This is very timely, and reminds me of George Washington <i>pleading</i> for Americans to beware party politics in his farewell address[1], where he willingly surrendered power and went home:<p>> The alternate domination of one faction over
another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to
party dissension, which in different ages and countries
has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a
frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more
formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and
miseries which result gradually incline the minds of
men to seek security and repose in the absolute power
of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some
prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his
competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of
his own elevation on the ruins of public liberty.<p>> ...It opens the door to foreign influence and
corruption, which find a facilitated access to the
government itself through the channels of party
passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country
are subjected to the policy and will of another.<p>He could've written this last week.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Washingtons_Farewell_Address.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/W...</a>
Spoiler: we could not in fact keep it.<p>The US "experiment" is touted as a success but it demonstrably is not. Less than 80 years after this utterance, the country descended into a Civil War, then the most deadly war ever fought. The US was founded on white supremacy and chattel slavery. Chattel slavery may be gone but slavery is alive and well in the form of convict leasing. And of course white supremacy is resurgent.<p>As someone wh grew up in the 70s, 80s and 90s, I rreally wish there was a way for younger people to experience that. There were problems, of course. The Cold War and the threat of nuclear annihilation loomed large. Homophobia was worse. Racism was worse.<p>Many, myself included, describe the 1990s as the last good decade. Standard-of-living peaked in 1972 [1] but even in the 1990s, things were still pretty good. Rent was cheap, housing was cheap, food was cheap. There were houses in the 1990s for under $100k that now sell for $2M+. I lived frugally but comfortably on $10k/year as a student, including renting a 2 bedroom apartment.<p>I cannot adequately express my view of how dire things are now. We are bouldering towards neofeudalism. There is no opposition. Nobody is coming to save us.<p>[1]: <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/08/07/for-most-us-workers-real-wages-have-barely-budged-for-decades/" rel="nofollow">https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/08/07/for-most-...</a>
A couple interesting references in this article-<p>- The constitutional debate with Elbridge Gerry (MA), the name behind Gerrymandering<p>- The proposal to increase the size of the House of Representatives from one representative for every 40,000 people to one for every 30,000, which if continued today would make it much harder to gerrymander, among other things.