* It appears that the US and the world-at-large is moving towards an era of inward-looking nationalism, protectionism, and a return to the Great Powers carving up of the world. Where does this go?
* My ability to empathize with the rise of the power of trollish dialog and rhetoric (see @elonmusk or @pmarca) and memes is fundamentally broken. What happened to Good Faith? Humility? Kindness?
* What happened to the rule of law? Or even the veneer of accountability at some level?
* What values do I pass on to the next generation? Those of having careful principles that you defend and practice or a cynical view of "getting what you can" because everyone's doing it at every level of society?
Do I lean into philosophy? Or history? Or something else - to make sense of a very different 2025 compared to what I was seeing, in the US, a mere 20 years ago.
James Scott will, by contrast, sound a bit more moderate. "Two Cheers for Anarchism" and "Seeing Like a State" are interesting (to me) texts.
But really, I'd suggest more direct volunteering. I am gonna go do the 10:30p-2:30a shift at my local warming shelter tonight. Food Not Bombs has a lot of jerks in it, but a lot of those same folks are really helping people who need help.
Doing that kind of direct work can teach you a lot, I think. More than reading, at least. You have to approach it as if you know little about the world, though.
I'm not sure what you thought you were seeing 20 years ago. In 2004, George W. Bush was reelected on a very nationalistic campaign, and the US had literally invaded two sovereign countries, Afghanistan and Iraq, during his first term.
What happened to the rule of law and accountability? Do you remember the "War on Terror"? Do you remember the Iran-Contra scandal? Do you remember the Pentagon Papers? Perhaps you ought to lean into history.
An excerpt: https://press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/511928.htm
> "The dictatorship, and the whole process of its coming into being, was above all diverting. It provided an excuse not to think for people who did not want to think anyway. I do not speak of your ‘little men,’ your baker and so on; I speak of my colleagues and myself, learned men, mind you. Most of us did not want to think about fundamental things and never had. There was no need to. Nazism gave us some dreadful, fundamental things to think about—we were decent people—and kept us so busy with continuous changes and ‘crises’ and so fascinated, yes, fascinated, by the machinations of the ‘national enemies,’ without and within, that we had no time to think about these dreadful things that were growing, little by little, all around us. Unconsciously, I suppose, we were grateful. Who wants to think?"
Background: https://www.marketplace.org/2024/11/14/incumbents-are-losing...
Second, the USA has some fundamental rot at its core that both parties have ignored for the last 30 to 50 years (housing, monopolies, health care, ports, etc). This is finally coming to a head as people have grown more and more dissatisfied with the status quo. This is going to result in a fair bit of political choppiness as the masses try to find someone who will fix their pain. Historically, these types of periods give rise to fascism, popularism, and other worries. Hopefully, that won't be the case with democracies, and peaceful transfers of power will stay the norm. Democracies must deliver results to their people or people will turn on them.
Third, you have this massive move to social media, podcasts, and influencers for news/truth. That is a bit terrifying, and there is no stopping it. You could say it is like the transition from newspaper to radio to TV, and it is going to produce similar carnage. It will be interesting to see how it shakes out. Will the government pass strict reforms (see what they did with TV to prohibit monopolies in TV ownership and equal airtime rules - both of which were upturned recently)? I agree with you that there is a lack of humility and kindness. I don't have any answers and feel equally frustrated. I think people are tired of slick answers that don't say anything, and for now, they are fine with raw outbursts because they are frustrated.
I've interviewed some historians, experts, and authors lately. Here is what they recommended on a few subjects that you are talking about:
https://shepherd.com/best-books/where-the-republican-party-m...
https://shepherd.com/best-books/saving-democracy-from-populi...
https://shepherd.com/best-books/radicalization-and-extremism
https://shepherd.com/best-books/talking-to-people-who-dont-a...
Two books I've read recently that I found illuminating are:
Savage Peace: Hope and Fear in America, 1919 by Ann Hagedorn
This was a fantastic day-by-day account of 1919 (right after WWI as the world tried to clean up). It really helped me see the chaos and politics of that year at a slower pace, and it makes the last 10 years feel a bit less crazy. Reading about the Spanish flu, bombs going off across the country, and everything else just reminded me that stuff is always crazy. You still have to fight it, but this isn't anything new.
M: Son of the Century by Antonio Scurati
This isn't an easy read. It is historical fiction about Mussolini's rise to power. It was an illuminating look at his rise to power, using historical records and some guesses. It shows what a bunch of clowns they were and what luck was involved in it happening.
Of the two, I'd lean into history, and go way back, like 50kya.
We need a new story to guide us, other than the time-tested authoritarianism/fascism, and I like a messy mix generally guided by "public luxury, private sufficiency."