I’m fascinated by a similar drift in the perception of “President” in political sense between Obama and Trump. Middle layer (gerrymandered Congress plus civil service) took away so much authority that the President had to flail with executive orders.
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The last 15 years demonstrate steadily weakening Presidential authority. Authority draining away first to Congress and federal reserve, then to federal civil service, now to states/cities. The judiciary has held steady I think (with high authority).
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Besides executive orders, I think they responded mainly by trying to dismantle and privatize the parts of the machinery they couldn’t control, with the machine alternately fighting or colluding with them. At the same time ceremonial perception of Presidency increased.
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The rise of acronym “POTUS” I think reflects an attempt to refactor the role the way “CEO” did in corporate world. Except I don’t think it’s working. Reagan deregulated industry allowing CEOs to reassert authority over “Organization man” machine. Who will deregulate the state?
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Covid19 has been really clarifying in one sense. Previously I was mapping business leadership (CEO class) to medieval nobility and dismissing actual government nobility — governors and mayors — as irrelevent figureheads. Turns out I was wrong. They are still the actual nobility.
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Modern business class is no more free of political and theological control than medieval. MNCs are no more free than “free cities” of Middle Ages. Political world can reassert control at any time it chooses. The role of the theological institutions is played by the court system.
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Only thing that’s been changing is the level from which political control is exercised. Now governors and mayors tell F100 CEOs what to do. The business class is still subservient to the political class, on,y at a different level.
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The business world has not bought control of the political world through political campaign contributions. It has only bought specific indulgences — tax breaks, friendly regulations — that can be taken away easily. Politics is Bane.
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The frustrated wishful dreaming of libertarians and neoreactionaries for “CEO monarch” type political authority tells you nothing like that actually exists yet. We’re seeing decades long reversion from imperial LBJ style presidency to Tamany Hall style city machines.
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But while we won’t have a CEO-President, “POTUS” will continue to grow increasingly frustrated as cyberpunk regionalism grows. Afaict there is no move available comparable to Philip IV taking down the Templars (that took a surprise military attack followed by fake heresy trials)
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OTOH the states do have a “Magna Carta” move... a constitutional convention. Used to be a red state idea but I suspect there might now be a blue state motive now too. Watch this space. It’s either this or armed conflict to resolve growing disequilibrium.
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One possible black swan way out — some new locus of real agency accidentally falls within Presidential scope by default restoring the balance. Like aliens landing on White House lawn and refusing to talk to anyone else. Or of course declared war (an increasingly obsolete idea)
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Another would be simply reject existing Federal executive as unconstitutional and since Senate won't act, declare it null and void. Create state mandate that employers send federal income tax withholding to a state escrow until constitutional federal authority is restored.
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