Attention Economy


Sunday, December 22, 2024

[Highly Recommended] Neo-Authoritarianism

The Father of Chinese Authoritarianism Has a Message for America: Xiao Gongqin thought that, in moments of flux, a strongman could build a bridge to democracy. Now he’s not so sure.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-weekend-essay/the-father-of-chinese-authoritarianism-has-a-message-for-america
Chang Che:
Perhaps one reason why authoritarianism has returned to America is that the country’s fundamental political questions are beginning to resemble those of the East. For most of American history, politics revolved around how to limit government. But, in the Communist world, the question was often about how to rebuild it—and save it from bad actors. The stakes felt higher. There are many probable causes of our eastward drift: the failures of globalization, the betrayals of technological progress, cultural anomie, the provocateurs who profit from the sense that the world is about to burn. Whatever the origin, America’s inner conflict now feels comparable to the pivotal decade when Xiao and his liberal adversaries fought over China’s future. 

The great capitulation’: why key US figures are seeking Trump’s favor
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/22/key-leaders-seeking-trump-approval
People from tech executives to foreign leaders and even some mainstream media figures are ‘acquiescing in advance’, experts say, because of greed and fear