The Rise of the Plantation State

Being continuously asked to give and not to take away, to intervene and not to harm, state rulers will use up all their discretionary power just to remain in command. They have to promise more to outbid their political competitors. The state will thus need more and more economic power. It will fuse political and economic power into “state capitalism.” It will stealthily nationalize the economy, through regulation and cronyism rather than via the Marxist route. Eventually, it will have no choice but to abolish electoral competition and the other checks and balances in order to effectively pursue the happiness of the people–and the power of the rulers.

When Biden’s ‘Bubble Wrap’ Burst

Will the liars and hacks who covered up Biden’s cognitive decline face any consequences?

Meanwhile, Trump’s own considerable lying, most consequentially about the integrity of the 2020 election, will also befoul the political atmosphere, driving the headline presidential race further downward into a spiral of hyperbolic bilge.

https://reason.com/2024/09/03/when-bidens-bubble-wrap-burst/