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Mike Moschos's avatar

Well written. But I have come to learn much more about the pre post-WW2 USA system, their wrong that all these things already set in by then. While some ground work wss laid during the so called Progressive Era, throughout it and even throughout the 1930s, the USA remained a highly decentralized system politically, economically, governmentally, and scientifically. Despite inroads made into deeper centralization, especially during the New Deal, the USA’s private sector remained by far the primary economic planner and it remained a private sector that was diffused, decentralized, deliberately redundant, heterogenous, mostly not-coordinated and primarily governed by competitive market structures. And the country's political structure was still anchored in strong local and state institutions. Local party branches, particularly within the Democratic party, remained mass-member organizations that were publicly accessible and still functioned as primary vehicles for political participation. State and municipal governments retained significant autonomy over economic and regulatory affairs, with many relief and infrastructure programs administered at these levels rather than dictated solely from Washington. Scientific and industrial research was likewise decentralized, with regional research hubs, independent professional schools, and state universities and state non university colleges (who I never knew about and appear to have been generally wonderful) maintaining substantial control over development rather than being fully absorbed into federal bureaucracies. While the role of the federal government expanded, political mobilization at intermediary levels—states, cities, and local party organizations, remained super important, and the shift away from local political power toward an increasingly nationalized system was far from complete. And importantly (and I never knew this either!) it wasnt until the Neoliberal Era that Jacksonians (some of it was from even earlier, thats how radical the advent of the Neoliberal Era was) banking/finance and monetary architecture really go disabled, which centralized banking and finance and enable the very deep centralization of the country which almost guaranteed the destruction of so much of real civil society

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KB's avatar

This is a silly note! The reason the leaders in congress are pissed off at the “base” demanding “action” is

(1) Congress and Senate members who actually, you know, get VOTED have a better feel for the pulse of the people than the “professional political activist”

(2) they know a lot of what Trump 2.0 is doing is popular with their electorate

(3) They know they can’t do much

And when they do shit like rally in support of USAID, it just rings hollow to the voters

The real problem is wacko activists like that staffer who resigned when Seth Moulton dared to say what was on EVERYONE’s mind

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