Tim, one thing about our system that worries me, is it not dependent on those contesting elections, and those in Gov following the conventions, could it not all fall apart if we had participants that chose to ignore them?
What bugs me most about the outcome is the delusion of those who voted for Trump, people running around chanting “Jesus, Jesus….”, “God save America” and all this sort of crud. I don’t know why I’m evening saying this, it’s not news to me and is just further confirmation of the past 40 yrs that most religious Americans are hypocrites.
Btw, is there such a beast as a humble politician?
There probably are humble politicians but the system beats it out of them. This is why we have to extend governance and deliberation outside parliaments and parties and bureaucracies and involve people in communities. People go on about the "elites" in the "leafy suburbs" and dismiss the "teals" as privileged, and in some ways they are, but having seen those community meetings, you can't help but be struck by the humility and engagement and the desire to get good things done. That's what democracy is about.
I genuinely believe in our wonderful Independants and Greens as having had enough intelligence to be aware that our two parties have become massive Egos and will do anything to squash those who threaten their old boys framework .Those in Australia who feel like victims (maybe are!) have alternate representatives who predictably siphon their votes to the bigger parties unless the MJ party gets enough votes to hand the Greens .We have seen LNP join with Labor to ensure that a Greens MP was ousted in Queensland and Labor pursued Greens policies and gained more votes rather than allow Greens to help the environment which they claimed was their mission ….before election ….remember 🤷🏾♀️. Mining companies are demonstrating clearly that shares and profit are their concern so ..Up to us guys to get out
Thanks Tim. I wish I could share your optimism. The question of whether Trumpism will fail, or not, no longer seems relevant. In ability to form and grow a movement, Trump has no peer. Certainly there's nothing on the left that looks anywhere near as coherent (!) as MAGA. Trump has been an outstanding figurehead for the MAGA movement to gain office. But for the billionaires standing just off-stage (except for Musk, who can't help himself), the main man now is Vance. He's the "Trump but smarter" VP who's wired into the hyper-connected global far right. He's to be the spearhead of Project 2025 that will flood the US public service with loyal foot soldiers ready to deliver on massive deregulation, paving the way for rampant, savage capitalism operating entirely without boundaries. The self-imagined AI super boys - Thiel, Musk, Altman, the Amodeis, Karp, et al - will run rampant, taking us to their brave new singularity. My bet is that Trump will be out of office long before the next presidential election in 2028. By then, Vance will have invoked section 4 of the 25th Amendment and had Trump removed for (already obvious) incapacity and installed himself as president, at which point US democracy dies at the hands of Musk, Thiel, Bezos et al. I know it's a complex task to get rid of a sitting president, with 2/3 of Congress having to approve if the president objects. But there'll be ways of handling Trump. Hundreds of millions of dollars - if not billions - are being spent on achieving a vision of the US as an oligarchs’ paradise. We are seeing the machinery in motion.
I am scared to believe what has happened is real and planned years ago Do these creatures really believe that their ivory towers can withstand what Mother Nature has in store for us .
I can only look to our own system and force Labor to unite with Greens and refuse to build more coal and gas plants .Ozymandias is my slogan from now on 😢
I don't think Trump will be replaced under the 25th amendment, the MAGA crowd would go berserk. He will die peacefully in his bed in six months, having signed an order to deport all immigrants. His doctor will certify that he died of natural causes - exhaustion, from serving his country. There will be a Lenin-style mausoleum built, and work will start at Mount Rushmore.
I also think you are absolutely right that our focus should be on Vance and his cohort. They will use Trump as long as he is useful, but it is that succession that should worry us.
Just watched a comedian illustrating the sad state of America after Nov 5th. On Nov 6th ..He stops different young people and asks them if they plan to vote today 🤷🏾♀️. Answers differed but same Ah yes ! Where will you be voting ? Oh blah blah ….oh I dunno yet She’s nice ….How will it affect you ? Uh dunno really ..
