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Covid pushes Asia to embrace big government

asia.nikkei.com

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Re: Covid pushes Asia to embrace big government

#91
post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did the size of the government contribute to the problematic transitions you mention; or how did a strong government contribute to their solution? The idea that a strong government, led by the right people, is a concept that actually leads to a robust system of government would make many Americans politely roll their eyes. We had a long experience with such a system. After we extricated ourselves from it, we had…

> We had a long experience with such a system. No, your ancestors had experience with such a system. They are long dead, and the struggles they faced and lessons they learned have been abstracted and bowdlerized until all we're left with is a parable against the abstract idea of a dictator. George Washington wasn't fighting an abstract dictator. He was fighting the British Empire, an actual existing enemy with an act…

But to come back to the points you made about Korea, what does government size have to do with any of the transitions that you mentioned?

It is not reasonable to draw only on recent, lived experience when discussing political development. There is continuity of institutions from generation to generation. In the USA we have the benefit of long experience with democratic institutions, though of course this is no substitute for offering justification for our ideas. We do, however, have to look at history fairly broadly to see how these principles come into play.

To consider this all in light of your original comment and subsequent ones, you seem very confident about the application of Korean experience to American and Americans but seem to have little interest or understanding of the application of the American experience to America or Americans. It doesn't make much sense, unless the subtext is that you do not believe in the worth of applying history or the comparative method in this area at all, and rather regard Korea as a kind of model or blueprint, applicable to any nation at any time. The way you are referencing your Korean experience, as a source for statements about the most general topics, it's just a roundabout way of saying "My opinion is...".

Re: Covid pushes Asia to embrace big government

#92
post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did the size of the government contribute to the problematic transitions you mention; or how did a strong government contribute to their solution? The idea that a strong government, led by the right people, is a concept that actually leads to a robust system of government would make many Americans politely roll their eyes. We had a long experience with such a system. After we extricated ourselves from it, we had…

> we had a long experience extricating other countries from such systems Imperialistically rolling into some country that you want to exploit for financial gain is not something to boast about.

It's not really relevant, either. Much of US involvement with Europe following the revolution and particularly during the World Wars was involuntary, and it was one long process of helping them devolve strong, authoritarian states.

Re: Covid pushes Asia to embrace big government

#93
post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In Canada, pre-covid, we saw the average house price increase in value more than the average wage in the country. That is point blank crazy. That is a weird financialisation of the economy that we don't yet understand - inflation in a fixed asset that doesn't increase productivity. This is a result of an overly conservative investment landscape and out of control immigration quotas. Housing is used as a way to park…

It's mostly very low interest rates, longer term mortgages, aggressive selling on the part of banks, and the 'belief' that housing 'cannot go down'. Just like when interest rates are higher in one country than the next, money flows there. ROI is higher in housing than other sectors, money flows there. Foreign buyers and mass immigration are driving factors, but I don't think the primary issue. Another way of putting…

> longer term mortgages

These exist because prices have jumped up so much relative to income, so it's a side effect of speculation really.

> Another way of putting it, is that real productivity is way down, and the real economy is in deflation - stuff is getting cheaper, and the opportunities to create value are fewer and far between, the only places left are the stock market and housing etc..

That worries me.

I'd rather prefer growth to come from new IP than magic assets that can never go down.

Re: Covid pushes Asia to embrace big government

#94
post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> we had a long experience extricating other countries from such systems Imperialistically rolling into some country that you want to exploit for financial gain is not something to boast about.

It's not really relevant, either. Much of US involvement with Europe following the revolution and particularly during the World Wars was involuntary, and it was one long process of helping them devolve strong, authoritarian states.

I don't understand why you say it's not relevant and then give examples for why it is.

Re: Covid pushes Asia to embrace big government

#95
post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not really relevant, either. Much of US involvement with Europe following the revolution and particularly during the World Wars was involuntary, and it was one long process of helping them devolve strong, authoritarian states.

I don't understand why you say it's not relevant and then give examples for why it is.

These are examples of what's relevant.
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