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32 votes
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Where will people commune in a godless America?
24 votes -
Iceland's digital election website made it so easy to run for president that scores of people ended up throwing their hats in the ring by accident
15 votes -
New Brexit checks will cause food shortages in UK, importers warn
25 votes -
Creating an official politics group?
So this topic is something that could very easily just be bothering myself, but I figured I’d share before unsubscribing to ~misc. If this is the wrong group, I apologize, please feel free to move...
So this topic is something that could very easily just be bothering myself, but I figured I’d share before unsubscribing to ~misc. If this is the wrong group, I apologize, please feel free to move it to the correct location. I will also preface this by saying I only really view Tildes occasionally, and am not the most active user, so those two things might be contributing to this.
I am wondering if creating an official Politics group would be beneficial to Tildes. I’ve noticed that the majority of recent posts in ~misc is mostly regarding politics. I don’t want to necessarily just unsubscribe from ~misc, in case something non-political and interesting to myself ends up getting put there, but if that’s the solution I’m more than happy to do it.
I just figured that with the amount of activity going on there fairly regularly, either a dedicated ~politics group or a sub group (maybe ~misc.politics or ~news.politics?) would be better? That way other users similar to myself could unsubscribe to that instead of unsubscribing to the much broader ~misc group.
I personally do enjoy the way that Tildes is setup, and don’t see any bad interactions in those posts. It’s definitely more of a personal thing.
That said, I don’t want to make people think that I’m telling them how things should be run, merely throwing my two cents out there, no matter how worthless they are.
Thanks to everyone for posting, and to the mods/admin for keeping everything running smoothly. This really is a solid community!
19 votes -
Is climate change driving the global rise in populism? If so ... how? If not ... what is?
Preamble ... this is another rambling, jumbled soliloquy that may or may not make any actual points ... or, you know, sense. "Climate Change is causing the rise in populism". That is a theory I...
Preamble ... this is another rambling, jumbled soliloquy that may or may not make any actual points ... or, you know, sense.
"Climate Change is causing the rise in populism".
That is a theory I have entertained for many years -- going back to before the 2016 US Presidential election. And--confirmation bias being what it is--since I believe the theory, I keep seeing anecdotal evidence all over the place connecting the two.
But, thinking about it this morning, looking at it logically ... I still think there is probably a connection, but I'm not really sure. It may well just be a coincidence of timing. And even if there is a connection, I'm just not quite sure what it is. If it is true ... why? What is the actual connection?
So ... why do countries keep electing populist "Trump-like" leaders?
That's already a hard question to answer clearly, without quickly descending into personal attacks and ad hominems and such.
Plus, of course, generalization is problematic ... we're talking about different countries, different cultures, different histories driving each vote. It's not all the same. And yet, over and over again, election after election, it sure looks the same.
I think the main reason is a tribal "fear of invaders" reaction, mostly against the rise of immigration, particularly immigration from (to paraphrase Trump) "the shit-hole countries". Maybe it's an even more basic "fear of change" reaction. But I definitely think, in the US, the rise of Trump was a direct result of the illegal immigration issue -- not exclusively, but that was a big piece of the puzzle. In particular, Trump equating Muslims with terrorists, and Mexican immigrants with criminals, etc.
Here in the EU, immigration -- particularly the 2015 refugee crisis caused by the wars in the Middle East -- was probably the top reason for Brexit, as has been most of the populist surge over here since then. One country after another here keeps electing right-wing leadership based on the "we'll keep out the dirty immigrants" campaign promises. Hungary, Italy, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Poland, the list just keeps going. I live in Germany these days, and I gotta tell you, there is nothing scarier than seeing a huge surge in popularity in the German far-right.
The other top reason that seems to be driving it is some kind of sense of nationalistic self-determination. People feeling like their country--their home--is being changed by Outside Forces, and trying to lock it down, trying to find a way back to the good old days when the white people ran things and the brown people cooked and cleaned for them.
