I have deleted the relevant section. I went to a liberal university for undergrad and I got the sense that most of my classmates and professors held that position, and I often see comments to that effect on the xkcd forums (where the typical person is progressive and technocratic), but as I know more USleft types than USright types (and the USright types I know are typically libertarians, and thus anti-technocrats) and have rarely asked people about it directly, I can see that my experience may not be sufficient to identify the types of people who hold that opinion.
I went to a liberal university for undergrad and I got the sense that most of my classmates and professors held that position
Are you including anti-democracy in “that position”? I wouldn’t be surprised to see people in the US mainstream endorsing what amounts to technocracy; I would be very surprised to see many people endorsing Chinese levels of political freedom. I’m fairly sure that this is both the main thing that Emile meant when he was thinking of what you can’t say, and the first property of “the Chinese government system” that would come to mind for most Americans and came to mind for the other commenters here.
Are you including anti-democracy in “that position”?
Consider someone who wants judicial fiat to impose some policy they approve of- like, say, gay marriage. Is that anti-democracy? That’s the extent to which I’m including anti-democracy in that position.
The desire for a progressive regulatory state is conditioned on the idea that some people know what should be done better than others, which is an inherently anti-democratic notion; democratic opposition to things in the people’s best interest is an obstacle to be overcome not an objection to be heard out.
That said, I think most of the people I know would at least complain if they had to move to a Singapore-style “democracy” (well-run but lacking rights like free speech). People have inconsistent political preferences all the time.
I would be very surprised to see many people endorsing Chinese levels of political freedom.
A number of people I know take overpopulation and environmental threats very seriously. Many of them approve of the results of China’s multiple-child tax, though many of them complain about the implementation and the limitation on freedom. I don’t remember any of them acknowledging that the only way to get Chinese levels of results was with Chinese levels of political freedom, but I’m sure at least one made that connection.
the first property of “the Chinese government system” that would come to mind for most Americans and came to mind for the other commenters here.
Ah. The first thing that comes to mind for me, when comparing the Chinese government and the American government, is that the Chinese government is comprised of engineers and the American government is comprised of lawyers, and I suspect that is true for most people who would hold some version of that opinion.
No idea—I revoked my downvote from the grandparent after you changed it.
Edit: On further reflection, I suspect you are getting dinged for positing a technocratic-democratic dichotomy. It is possible to be a technocrat and a small-d democrat. A more accurate opposition would be technocratic-populist, which is not the same thing.
I have deleted the relevant section. I went to a liberal university for undergrad and I got the sense that most of my classmates and professors held that position, and I often see comments to that effect on the xkcd forums (where the typical person is progressive and technocratic), but as I know more USleft types than USright types (and the USright types I know are typically libertarians, and thus anti-technocrats) and have rarely asked people about it directly, I can see that my experience may not be sufficient to identify the types of people who hold that opinion.
Are you including anti-democracy in “that position”? I wouldn’t be surprised to see people in the US mainstream endorsing what amounts to technocracy; I would be very surprised to see many people endorsing Chinese levels of political freedom. I’m fairly sure that this is both the main thing that Emile meant when he was thinking of what you can’t say, and the first property of “the Chinese government system” that would come to mind for most Americans and came to mind for the other commenters here.
Consider someone who wants judicial fiat to impose some policy they approve of- like, say, gay marriage. Is that anti-democracy? That’s the extent to which I’m including anti-democracy in that position.
The desire for a progressive regulatory state is conditioned on the idea that some people know what should be done better than others, which is an inherently anti-democratic notion; democratic opposition to things in the people’s best interest is an obstacle to be overcome not an objection to be heard out.
That said, I think most of the people I know would at least complain if they had to move to a Singapore-style “democracy” (well-run but lacking rights like free speech). People have inconsistent political preferences all the time.
A number of people I know take overpopulation and environmental threats very seriously. Many of them approve of the results of China’s multiple-child tax, though many of them complain about the implementation and the limitation on freedom. I don’t remember any of them acknowledging that the only way to get Chinese levels of results was with Chinese levels of political freedom, but I’m sure at least one made that connection.
Ah. The first thing that comes to mind for me, when comparing the Chinese government and the American government, is that the Chinese government is comprised of engineers and the American government is comprised of lawyers, and I suspect that is true for most people who would hold some version of that opinion.
That’s not necessarily a win for China.
Engineers may not be a great pool to select political authority figures from, but I have to say that lawyers strike me as an even worse option.
Hm. I appear to have lost 3 karma for agreeing that the offending text should not be part of my comment. Anyone have an explanation?
No idea—I revoked my downvote from the grandparent after you changed it.
Edit: On further reflection, I suspect you are getting dinged for positing a technocratic-democratic dichotomy. It is possible to be a technocrat and a small-d democrat. A more accurate opposition would be technocratic-populist, which is not the same thing.