The rise of dictators

[addictionary]

Yeah, agreed. Also I don't know what is meant by the "rise" of dictators currently as mentioned in this thread. There have always been dictators and if you go back a couple of hundred years it could be argued that the major european colonial eras represented monarchies as dictatorships. In terms of major dictatorships (as in large or economically and militarily significant countries) the rate of existing dictatorships is actually pretty low right now globally speaking.

There definitely is a tendency towards it. And towards a new form of conservatism. And it is defined by the new form of communication which is internet and social media. People are so nauseous of all the diversity that hit their understanding of life and values, they grow defensive and as a natural reaction stick to people like Donald Trump who satisfies their most ignorant and unquestioning mindsets against a hard to digest look of diversity.

 

[addictionary]

I think he has found a system of speech and approach that he thinks works and he will stick with it.

Doesn't that define all politicians anyway? Is there a politician out there that actually believes in what they preach?

 

[str8line]

Saudi Arabia didn't just become a dictatorship. Neither did Egypt. Or Russia. Or China. All of those have been dictatorships for decades. And the US didn't become a dictatorship because you don't like who got elected.

What a dumpster fire of a thread.

I used to think you might be cool Siro, but now I realize you're actually a douche.

Anyways...

The dynamics are changing. Jinping is flexing his power as his cult of personality strengthens. Erdogan has stengthened/consolidated power. Putin has Trump turning against his own intelligence community. Duterte is now boasting about murdering someone in his youth for "a look"(at a speech while Trump was visiting). bin Salman is being called the Putin of the Middle East.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/op...an-arabia-vladimir-putin-171113072010861.html

 

[Stoked]

I used to think you might be cool Siro, but now I realize you're actually a douche.

Anyways...

The dynamics are changing. Jinping is flexing his power as his cult of personality strengthens. Erdogan has stengthened/consolidated power. Putin has Trump turning against his own intelligence community. Duterte is now boasting about murdering someone in his youth for "a look"(at a speech while Trump was visiting). bin Salman is being called the Putin of the Middle East.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/op...an-arabia-vladimir-putin-171113072010861.html

But none of that really challenges what he said. You have cases in the Philippines and Turkey I'd say. Should have listed Venezuela as well. The rest have been dictatorship or in the case of the US they are not. But that has all ready been discussed.

 

[Siro]

There definitely is a tendency towards it. And towards a new form of conservatism. And it is defined by the new form of communication which is internet and social media. People are so nauseous of all the diversity that hit their understanding of life and values, they grow defensive and as a natural reaction stick to people like Donald Trump who satisfies their most ignorant and unquestioning mindsets against a hard to digest look of diversity.

There is a stronger trend toward nationalism and anti-establishment (so anti-globalism). It has nothing to do with number of dictatorships.

 

[Siro]

I used to think you might be cool Siro, but now I realize you're actually a douche.

Anyways...

The dynamics are changing. Jinping is flexing his power as his cult of personality strengthens. Erdogan has stengthened/consolidated power. Putin has Trump turning against his own intelligence community. Duterte is now boasting about murdering someone in his youth for "a look"(at a speech while Trump was visiting). bin Salman is being called the Putin of the Middle East.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/op...an-arabia-vladimir-putin-171113072010861.html

Mao is rolling in his grave with this talk about Xi's "cult of personality". Russia has been a totalitarian nightmare since the start of the 20th century. Trump turning on his own intelligence has nothing to do with dictatorships. What else have you heard on the news that fits into this all-encompassing basket? The sex scandals, is that also a sign of dictatorships rising?

 

[Siro]

By the way, the nationalists have always been around. They are louder now, and they have managed to gain some influence in some places.

I want to say something about the progressive outlook on culture, diversity, and immigration. The most common sentiment on immigration that was held by most Americans when I first migrated to the US, was that desirable immigrants are ones who assimilate with local culture and try to blend in. That's how most people everywhere see it. The mainstream in the US has shifted leftward in the last decade, and now assimilation is downplayed in favor of diversity. Consequently, we're seeing a backlash in the West by the numerous people who don't see it that way.

 

[NAOS]

By the way, the nationalists have always been around. They are louder now, and they have managed to gain some influence in some places.

I want to say something about the progressive outlook on culture, diversity, and immigration. The most common sentiment on immigration that was held by most Americans when I first migrated to the US, was that desirable immigrants are ones who assimilate with local culture and try to blend in. That's how most people everywhere see it. The mainstream in the US has shifted leftward in the last decade, and now assimilation is downplayed in favor of diversity. Consequently, we're seeing a backlash in the West by the numerous people who don't see it that way.

BTW, you'd probably enjoy a new(ish) anthropology book called The Mushroom at the End of the World (or something close to that), by Tsing. She makes some interesting immigration points along these lines, plus you get a cool case study of mushroom foraging and trans-Pacific markets for those mushrooms.

 

[Siro]

BTW, you'd probably enjoy a new(ish) anthropology book called The Mushroom at the End of the World (or something close to that), by Tsing. She makes some interesting immigration points along these lines, plus you get a cool case study of mushroom foraging and trans-Pacific markets for those mushrooms.

Just bought it. Thanks!

 

[str8line]

There definitely is a tendency towards it. And towards a new form of conservatism. And it is defined by the new form of communication which is internet and social media. People are so nauseous of all the diversity that hit their understanding of life and values, they grow defensive and as a natural reaction stick to people like Donald Trump who satisfies their most ignorant and unquestioning mindsets against a hard to digest look of diversity.

Kind of like Siro being a douche.

 

[str8line]

There is a stronger trend toward nationalism and anti-establishment (so anti-globalism). It has nothing to do with number of dictatorships.

The rise of... not the rise in.

The dictators are rising. New dictators are consolidating and strengthening their power while Putin has a cheerleader in Trump, making him more powerful. And this thread is not necessarily primarily about Trump. If anything it should be primarily about Jinping, since he's now the most powerful man in the world.

bin Salman in Saudi Arabia falls under the rise of. He is mowing down the oligarchs.

 

[str8line]

By the way, the nationalists have always been around. They are louder now, and they have managed to gain some influence in some places.

I want to say something about the progressive outlook on culture, diversity, and immigration. The most common sentiment on immigration that was held by most Americans when I first migrated to the US, was that desirable immigrants are ones who assimilate with local culture and try to blend in. That's how most people everywhere see it. The mainstream in the US has shifted leftward in the last decade, and now assimilation is downplayed in favor of diversity. Consequently, we're seeing a backlash in the West by the numerous people who don't see it that way.

I think it's more about acceptance than diversity.