In Hungary, Orban routinely gets massive support with his constant rants about "Brussels" (meaning the EU) trying to force their gay liberal anti-Christian agenda down the throats of decent God-fearing Hungarians, and I see variations of that theme in most of the populist movements.
Right now, I want to say the populist trend is a response to (or rather, a denial of) the consequences of Colonialism and resource depletion. I think (again, over-simplified), people here in the Industrial Western World do not want to hear that the problems in the rest of the world are our fault, and that we have a responsibility to the people there, to try to help address some of the problems we've helped cause ... and instead, people are electing leaders who tell them the rest of the world is going to hell but it's not their fault and if they just lock down their borders, everything will stay "nice" in their country.
Something like that, anyway.
Okay ... so, resource depletion and a backlash against the consequences of Colonialism.
Does that seem like a fair and reasonable generalization of what is driving the rise in populism?
Because none of that is really connected to Climate Change. Sure, it depends on "which" resources we're talking about, but even in a magical hypothetical world where burning fossil fuels doesn't cause the planet to heat up ... wouldn't we still be seeing just about the same results from the Colonialism-and-resource-depletion issues?
But then again, at a global level, everything is pretty much connected to everything else. I feel like, coming at it from that angle, I could make a fairly good argument that Climate Change and resource depletion are pretty closely related, regardless of which resources you're talking about.
Oh yeah ... one more wrinkle. I'm primarily talking about populism in the US, Canada, UK, EU. I actually know a lot less about the situations in other regions. Asia. Latin America. Bolsonaro. Millei. I know there are others, but names elude me at the moment, and I don't have an understanding of why they are getting elected. Are they part of this trend? Do they blow a hole in my logic? IDK.
tl;dr
Okay ... I guess that's my new thesis -- populism is primarily being driven by a denial of the consequences of Colonialism and resource depletion ... which may or may not be closely related to Climate Change itself; I'm still just not sure.
Or, more broadly, more Climate-Change-inclusive -- populism is about people seeing that the world is dying, and electing leaders who A) tell them it's not their fault, and B) promise to save their country, even as the rest of the world burns.
Thoughts?
21 votes -
German parliament votes to make it easier for transgender people to change their name and gender
39 votes -
Danish PM Mette Frederiksen's domestically popular tough immigration stance could prove to be a weakness with European Social Democrat colleagues in the upcoming EU elections
5 votes -
Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of April 8
This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate...
This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate topic, but almost all should be posted in here.
This is an inherently political thread; please try to avoid antagonistic arguments and bickering matches. Comment threads that devolve into unproductive arguments may be removed so that the overall topic is able to continue.
6 votes -
An honest assessment of American rural white resentment is long overdue
32 votes -
US Senate Republicans furious over Donald Trump derailing FISA bill
27 votes -
Norway's health minister resigned Friday, the second Norwegian government member to step down this year amid allegations they plagiarized academic works
17 votes -
Fortress Europe isn’t working – Europe needs a workable migration strategy. Instead it’s attacking asylum seekers to placate the right.
28 votes -
Idaho libraries must move materials deemed harmful to children, or face lawsuits, under new law
24 votes -
The migrant highway that could sway the US election
11 votes -
How Chinese students experience America
23 votes -
Chechnya 'bans music that is too fast or too slow'
35 votes -
Iceland's Foreign Minister Bjarni Benediktsson will be the country's next prime minister, replacing Katrín Jakobsdóttir who resigned from the post last week
4 votes -
Joe Biden administration sets first-ever limits on ‘forever chemicals’ in US drinking water
26 votes -
Hawaii ban on short-term vacation rentals moves forward in state legislature
28 votes -
How do you feel about student loan forgiveness?
The debate is coming back up because of new talks around student loan forgiveness in the US. I was on the fence about it until I did some extra research for a comment I posted last week. I am...
The debate is coming back up because of new talks around student loan forgiveness in the US. I was on the fence about it until I did some extra research for a comment I posted last week.
