2024 US Presidential Election

[Angrboda]

“Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it, so that when men come to be undeceived, it is too late; the jest is over, and the tale hath had its effect: like a man, who hath thought of a good repartee when the discourse is changed, or the company parted; or like a physician, who hath found out an infallible medicine, after the patient is dead.”
― Jonathan Swift

Listening to the news this morning, an analyst pointed out that while interest rates took the elevator up, they will be taking the stairs coming down. Progress is similar, backlashes are easier, faster, and more severe than the baby steps moving things forward. During hard times, the appetite for progressive solutions will dim, and regressive solutions will have the upper hand. But aside from that, I suspect we are seeing the end of an age of myth, in which many cherished beliefs such as meritocracy and fundamental fairness are failing and falling apart. I suspect that the abandonment of experts and the embrace of conspiracies and liars is simply one aspect of the breakdown of our core myths. About 20 years ago I predicted that the U.S. was in its final years, as prior to the 20th century, our country was flush with resources, and could use that advantage to position itself ahead of others in the world. Now that advantage is gone, and we must compete on more even terms. We can no longer shelter overpaid workers against the competition from slave labor in the third world. We can no longer simply outproduce other nations or outspend our problems.

Not that I'm a pessimist, but we face the breakdown of some fundamental pillars of Western society. The age of imperialism is over. The age of Western dominance is over. Our institutions are failing. Our myths are breaking down. Basic human social processes which guided our behavior are falling away. Globablization is as much of a bane as a boon. And we are facing ethical challenges from the advance of technology that we aren't equipped to deal with.