Banning books has worked well and dumbing down is what Hitler did well.feed them junk food cheaper than fresh foods and brain capacity ensures that many never voted because they weren’t even aware and presumably many who were aware were angry and voted against government ..We thought that Americans could think clearly but we have to be careful here in Australia too Imagine Dutton in charge with his concept of a plan like Abbott had just say NO .😩
Apathy is now our biggest threat .Our elections at least involve multiple parties but now that in a time of existentialism I’m afraid that the majority have shrunk into survival mode .Me and mine are now our concern and a threat as huge as global collapse now has everyone running for cover .What can we do against the billionaires who now are in control …I know …..WEEP 😢😩🤯
"The contingency and uncertainty that Keane says are embodied in the democratic ideal need to be managed in the interests of the many not the few. The failure of the American political class to do that is why a majority have opted for the false certainty of Trump’s authoritarianism. They lost faith in their political class to govern in their interests and have thus looked elsewhere."
Tim, a quick look at the voting numbers ( 2020 Trump 74 Million; Biden 81 Million: 2024 Trump 72 million; Harris 68 million.) shows that rather than looking elsewhere, over 15 million voters were unwilling to vote for Trump and refused to reward Harris who offered no change from Biden's administration.
The blurb on Keane's book romances about a world being shaped by democracy, growing more worldly with American-style liberal democracy giving way to regional varieties.
Surely the current American electoral system is more accurately described as an oligopoly rather than a liberal democracy. Billionaires in finance, Big Pharma, The Military Industrial Complex, Oil and Natural Gas, along with wealthy lobbyists purchase access and fund campaigns. Careerist politicians must always be prepared to pay the piper, else seek other employment at the next election.
You write, "let’s not kid ourselves that “the left” is losing because of identity politics" and "we need to recognise that identity is inseparable from class as a driver of political commitment." While I agree that identity is a driver of political commitment, I think it's obvious that identity politics splinters the left and has replaced the class struggle.
My wife and I spent a week in south-west Florida just a year ago - with kinfolk connections themselves out of the southern Caribbean. We were advised that what we spoke of inside the house and inside the car went beyond neither. I had with me a list of some of the books pulled from library shelves in Florida under the de Santis regime - including Mem Fox, Kurt Vonnegut (yes, Slaughter-House Five) and a friend, Lensey Namioka, whose children's books dealt with being Chinese in the US - among many other names whose books I had read and in some cases taught in schools. And everywhere - Trump images... While life can be lived not speaking of politics - it is a pale thing. And how wonderful to see the Gina alongside Nigel. I guess that was not a front-page photo in The Australian or the AFR? Five years ago at a first rate restaurant in Romania's capital the owner/chef told me ho once worked as a private chef for the richest woman in Australia. Did you have to sign a non-disclosure agreement, I asked. He laughed. She really loves her food, he said. (You can tell in the photo above in your article.) These are definitely interesting times, Tim. I agree with the idea of a truce between the centrist/slightly left parties and though I don't know the reasons why Albanese should go - to which you refer - he is not the man for the job of PM. JK
I like the point about wasting capital on lower order issues like the online age verification boondoggle. Likewise there was great fanfare yesterday when the anti-modern-slavery commissioner (an ex-ALP MHR) was announced. Irrelevant to the vast majority and probably comes with the 6 figure salary The media play these things up and it makes the government look out of touch.
More frequent and profound displays of sympathy for the 'battlers' (or self-centred, greedy Aussies as I think of them) are what's required. Yes, it's BS but this is politics, consumer demand appears to be very healthy despite constant bleating about doing it tough but we don't want the poor dears to feel that they aren't cared for.
Tim, one thing about our system that worries me, is it not dependent on those contesting elections, and those in Gov following the conventions, could it not all fall apart if we had participants that chose to ignore them?
What bugs me most about the outcome is the delusion of those who voted for Trump, people running around chanting “Jesus, Jesus….”, “God save America” and all this sort of crud. I don’t know why I’m evening saying this, it’s not news to me and is just further confirmation of the past 40 yrs that most religious Americans are hypocrites.
Btw, is there such a beast as a humble politician?
