This weekly roundup thread is intended for all culture war posts. 'Culture war' is vaguely defined, but it basically means controversial issues that fall along set tribal lines. Arguments over culture war issues generate a lot of heat and little light, and few deeply entrenched people ever change their minds. This thread is for voicing opinions and analyzing the state of the discussion while trying to optimize for light over heat.
Optimistically, we think that engaging with people you disagree with is worth your time, and so is being nice! Pessimistically, there are many dynamics that can lead discussions on Culture War topics to become unproductive. There's a human tendency to divide along tribal lines, praising your ingroup and vilifying your outgroup - and if you think you find it easy to criticize your ingroup, then it may be that your outgroup is not who you think it is. Extremists with opposing positions can feed off each other, highlighting each other's worst points to justify their own angry rhetoric, which becomes in turn a new example of bad behavior for the other side to highlight.
We would like to avoid these negative dynamics. Accordingly, we ask that you do not use this thread for waging the Culture War. Examples of waging the Culture War:
-
Shaming.
-
Attempting to 'build consensus' or enforce ideological conformity.
-
Making sweeping generalizations to vilify a group you dislike.
-
Recruiting for a cause.
-
Posting links that could be summarized as 'Boo outgroup!' Basically, if your content is 'Can you believe what Those People did this week?' then you should either refrain from posting, or do some very patient work to contextualize and/or steel-man the relevant viewpoint.
In general, you should argue to understand, not to win. This thread is not territory to be claimed by one group or another; indeed, the aim is to have many different viewpoints represented here. Thus, we also ask that you follow some guidelines:
-
Speak plainly. Avoid sarcasm and mockery. When disagreeing with someone, state your objections explicitly.
-
Be as precise and charitable as you can. Don't paraphrase unflatteringly.
-
Don't imply that someone said something they did not say, even if you think it follows from what they said.
-
Write like everyone is reading and you want them to be included in the discussion.
On an ad hoc basis, the mods will try to compile a list of the best posts/comments from the previous week, posted in Quality Contribution threads and archived at /r/TheThread. You may nominate a comment for this list by clicking on 'report' at the bottom of the post and typing 'Actually a quality contribution' as the report reason.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
I'm not sure I'm getting my point across. You're still talking about the object level impact of the tariffs. I'm talking about the ability of the state to translate will into action when the action involves short term pain.
Did Trump have a sincere change of heart? Did Dimon convince him on the merits of the ineffectiveness of the tariffs in achieving his stated goal? Or did Dimon instead point out that Trump wouldn't last long if he kept doing this even if it was good for the country?
It looks to me like a chunky soup of unnamed elites was unwilling to suffer these short term consequences and blocked Trump despite their having no formal authority and Trump having all the formal authority. That they were able to do that is what doesn't bode well for the country.
How are we supposed to solve the problems with elder care and entitlements if we're unable to endure pain? It tells me we're going to just give up the Pacific the first time the Chinese sink an aircraft carrier. It tells me we're in for another episode of high inflation, because every other inflation solution involves pain. A man or nation that cannot endure pain is weak and not long for this world.
Willingness to endure pain is not an independent quality - people are more willing to endure pain for an achievable goal they believe in and less willing to endure pain merely to prove that they can.
The tariff proposal elicited a sharp, widespread negative response because it was incredibly stupid and self-destructive. There's never going to be much of a constituency for chopping off your own foot to look tough, and the Trump administration has done a terrible job selling the idea that these tariffs would be a positive force for American manufacturing (probably because they're actually terrible for it).
More options
Context Copy link
It would help if that action weren't transparently dumb and futile.
More options
Context Copy link
I agree that this looks really bad for our prospects of diffusing the social security bomb.
One counterpoint: the Fed's recently-concluded historic rate-hiking campaign. Higher rates make it harder for the US to service its debt, and yet they raised the rates anyway. People were so concerned over the fallout that we spent two years predicting a recession that never came. But I believe that the Fed would have been willing to push us all the way over the cliff, because having runaway inflation is so, so much worse than a contracting economy.
You know why the Fed could do that? Because no one could fire Powell, and no one elected him. I won't take my conclusions too far, but one of Trump's pressure points in the last weeks has been Republicans panicking about the effects people's 401k balances will have on their 2026 reelections. And I believe them. I truly think that if Trump stuck to his guns, even if the long-term effects are worth it, the Republicans would have been finished as a party in the short term, and then you don't get those policies anyway.
Correct. I don't think our own problems get solved until we have an executive with unchallenged personal authority and immunity to firing.
Cool, and I'm sure you would still hold that belief if the executive was some blue-haired progressive who went by Ze/Zir pronouns right?
Of course not. Necessary != Sufficient
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link