Want historical parallels to the current rise of US authoritarianism? Me neither! — but the most obvious place to look is routinely ignored by those who do.
On the topic of historical parallels, I am reading an advance copy of Hamilton Scheme, and Hamilton strikes me as remarkably similar to... Robert Moses. Both combining extreme competence in their fields with arrogance towards the politicians they both tried to influence, not to mention utter disdain for the unwashed masses lacking in money or power.
Robert Moses dressed up his park employees in little uniforms and ordered them to follow guests around picking up their trash. Was he fascist? Sure, if you like! But that seems like an entirely unhelpful question for understanding his role in America's urban planning... and sticking a label on Hamilton seems similarly unhelpful for understanding how he constructed America's economic system. I can understand, though, the pressure to get a little silly in order to sell books...
I’ll be very very interested to see how you link a brand new experimental democracy with the conditions and dynamics of late 20th and early 21st century superpower America / I’ll be looking out
On the topic of historical parallels, I am reading an advance copy of Hamilton Scheme, and Hamilton strikes me as remarkably similar to... Robert Moses. Both combining extreme competence in their fields with arrogance towards the politicians they both tried to influence, not to mention utter disdain for the unwashed masses lacking in money or power.
Robert Moses dressed up his park employees in little uniforms and ordered them to follow guests around picking up their trash. Was he fascist? Sure, if you like! But that seems like an entirely unhelpful question for understanding his role in America's urban planning... and sticking a label on Hamilton seems similarly unhelpful for understanding how he constructed America's economic system. I can understand, though, the pressure to get a little silly in order to sell books...
Agree about Moses, interesting comparison.
I’ll be very very interested to see how you link a brand new experimental democracy with the conditions and dynamics of late 20th and early 21st century superpower America / I’ll be looking out