There probably are humble politicians but the system beats it out of them. This is why we have to extend governance and deliberation outside parliaments and parties and bureaucracies and involve people in communities. People go on about the "elites" in the "leafy suburbs" and dismiss the "teals" as privileged, and in some ways they are, but having seen those community meetings, you can't help but be struck by the humility and engagement and the desire to get good things done. That's what democracy is about.
I genuinely believe in our wonderful Independants and Greens as having had enough intelligence to be aware that our two parties have become massive Egos and will do anything to squash those who threaten their old boys framework .Those in Australia who feel like victims (maybe are!) have alternate representatives who predictably siphon their votes to the bigger parties unless the MJ party gets enough votes to hand the Greens .We have seen LNP join with Labor to ensure that a Greens MP was ousted in Queensland and Labor pursued Greens policies and gained more votes rather than allow Greens to help the environment which they claimed was their mission ….before election ….remember 🤷🏾♀️. Mining companies are demonstrating clearly that shares and profit are their concern so ..Up to us guys to get out
We have to build structures that get more such people into power. An inside/outside approach. Build power and build communities.
Thanks Tim. I wish I could share your optimism. The question of whether Trumpism will fail, or not, no longer seems relevant. In ability to form and grow a movement, Trump has no peer. Certainly there's nothing on the left that looks anywhere near as coherent (!) as MAGA. Trump has been an outstanding figurehead for the MAGA movement to gain office. But for the billionaires standing just off-stage (except for Musk, who can't help himself), the main man now is Vance. He's the "Trump but smarter" VP who's wired into the hyper-connected global far right. He's to be the spearhead of Project 2025 that will flood the US public service with loyal foot soldiers ready to deliver on massive deregulation, paving the way for rampant, savage capitalism operating entirely without boundaries. The self-imagined AI super boys - Thiel, Musk, Altman, the Amodeis, Karp, et al - will run rampant, taking us to their brave new singularity. My bet is that Trump will be out of office long before the next presidential election in 2028. By then, Vance will have invoked section 4 of the 25th Amendment and had Trump removed for (already obvious) incapacity and installed himself as president, at which point US democracy dies at the hands of Musk, Thiel, Bezos et al. I know it's a complex task to get rid of a sitting president, with 2/3 of Congress having to approve if the president objects. But there'll be ways of handling Trump. Hundreds of millions of dollars - if not billions - are being spent on achieving a vision of the US as an oligarchs’ paradise. We are seeing the machinery in motion.
I am scared to believe what has happened is real and planned years ago Do these creatures really believe that their ivory towers can withstand what Mother Nature has in store for us .
I can only look to our own system and force Labor to unite with Greens and refuse to build more coal and gas plants .Ozymandias is my slogan from now on 😢
I don't think Trump will be replaced under the 25th amendment, the MAGA crowd would go berserk. He will die peacefully in his bed in six months, having signed an order to deport all immigrants. His doctor will certify that he died of natural causes - exhaustion, from serving his country. There will be a Lenin-style mausoleum built, and work will start at Mount Rushmore.
He is one of the things that will pass, true...
Smiling - but with some kind of hope and horror!
It's not really about optimism--I know I sort of said it was. It's about engagement and building communities as a sort of reflex, not as an act of hope. It isn't about hope either, as this piece I commissioned a while back argues: https://tdunlop.substack.com/p/activism-after-hope?utm_source=publication-search
I also think you are absolutely right that our focus should be on Vance and his cohort. They will use Trump as long as he is useful, but it is that succession that should worry us.
Just watched a comedian illustrating the sad state of America after Nov 5th. On Nov 6th ..He stops different young people and asks them if they plan to vote today 🤷🏾♀️. Answers differed but same Ah yes ! Where will you be voting ? Oh blah blah ….oh I dunno yet She’s nice ….How will it affect you ? Uh dunno really ..
