This is a really good point. In healthy political systems, competition between elites - the people who want to hold elected office and wield power - can be vicious, even lethal, but it doesn't threaten the system itself. In the US case right now, our elites aren't even really gunning for the top job - ThreadSky

patrickwyman.bsky.social • 7 days ago

This is a really good point. In healthy political systems, competition between elites - the people who want to hold elected office and wield power - can be vicious, even lethal, but it doesn't threaten the system itself. In the US case right now, our elites aren't even really gunning for the top job

Reposted from jamelle

one of the ways in which the madisonian logic of the american system doesn't seem to be working is that ambition *isn't* countering ambition. there are all these lawmakers who just, don't give a shit, even when giving a shit could propel them to political fame and success

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lawcreep.bsky.social•7 days ago

Or even protecting and exercising their existing prerogatives

jamesmcorlett.bsky.social•7 days ago

I see this similar to the idea that companies will compete for customers when they can instead just carve out niches and charge whatever they want (see ISPs). There's no need when you all agree to stay out of each other's turf and no one else can threaten your power.

rcf2009.bsky.social•6 days ago

After J6, I thought there was a really good chance Republicans would ditch DJT. Not out of shame, but because he stood in the way of anyone else ever getting the top seat as long as he was free to run again. I thought personal ambition would drive most of them to cast him out. How wrong I was.

iaristotleg.bsky.social•7 days ago

that’s exactly how the Roman system prospered… until it didn’t

kaearh.bsky.social•7 days ago

Where is our Brezhnev?

bbtaps.bsky.social•7 days ago

The concept of what the top job is has moved from being the President or the Speaker of the House/Senate Majority Leader to what Musk is now, possibly what Cheney was, and what isn't already constrained by governmental structures.

robertwilde.bsky.social•7 days ago

What's doubly crazy is that this is even happening on the billionaire side of things.

I was certain Musk would flame out after 1 month because for all Bezos's and Zuck's awfulness, they are smarter than Musk and should have been able to undermine him in service of skyrocketing their own interests.

eric13red.bsky.social•7 days ago

I wonder if they're taking a wait and see on their return on investment, after all they have a lot of expectations of tax cuts and deregulation they're waiting for.

robertwilde.bsky.social•7 days ago

No, as with the pols they are just at the point high enough in the success pyramid where risk-aversion overcomes remaining ambition.

Typical successful startup/founder lifecycle.

mattsamberg.bsky.social•7 days ago

Because they don’t care about power! They’re all just posters, through and through! Who cares about wielding power when you can just make speeches owning the libs?

eric13red.bsky.social•7 days ago

Honestly this has been a long time coming ever since Trump browbeat the Republican party into submission in the 2016 primary. The GOP is now the political wing of The Trump Organization

paninomanino.bsky.social•6 days ago

What a take, you two.

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