Yep. I still wonder if Putin is a tool or an agent. Trump is obviously a mere
tool. There's no agency there. But is Putin also a puppet? If this invasion is
*not* evidence of Putin's genius/insanity, i.e. the invasion isn't an attribute
of Putin, the person, at all, then what processes are actually responsible for
the invasion? Similarly, if Trump et al are not really the efficient causes of
our COVID-deniers, anti-vaxxers, flat-earthers, etc., then what processes are
responsible for such stupidity?
On 3/8/22 08:48, Marcus Daniels wrote:
Already see it with DeSantis, Boebert, Cruz, etc. -- the validators of the
invalid. It should hurt to be that stupid, but they make it feel good.
-----Original Message-----
From: Friam <[email protected]> On Behalf Of glen
Sent: Tuesday, March 8, 2022 8:42 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Patriotic Millionaires
I continue to think more about how to transform Russia from the inside than
directly about their military assault. Although the Putin:Trump analogy is
terrible, there's a lot of meat there. E.g.
https://www.lawfareblog.com/what-if-trump-were-still-president
https://theconversation.com/meet-russias-oligarchs-a-group-of-men-who-wont-be-toppling-putin-anytime-soon-178474
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/08/donald-trump-power-trumpism-danger-now
To spell it out, Putin and Trump are irrelevant, bit players filling their role
temporarily, much like the individuals participating in Patriotic Millionaires.
Focus on the individuals is silly and useless. The systems are open to material
cause (though obviously not entirely open). What matters are the trends, roles,
objectives, & ends.
On 3/8/22 08:19, Prof David West wrote:
I have a very good friend, Ukrainian living in Moscow wrestling with the
dilemma of giving up his professional and very very lucrative career to go home
and fight; recognizing the almost certain probability that he would not be
allowed out of Russia.
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