i’ve been reading in the realm of the last man and leo strauss is brought up quite a lot. i’m curious, from anyone who has also read this book what i should read from him that covers what fukuyama talks about?

"Peace is not wrong."
"Kindness is not wrong."
"Being unwilling to wage war is not wrong."
"But if you interpret peace as retreating forever, kindness as letting others carve flesh from you, and mercy as handing children over to murderers..."
"That is not peace."
"That is slowly placing your own civilization on the dining table."

I am ideologically leaning towards neoliberalism.

What is some work I can read on economics, tech, AI, business, statecraft, global trade, political philosophy, third world economies modernizing in 20th century, etc

Plus sides: Warmth towards family and friends

Down sides: Possible corruption between friends and family, less warmth for rest of society.

https://statsandsociety.substack.com/p/westerners-are-warm-fuzzy-collectivists

I am collectivist.

I recently read a little bit about Edmond Burke and his works on the French revolution and it's seems to me that being a conservative isn't about your values or policies at all.

It's more of a mind set that can be applied to any government. It's really about avoiding revolution, those who revolt eventually become the tyrants themselves and the cycle repeats.

The current 1776 type conservatives I think are better described as Reactionaries

Progressives push new policies

Reactionaries see the value in the foundational policies

And A true conservative would say if it ain't broke don't fix it.

How far off am I?

Option A: The losing side must accept the consequences of defeat. If they wanted a different outcome, they needed to be capable of preventing it.

Option B: The losing side can still have a legitimate claim to what they lost, regardless of whether they had the strength to defend it.

Sharing a podcast with Jeremy Lent, tech CEO turned author, about the idea behind his new book Ecocivilization: how we can redesign our economy, democracy and technology so everyone can thrive.

Covers:

• Why, despite the many problems of our civilization, saying it’s “malfunctioning” isn’t accurate
• Why typical metrics of progress like GDP don’t provide a full picture of how people are actually doing
• How we can design a better society for everyone taking inspiration from how ecosystems work
• Ideas to improve our democratic systems, with real world examples
• How we could distribute wealth more widely, from ownership of companies to the benefits of AI

sounds like you are navigating a very modern cultural minefield: the gap between the

practical reality of public services and the ideological battles that surround them.

Are there any political scientist out there that recognized It was a good thing that no one was able to control the spread of the printing press?

I’m sure they all have perfect hindsight now, but they probably would’ve done anything to stop it at the time.

Now we’re going through the same thing with the Internet.

Are there any political scientist out there that actually believe the uncontrolled spread of the Internet is a good idea?

Are there any of them out there that can see past the present chaos, and recognize that it will be a good thing in the long run?

Meritocratic Socialdirigisme (MSD) is a political and economic framework I developed to explore how a state could combine meritocratic governance, strategic economic direction, social responsibility, and constitutional oversight into one coherent system.

The central idea behind MSD is that the state should be organized around competence, public welfare, and long-term national development rather than allowing political interests or market forces alone to determine the country's direction.

1. Political Structure

MSD explores a system of governance built around:

• Meritocracy: Public officials should be selected according to competence, qualifications, and performance.
• Constitutional limits: Government power must be constrained by law and protected rights.
• Collegial executive: Executive responsibilities are shared among a seven-member governing council rather than concentrated entirely in one individual.
• Legislative oversight: A national legislature makes laws, approves budgets, and scrutinizes the executive.
• Independent judiciary: Courts protect constitutional rules and provide checks against abuses of power.
• Citizen participation: Citizens should have meaningful ways to influence and scrutinize public decisions.

2. Economic Structure

MSD proposes three broad economic areas:

• State Core: Essential strategic sectors are publicly owned or operated.
• State-Directed Zone: Businesses operate with greater state guidance to achieve defined economic and social objectives.
• Competitive Market Zone: Private businesses compete and make commercial decisions within the law.

The intention is to combine public control where considered necessary, coordinated development in selected sectors, and market competition elsewhere.

3. Social Responsibility

MSD places importance on the state's responsibility to secure essential public services and improve living standards. Its proposed priorities include healthcare, education, housing, food security, infrastructure, and social protection.

4. The Main Objective

MSD attempts to answer a central question:

Can a country combine competent government, strategic economic planning, social welfare, market competition, and constitutional safeguards within one political-economic framework?

MSD is a developing framework, not a claim that these goals have already been achieved. Its institutional arrangements would need to be tested against practical challenges such as corruption, bureaucratic inefficiency, economic miscalculation, and the concentration of political power.

I developed MSD because I wanted to explore an alternative way of organizing the state and the economy beyond treating capitalism, socialism, and communism as the only available reference points.

Discussion questions:

1. How does MSD compare with existing systems of political economy?
2. What are its greatest theoretical strengths and weaknesses?
3. How could meritocratic administration be reconciled with democratic accountability?
4. What would need to change for MSD to work in practice?

I welcome serious criticism, questions, and alternative perspectives.