> Disrupting that with no replacement waiting is a short path to a completely failed state.
This is one potential outcome, and in a banana republic I may even agree that it is the most likely outcome. But the USA is a lot more robust than it appears, and I feel highly certain that the (largely manufactured) polarization that we observe is actually quite shallow. My concern is that if we throw Trump out and elect yet another insider, we will immediately resume the former status quo...lip service towards the genuine problems in the world, and plenty of catering to powerful corporations and the military industrial complex (I have the feeling way are waaaaaaaaay overdue for an "existential threat" from some tinpot middle eastern dictator). And then before too long: War with China.
It's not a good choice, and it is risky, but I continue to believe that the chaos Trump sows acts as sand in the gears of the powerful, and exposes the media and other politicians for the propagandists they are. Most people seem to be still fully under their spell (many to immediately fall into another trap: conspiracy theory, which is fixable, being mostly a symptom), but many have woken up.
What's missing is, the people that have woken up don't know what to believe, or believe in. The West has no vision for the future, other than the same old bullshit story politicians of both sides of the aisle have been selling people for decades (as our military lays waste to 3rd world countries over completely manufactured pretenses, while the media runs cover for them). We need a new story, and it has to be at least fairly true, and plausible, and acknowledge the real barriers to achievement, rather than making up a whole bunch of fantasy land fake problems.
That's my take on it anyways.