Join the Kleptocracy
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
- Since the earliest days of the republic, America’s international friendships have shaped domestic politics. And some of those friendships helped America strengthen its democratic principles. So what happens if America’s new friends are autocrats? John Bolton, former national security adviser for President Donald Trump, and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island argue that if America no longer leads the democratic world and instead imports secrecy and kleptocracy from the autocratic world, American citizens will feel even more powerless, apathetic, disengaged, and cynical.
This is the fourth episode of Autocracy in America, a five-part series about authoritarian tactics already at work in the United States and where to look for them (www.theatlantic...) .
Autocracy in America is produced by The Atlantic and made possible with support from the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University (www.snfagora.jh...) , an academic and public forum dedicated to strengthening global democracy through powerful civic engagement and informed, inclusive dialogue.
Music by Jerry Lacey (“The Lotus Tree”), J. F. Gloss (“Mysterious Figures”), Howard Harper-Barnes (“Mysterious Forest”), Medité (“Air Talking”), T. Morri (“Skip & Rewind”), Luella Gren (“Sleep Forever”), ELFL (“The Flux Beneath It All”), Yinon Muallem “(Oudstock”), and Rob Smierciak (“Mystery March”).
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This is the BEST explanation of what I see going on in our country. I am a 60 yo who spent my entire life in and around government and public policy.
I am a liberal. The US in the past has been far too militaristic. We are the most aggressive country in the world, since WW2 we have attacked around 24 countries and invaded 7. We have propped up dictators to insure profits for oil companies. The Republican party has been the main instigator of foreign intervention. This is the source of the isolationist feeling among Republicans; for 50 years they have been lied to about the need for military aggression, by their own political party. ------ But this does not mean we should make the opposite mistake, abruptly abandoning our allies, unilaterally abrogating treaties countries depend on, leaving Europe open to attack. This is a sure route to World War 3.
I fear that the next world war will be the end of humanity.
It’s difficult to know what “ liberal” means these days. It seems like the word describes “ neoliberalism “, which is the opposite of what liberalism was in the 1960’s.
For myself, my adjective is “ progressive “. Even this term is watered down, given the political landscape as it has moved ever to the right in the past 40 years.
What liberals and progressives are looking at are coalitions of anti democratic parties.
The question becomes: what has created this? How has it gotten to this point?
( $$$$$)
So what you're saying is we should support regimes when my political party wants them to and not when the other political party does. Really principled stance you've taken brainless.
Heed these warnings
"Kleptopia" seems on-target.
Anne Applebaum, Peter Pomerantsev, and The Atlantic are doing priceless work.
"Functioning as a corporation ..." ... you might as well be describing the US.
Not quite.
This was really well done.
Education is the key to keeping our democracy!
Education in America has been eroded by the lack of a progressive challenge to the conservative agenda.
Maybe we need to be a bit reductionist, and simply say: You can support policies that help people, or you can support the kleptocrats!
It seems that anger and resentment have clouded rational thinking.
Great episode. But what a horror to watch all of this happening and to have literally no ability to effect change. The episode mentions hopelessness, and I think that any educated realist will see that the situation is truly hopeless. There is nothing that will liberate humanity at this point.
To the people who continue to live like the world is working as intended, business-as-usual, why? We're all slowly becoming locked in as slaves to monsters whom embody the worst of humanity. Do we hate ourselves that much? Do you want your children to be born into a life that REQUIRES their servitude and unquestioning obedience? The ability to be an individual, to have autonomy, to be curious and learn, are all going extinct. Look at how successful authoritarian forces have been throughout history, and recognize that democracy is actually a fragile and rare thing. And now recognize that as we move forward, these vile forces are going to have unblinking AIs running a uncompromising (unless you're wealthy, ofc) surveillance states being run and enforced by militarized police (until they, too, are eventually replaced by armed drones and other lethal robots). The kleptocratic "government" will squeeze every drop of value out of you until your dying breath. You will own nothing, know nothing, and you will like it.
That, to me, is not a human life, but the life of cattle. No thanks.
Moneyland? Kleptopia? How about TRUMPISTAN. 😂
that music tone just cuts for some reason, i suggest using tones with warmth, something about that sine wave is too loud for me starting around 9:20
Thank you for this series
Trump thinks of himself as a deal maker... he starts with low ball offers... sometimes in the form of threats... sometimes this has worked for him in the past...
DO NOT give the orange monster any credit please. He has to go.
We in the US live in a plutocracy (rule by wealth) wherein wealth, or the moneyed interests steer policy by lobbying, campaign contributions, and public relations. But we still have rule of law. Russia is a kleptocracy, essentially a plutocracy without the protections of rule of law.
What I didn't appreciate was how easy it would be to slip from our plutocracy to a full on kleptocracy.
But it doesn't explain why we supported so many autocrats and invaded so many countries in the post-war era. Plutocracy may be bad that way, and kleptocracy horrifies me. Hard to imagine recovering from kleptocracy.
One criminal discussing another criminal.
We the people must have trust in our president, not a rogue actor that looks like a president.
Just ask Latin Americans and others how they have experienced the US's commitment to democracy since WW2.....
Most LatAm countries have functional democracies without any apparent US intervention. The 1970s called they want their Americabad critique back.
intangling alliances? The Washington Doctrine of Unstable Alliances, sometimes called the caution against entangling alliances, was an early realist guide for US foreign policy and the nation's interaction with others. According to the policy, the United States should consider external alliances as temporary measures of convenience and freely abandon them when national interest dictates.
🎉🎉
Trumpist.
I believe the US in the past has been too aggressive and militaristic, invading countries and propping up dictators to insure the profits of oil companies. Only 20 years ago we invaded and occupied Iraq, a country which had no ability to harm us at all, on the basis of a CIA conspiracy theory. This explains the isolationist feeling of MAGA supporters; they have been lied to by their own party about foreign threats. But that doesn't mean we should make the opposite mistake, abandoning our allies, leaving Europe open to invasion. This would be a sure route to a world war.
"Kleptocracy is when the government is controlled by a small group of people .". You're perfectly describing the US ... and yet you expect us to somehow not recognize that.
Not quite. kleptocracy is government by those who seek chiefly status and personal gain at the expense of the governed