I am including the comment I posted last week that was from a discussion about whether general education classes should be required for a college degree, but the part about the societal value of a college graduate to the US is relevant.
Higher education is an interesting thing to put a price on because while some classes can provide economic benefits to people who get a higher education, many classes provide more of a societal benefit.
A history class doesn't help an engineer make a jet turbine, but it can help them be an informed voter. College campuses mix people of different races, genders, origins, and socioeconomic classes with each other. The general education courses expose students to different concepts that can help them in their civic lives.
College graduates also have many economic benefits to society. On average, college graduates pay much more in taxes than they take in government benefits over their lifetimes. High school graduates also contribute, but only a modest gain where college graduates contribute 4-5x what they take. Governments invest $28,000 per college student on average but gain $335,000 in net monetary benefit over their lifetime.
I get that many people are opposed to courses that don't directly apply to a career because they have to pay a lot of money out of pocket when the course may only provide a benefit to society. Why can't the government provide loan forgiveness to anyone who graduates? It would take pressure off students and still provide a net benefit to society over having them not graduate.
50 votes -
Many Americans who recently bought guns open to political violence, survey finds
9 votes -
Switzerland’s climate failures breached human rights, top court rules
4 votes -
Norway's top authority revokes decision by city to only take Ukrainian refugees – was contrary to the constitution and the Scandinavian country's discrimination laws
13 votes -
The dark reality of Japanese host clubs
10 votes -
Indiana appeals court upholds injunction on abortion ban, citing religious liberty
17 votes -
Arizona governor signs bill approving human composting burials
23 votes -
Congressional fake electors strategists have been subpoenaed in Arizona
14 votes -
German state ditches Microsoft for Linux and LibreOffice
56 votes -
Donald Trump’s lawyers told the court that no one would give him a bond. Then he got a lifeline, but they didn’t tell the judges.
39 votes -
Botswana threatens to send 20,000 elephants to Germany
37 votes -
Scandals blight Denmark's buildup of its armed forces as it eyes possible threats from Russia
15 votes -
Icelandic PM Katrín Jakobsdóttir announced her resignation – said that she will run for president, a ceremonial post that is mostly above the daily political fray
11 votes -
Researcher calls out misuse of research in book on American white rural rage - suggests resentment over rage
25 votes -
Myanmar military loses border town in another big defeat
21 votes -
Historian Avi Shlaim: ‘I remain hopeful Israel will start to act rationally’
2 votes -
Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of April 1
This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate...
This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate topic, but almost all should be posted in here.
This is an inherently political thread; please try to avoid antagonistic arguments and bickering matches. Comment threads that devolve into unproductive arguments may be removed so that the overall topic is able to continue.
5 votes -
Do US voters care about policy even a little?
31 votes -
As elections loom, US Congressional maps challenged as discriminatory will remain in place
8 votes -
Let me rewrite that for you: NY Times misinforms US readers about Robert F. Kennedy Jr and Joe Biden
22 votes -
Finland's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been to move away from policy of self-reliance and embrace the alliance
12 votes -
Bernie Sanders: It’s time for a four-day work week
52 votes -
Few states cover fertility treatment for same-sex couples, but that could be changing
4 votes -
US told Russia that Crocus City Hall was possible target of attack
24 votes -
California introduces 'right to disconnect' bill that would allow employees to possibly relax
23 votes -
UT Austin lays off around sixty staffers to comply with Texas DEI ban
22 votes -
Phoenix passes historic ordinance giving outdoor workers protection from extreme heat
28 votes -
Norway to increase number of conscripted soldiers from 9,000 to 13,500 – Russia's attack on Ukraine has given northern European countries an impetus to beef up their militaries
10 votes -
The rise and fall of the trad wife: Alena Kate Pettitt helped lead an online movement promoting domesticity. Now she says, “It’s become its own monster.”
39 votes -
Half of senior staffers in US Congress are so fed up that they may quit
26 votes