Attention Economy


Saturday, October 23, 2021

Declining Institutional Quality and the Future of the West

Afghanistan shows the American dream of remaking the world is over
https://www.newstatesman.com/long-reads/2021/10/afghanistan-shows-the-american-dream-of-remaking-the-world-is-over
John Gray observes:
“… the liberal mode of government is decaying in the countries where it originated. The US in particular shows many of the signs of a state in disrepair. An American cultural revolution has transformed the country out of recognition. Police forces are being defunded, and some cities, such as Portland, are not far from becoming ungoverned spaces. A combination of ultra-progressive social policies and neoliberal capitalism is turning others, such as San Francisco, into drug-sodden shanty towns, but without the informal communities that preserve some semblance of order in developing countries. Superficially at odds, neoliberalism and the prevailing progressivism have a common root in the privileging of individual choice over other human values. Together, they erode the social bonds that individuals need in order to make meaningful decisions. The result is an acute form of anomie”.