While I mostly agree, The First World War looks to me a War among democracies. Both Germany and Austria were parlamentarian monarchies. This case deserves further inspection.
This is a very thoughtful essay. I agree with the core point: democracy’s advantage is not superior wisdom, but better error correction.
The question I keep coming back to is slightly different.
Even if democracies outperform autocracies, why do democratic and authoritarian states often begin to converge once a system becomes strategically important?
AI, space, crypto, infrastructure, defense — again and again, the state becomes the presumed final authority.
So perhaps there is a second pattern beneath the regime-type question.
While I mostly agree, The First World War looks to me a War among democracies. Both Germany and Austria were parlamentarian monarchies. This case deserves further inspection.
A lovely and thoughtful essay.
This is a very thoughtful essay. I agree with the core point: democracy’s advantage is not superior wisdom, but better error correction.
The question I keep coming back to is slightly different.
Even if democracies outperform autocracies, why do democratic and authoritarian states often begin to converge once a system becomes strategically important?
AI, space, crypto, infrastructure, defense — again and again, the state becomes the presumed final authority.
So perhaps there is a second pattern beneath the regime-type question.
Not authoritarian efficiency, but sovereignty.
I wrote a related essay on this here:
https://substack.com/@deepbitcheesebrew/p-203266499