that seems underrated to me is to remember to build alliances sideways and down, not just up. The good news about contrarian insights is that often they mean effective action is cheaper than the mainstream narrative says. What can you do without being anointed?
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29. Also, there are individuals, not just coalitions/blocs. There may be no pre-existing bloc aligned with what you want; but there may be individuals each aligned with a part or all of it. (And new blocs can be built. Real life is not multiple choice.)
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30. This isn't a politics poem but it's kind of a propos. Taught me to appreciate what Freud gave the world.https://poets.org/poem/memory-sigmund-freud …
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