Came across this a few weeks ago.

Really made me think.

The way I read it is:

"What matters are the fruits borne of the political model or system of governance, not its name"

In other words, measure by results not by ideology.

This is of course easier said than done, because most results take decades or even centuries to realise.

But still.. Something to be learned here by all of us. There are some things which work in some places, but not in others. People and cultures vary.

Liberatarian-like principles might work in New Hampshire for example, but they likely will not work in Senegal or Borneo.

Food for thought..

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It also matters what recourse the man has if the state attempts to transgress him

And it's also interesting to think - how do we measure the results?

How to even evaluate the results of a given system?

Is it median purchasing power parity, per Capita?

Human development index?

Happiness survey scores?

Another issue, and I'm sharing this because I've been thinking about it as well, like what is the best system.

To what extent, if we look at results, can we attribute them to the system (rule of law, freedom, no violence, no corruption) vs other things (natural resources, history, dominant culture and values, better weapons (...)

I don't have the answer. It is probably nuanced.

What metric could be more important than happiness?

And if everyone is happy does it matter if it’s because of the system or other factors?

Good questions. I think the metric must NOT be purely economic. If it does, you end up with a giant billboard / Legoland of sanitized efficiency. Zero culture. Zero life

I agree.

There is no one metric that would encompass all we want, that is, how good is a given system for its citizens.

We certainly should look at multiple indicators.

Also, some good rulers may need to use (at least for some time) a political system that is understandable to his people even though the system itself is shit. Meanwhile correcting the course over time.

Putin never canceled democracy, but has been in power for 25 years now.

For most sheep this is a great metric to work from. Most sheep just want to be told what to do and breed to produce more sheep etc.

However someone like myself doesn't want to be controlled....even if that means I have a lower standard of living than those who choose slavery.

I don't think this is particularly interesting. It just seems like a nice intro into Authority Apologism

Probably the most obvious example of that is El Salvador. Bukele is a "dictator" by Western standards, but Western "democracy" hasn't worked in almost any country in Latin America, and the system that is working just so happens to be thought of as based in bad ideology, but if it works, it works.

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