The Realignment: Send Us Questions for Next Episode
Episodes of the week, Aaron's thoughts, Bookshop, and more...
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Welcome Back to The Realignment
Hey everyone. Good news, I was able to make it back to NYC without my drivers license. A combination of an expired license from high school, a 1099 tax form with my address on it, and a mostly empty airport were enough to do the job.
Today’s episode was a reposting/crossover with my (Marshall)’s podcast, The Deep End. Definitely give it a look if you haven’t already. It’s basically The Realignment’s interview style/approach but focused on tech/startups/business.
Request for Q&A/Comment
As I mentioned on today’s episode, we’re bringing back the Q&A for an extended session on Tuesday. Submit your question/comment below, through a five-star review on Apple podcasts, or email us at realignmentpod@gmail.com.
This Week’s Episodes
Episode 193: The Realignment X The Deep End: Saagar Enjeti on Building Breaking Points
(Audio)
Episode 192: Jonathan M. Katz: Reckoning with American Empire + Debating “War Is a Racket”
Aaron’s Review and Summary
Each week, our producer/researcher Aaron Visser will summarize/review one of the books/shows covered.
Notes on American foreign policy:
When a nation dies, does its life flash before its eyes? Does it lay on its deathbed, reflecting on all its misdeeds: all the innocent mistakes, the times it should have known better, the times it did know better, but erred all the same. The Britain of the 1800s had no time for guilt. Only without its superpower status could it access the damage it inflicted. The young US republic of the late 1800s and 1900s could move fast and break things. It had destiny to manifest and then democracy to spread. The reckoning with American hegemony has come during the slow loss of that hegemony, as we watch in helpless horror as China performs acts we recognize from our own history. Unfortunately, guilt isn’t actionable and our own past failures obscure as often as they illuminate the path forward.
America has always acted with good intentions on the global stage. These intentions get us into trouble. We invaded the Philippines, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan to nation build, to spread democracy, or “civilize the lower races.” But intentions don’t matter to a Vietnamese mother of a child killed by napalm. As Jonathan Katz said on the podcast, Americans like to imagine every war as WWII, the good war against fascism, even though they’re usually closer to the Philippines or the “police actions” of the early 20th century.
There’s a quote by Scottish comedian Frankie Doyle: “"Not only will America go to your country and kill all your people, but what's worse I think, is that they'll come back 20 years later and make a movie about how killing your people made their soldiers feel sad.” I understand the sentiment, but I want to live in the world where we make that movie. China will never allow the making of a Platoon or an Apocalypse Now. We are a democracy susceptible to war fervor and post war introspection. America is complicated. This may sound obvious, but the true narrative lies in the gray area between 1619 and 1776, between WWII and Vietnam, and between Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and War is a Racket.
The Realignment Bookshop
As a reminder, we’ve created a Realignment Bookshop affiliate store showcasing books by guests, what we’re actively reading this year, and deeper dives into the featured topic of an episode.
If you purchase a book using our link, the show gets a 10% commission, a local, independent bookseller gets support, and you get an awesome book!
We’re reorganizing our book lists over the next few weeks, so for now, check out our primary one:
Let us know what you think about this or any other week’s episodes. Please share The Realignment with anyone who’d enjoy the podcast.
I am a fan of Lena Khan and the direction she will hopefully take the FTC, anti-trust, stopping mergers that do not make sense, etc. However, I am concerned about the FTC as an organization itself. It has been such a necrotic institution for decades that I am unsure if it is capable of doing anything meaningful, in the direction specified above, for some time to come. I am looking for a place to work that pushes the needle towards rebalancing the economy towards workers and creating more dynamism and away from crony capitalism and monopoly.
My question is what are your thoughts of the FTC and its ability to make real moves and progress in this direction? Are you aware of institutions or organizations that are also working towards these goals and are more able to act and be effective? If so, what are they?
1. What are the best resources to learn about Russian history and culture?
2. I am reading “why we lost” by Daniel Bolger. It seems that there are good people in the army leadership that understood how long it would take if the US left troops and wanted to put locals in the lead. Some people thought it best to leave and let the place burn its self out. However there are enough people that push the other ideas of “surge troops”, “we can win with a little more time”, bla bla bla. Is president responsible or is the army leadership the main group the blame for a long unsuccessful war? Not done with the book yet, thanks for the great guest!