The BBB model of Western democracy

[ltlee1]

Although many people including Francis Fukuyama had given up the concept
of “The End of History, ” American elites still hold on Western
democracy as The End of History system.

Democracy means rule by the people. Democracy is therefore as good and
as bad as the people themselves. Knowledgeable and capable people leads
to good democracy. Ignorant and incapable people leads to bad democracy.
Plato thought Monarchy was more advance than Democracy. Plato was right
because the quality of the people at his time and hundreds of years
after him was in general VERY POOR. They were neither knowledgeable nor
capable collectively speaking most of the time.

Social stability and associated wealth during the subsequent centuries
allowed more and more people to receive formal and informal education in
various parts of Europe. People with improved quality then became the
foundation of representative democracy. This explains the success of
Representative Democracy.

At present, people in many part of the world are a lot more
knowledgeable and capable than representative democracy has assumed.
Hence citizens should no longer be treated as Brainless Black Boxes
which could only cough up either Candidate X or Candidate Y as answers
concerning their country once every few years. To the extent that people
of Western liberal democracy are not more involved and contribute to
their democracy, Western Democracy is anachronistic just like Plato’s
democracy is anachronistic.

As is, China’s democratic centralism is a lot more democratic than
Western democracy.

[ltlee1]

WSJ.com By The Editorial Board

"We’ve courted Mr. Trump’s ire by calling the Mexico and Canada levies
the “dumbest” in history, and we may have understated the point. Mr.
Trump is whacking friends, not adversaries. His taxes will hit every
cross-border transaction, and the North American vehicle market is so
interconnected that some cars cross a border as many as eight times as
they’re assembled.

Mr. Trump also objected when we reported an analysis by the Anderson
Economic Group that the 25% tariff will raise the cost of a full-sized
SUV assembled in North America by $9,000 and a pickup truck by $8,000.
Is this how the new Republican Party plans on helping working-class
voters?"

https://www.wsj.com/opinion/trump-takes-the-dumbest-tariff-plunge-5da57946?

[A. Filip]

Post by ltlee1
WSJ.com By The Editorial Board
"We’ve courted Mr. Trump’s ire by calling the Mexico and Canada levies
the “dumbest” in history, and we may have understated the point. Mr.
Trump is whacking friends, not adversaries. His taxes will hit every
cross-border transaction, and the North American vehicle market is so
interconnected that some cars cross a border as many as eight times as
they’re assembled.
Mr. Trump also objected when we reported an analysis by the Anderson
Economic Group that the 25% tariff will raise the cost of a full-sized
SUV assembled in North America by $9,000 and a pickup truck by $8,000.
Is this how the new Republican Party plans on helping working-class
voters?"
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/trump-takes-the-dumbest-tariff-plunge-5da57946?

There is a "mad" logic in Trump tariff moves/threats. Even a few days
with tariffs will cause "risk recalculations" for many years.

Is it good for USA on long run?
Different people judge/bet differently.
I do not rule it out (completely) but I doubt.

I do expect PRC to weaponize "tariff shocks" in a few decades.

[ltlee1]

Don't really know what you want to convey.

Of course different people judge/bet differently. At the same time,
there is no reason to assume that people are equally proficient in
judging likely impact of Trumps Tariff.

More specific, the WSJ editorial has cited "an analysis by the Anderson
Economic Group that the 25% tariff will raise the cost of a full-sized
SUV assembled in North America by $9,000 and a pickup truck by $8,000."
And the following democratically relevant question:"Is this how the new
Republican Party plans on helping working-class voters?"

What is your judge/bet? And if your numbers are different from those
provided by the Anderson Economic Group, please explain 1) your numbers
are more accurate and/or 2) the Mad Logic in Trump's Tariff move.

[A. Filip]

Post by ltlee1
Don't really know what you want to convey.
Of course different people judge/bet differently. At the same time,
there is no reason to assume that people are equally proficient in
judging likely impact of Trumps Tariff.
More specific, the WSJ editorial has cited "an analysis by the Anderson
Economic Group that the 25% tariff will raise the cost of a full-sized
SUV assembled in North America by $9,000 and a pickup truck by $8,000."
And the following democratically relevant question:"Is this how the new
Republican Party plans on helping working-class voters?"
What is your judge/bet? And if your numbers are different from those
provided by the Anderson Economic Group, please explain 1) your numbers
are more accurate and/or 2) the Mad Logic in Trump's Tariff move.

Is it a prediction of a short term price rise or long term price rise
after adjustments? Anyway: 1) Is it THE ONLY effect? 2) They can see no
positive effects for working-class _USA_ voters?

Balance stupid! IMHO Quite likely the _balance_ will be negative.
IMHO the way you presented it makes it one sided story.
[cheap propaganda]

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein

Post by ltlee1
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler,"

[ltlee1]

Yet another article criticisng Trump's tariff strategy. This time, from
theatlantic.com. The WSJ represents the view of traditional right while
theatlantic.com is slightly left.