Banning books has worked well and dumbing down is what Hitler did well.feed them junk food cheaper than fresh foods and brain capacity ensures that many never voted because they weren’t even aware and presumably many who were aware were angry and voted against government ..We thought that Americans could think clearly but we have to be careful here in Australia too Imagine Dutton in charge with his concept of a plan like Abbott had just say NO .😩
Apathy is now our biggest threat .Our elections at least involve multiple parties but now that in a time of existentialism I’m afraid that the majority have shrunk into survival mode .Me and mine are now our concern and a threat as huge as global collapse now has everyone running for cover .What can we do against the billionaires who now are in control …I know …..WEEP 😢😩🤯
"The contingency and uncertainty that Keane says are embodied in the democratic ideal need to be managed in the interests of the many not the few. The failure of the American political class to do that is why a majority have opted for the false certainty of Trump’s authoritarianism. They lost faith in their political class to govern in their interests and have thus looked elsewhere."
Tim, a quick look at the voting numbers ( 2020 Trump 74 Million; Biden 81 Million: 2024 Trump 72 million; Harris 68 million.) shows that rather than looking elsewhere, over 15 million voters were unwilling to vote for Trump and refused to reward Harris who offered no change from Biden's administration.
The blurb on Keane's book romances about a world being shaped by democracy, growing more worldly with American-style liberal democracy giving way to regional varieties.
Surely the current American electoral system is more accurately described as an oligopoly rather than a liberal democracy. Billionaires in finance, Big Pharma, The Military Industrial Complex, Oil and Natural Gas, along with wealthy lobbyists purchase access and fund campaigns. Careerist politicians must always be prepared to pay the piper, else seek other employment at the next election.
You write, "let’s not kid ourselves that “the left” is losing because of identity politics" and "we need to recognise that identity is inseparable from class as a driver of political commitment." While I agree that identity is a driver of political commitment, I think it's obvious that identity politics splinters the left and has replaced the class struggle.
For a well documented read on the history of identity politics have a read of "The Use of Identity Politics to Undermine the Left" https://www.revolutionarydemocracy.org/rdnsv2n1/IDpol.html
No argument from me about the failings of US democracy: they were baked in from the start.
I will argue about the role of identity in contemporary politics and say we can't just rely on traditional notions of class politics. If people don't necessarily vote what the left perceives as their class interests--and they don't necessarily--are we meant to ignore that? I'm pretty much on board with what James Livingston says here: https://archive.md/20240622025647/https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/explaining-and-defending-identity-politics-by-james-livingston-2024-06
My wife and I spent a week in south-west Florida just a year ago - with kinfolk connections themselves out of the southern Caribbean. We were advised that what we spoke of inside the house and inside the car went beyond neither. I had with me a list of some of the books pulled from library shelves in Florida under the de Santis regime - including Mem Fox, Kurt Vonnegut (yes, Slaughter-House Five) and a friend, Lensey Namioka, whose children's books dealt with being Chinese in the US - among many other names whose books I had read and in some cases taught in schools. And everywhere - Trump images... While life can be lived not speaking of politics - it is a pale thing. And how wonderful to see the Gina alongside Nigel. I guess that was not a front-page photo in The Australian or the AFR? Five years ago at a first rate restaurant in Romania's capital the owner/chef told me ho once worked as a private chef for the richest woman in Australia. Did you have to sign a non-disclosure agreement, I asked. He laughed. She really loves her food, he said. (You can tell in the photo above in your article.) These are definitely interesting times, Tim. I agree with the idea of a truce between the centrist/slightly left parties and though I don't know the reasons why Albanese should go - to which you refer - he is not the man for the job of PM. JK
I would love to chat with Gina's former cook, Jim!
I like the point about wasting capital on lower order issues like the online age verification boondoggle. Likewise there was great fanfare yesterday when the anti-modern-slavery commissioner (an ex-ALP MHR) was announced. Irrelevant to the vast majority and probably comes with the 6 figure salary The media play these things up and it makes the government look out of touch.
More frequent and profound displays of sympathy for the 'battlers' (or self-centred, greedy Aussies as I think of them) are what's required. Yes, it's BS but this is politics, consumer demand appears to be very healthy despite constant bleating about doing it tough but we don't want the poor dears to feel that they aren't cared for.
We can still get reform, just more quietly.