I Need to Write Less

Here is a very interesting story from the New York Times about democracy promotion. The one side presented is that American support is a kiss of death. I think an equally probable way of looking at the issue is that America tends not to support candidates that the citizens of other countries like. Off the top of my head, I can think of no other society that limits governmental action in the market and citizens' daily lives as much as America does. Given that we have a particular idea of appropriate governance that is an outlier internationally, I do not see why it is surprising that who we like in other countries is not who the citizens of those countries like.

On the other hand, no one likes other countries messing with their elections. If you can remember those dreary days when Clinton was in office before we found out who was with us and who was against us (the whole world except Albania), one of the major scandals of his that did not involve sex was the accusation that he took money from Japan and China. Lord-a-mercy, I think I have the vapors: money from the Orient! There is a rational motivation to not want powerful outsiders meddling in your group that is sunk deep into human survival instincts. I am pretty sure that is universal.

Either way, the moral of the story is that the USA needs to stop the schizophrenic, rhetorical tap dancing and figure out if we like democracy or if we like states that are not going to get in our way when we want to beat the shit out of other countries. Both are ends to themselves and while not logically mutually exclusive, it is turning out that way in practice. Unmolested democracies tend to result in governments that resist economic exploitation, a net loss for a rockin dude like me on the very top of the economic food chain, but they do tap into that idea that everyone in the world deserves freedom. Or some limp-wristed, Volvo-driving idea like that.