"The new tariffs will raise prices for American consumers, weaken the
American auto industry, and prompt severe retaliation from America’s top
trading partners. With respect to China, a case can be made that tariffs
would promote U.S. national security and domestic industry if they were
targeted and well designed. But Trump’s blanket 20 percent tariff on all
Chinese imports is neither. Meanwhile, the 25 percent tariffs on Canada
and Mexico are utterly incomprehensible. There is no grand economic
vision, geopolitical strategy, or even political logic behind them.
International trade, like all areas of public policy, is a game of
weighing costs versus benefits. Trump’s tariffs are the rare policy that
might turn out to represent nothing but cost.

The most widespread and direct effect of the new tariffs will come in
the form of inflation. Tariffs, which are literally a tax on imported
goods, are often passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices,
and Mexico, Canada, and China together account for more than 40 percent
of U.S. imports. Yale’s Budget Lab estimates that the new tariffs will
cost the average household anywhere from $1,600 to $2,000 a year."

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/03/trump-tariffs-canada-mexico/681912/

[bmoore]

Post by ltlee1
WSJ.com By The Editorial Board
"We’ve courted Mr. Trump’s ire by calling the Mexico and Canada levies
the “dumbest” in history, and we may have understated the point. Mr.
Trump is whacking friends, not adversaries. His taxes will hit every
cross-border transaction, and the North American vehicle market is so
interconnected that some cars cross a border as many as eight times as
they’re assembled.
Mr. Trump also objected when we reported an analysis by the Anderson
Economic Group that the 25% tariff will raise the cost of a full-sized
SUV assembled in North America by $9,000 and a pickup truck by $8,000.
Is this how the new Republican Party plans on helping working-class
voters?"
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/trump-takes-the-dumbest-tariff-plunge-5da57946?

What is BBB?

[ltlee1]

Another piece from WSJ Editorial Board

https://www.wsj.com/opinion/donald-trump-tariffs-canada-mexico-china-working-class-voters-dc140dbc
----------------------------------------------
Opinion | Trump’s Tariffs Whack Trump Voters
Whatever happened to GOP concern for the working class?

The Editorial Board
March 4, 2025 6:12 pm ET

President Trump won the Presidency a second time by promising
working-class voters he’d lift their real incomes. Which makes it all
the more puzzling that he’s so intent on imposing tariffs that will
punish those same Americans.

Tariffs are taxes, and Mr. Trump’s latest tariffs are estimated to be
about an annual $150 billion tax increase. Taxes are antigrowth. That’s
the message investors are sending this week since Mr. Trump let his 25%
tariffs on Canada and Mexico take effect. The President also raised his
10% tariff on China by another 10%. Canada and China retaliated, while
Mexico is holding off until Sunday.

The border taxes, and the uncertainty they bring, are weighing on growth
and consumer confidence. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 3.4%
since Mr. Trump took office, erasing the ebullient gains that followed
his November election.

Brace for higher prices on berries, bell peppers, and, gulp, beer.
Target CEO Brian Cornell told CNBC Tuesday that tariffs on Mexico may
force the company to raise prices on fruits and vegetables. About 30% of
vegetables and fresh fruit sold in the U.S. come from Mexico. Modelo’s
Mexican-produced Especial is the best-selling beer in the U.S.
..
----------------------------------------------

[bmoore]

Post by ltlee1
Another piece from WSJ Editorial Board
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/donald-trump-tariffs-canada-mexico-china-working-class-voters-dc140dbc
----------------------------------------------
Opinion | Trump’s Tariffs Whack Trump Voters
Whatever happened to GOP concern for the working class?
The Editorial Board
March 4, 2025 6:12 pm ET
President Trump won the Presidency a second time by promising
working-class voters he’d lift their real incomes. Which makes it all
the more puzzling that he’s so intent on imposing tariffs that will
punish those same Americans.
Tariffs are taxes, and Mr. Trump’s latest tariffs are estimated to be
about an annual $150 billion tax increase. Taxes are antigrowth. That’s
the message investors are sending this week since Mr. Trump let his 25%
tariffs on Canada and Mexico take effect. The President also raised his
10% tariff on China by another 10%. Canada and China retaliated, while
Mexico is holding off until Sunday.
The border taxes, and the uncertainty they bring, are weighing on growth
and consumer confidence. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 3.4%
since Mr. Trump took office, erasing the ebullient gains that followed
his November election.
Brace for higher prices on berries, bell peppers, and, gulp, beer.
Target CEO Brian Cornell told CNBC Tuesday that tariffs on Mexico may
force the company to raise prices on fruits and vegetables. About 30% of
vegetables and fresh fruit sold in the U.S. come from Mexico. Modelo’s
Mexican-produced Especial is the best-selling beer in the U.S.

Trump is an idiot. I have explained this on soc.culture.china for years.

But what is BBB? It's a Dutch political party, but I don't think that's what you are referring to.

[ltlee1]

??? You could not access the beginning post of this thread: The BBB
model of Western democracy.