What happened to Tsar Alexander I of Russia?

(My answer on Quora)

He died of typhus in December 1825 and since he had no legitimate heirs (his two daughters died in childhood) a succession crisis following his passing. This was complicated by the military supporters of the Decembrist revolt who favored Tsar Alexander’s earlier liberal reforms. The revolt failed and the Tsar was eventually succeeded by his reactionary brother Nicholas I.

It is worth noting that Alexander I ruled between 1801–1825. He was the same Tsar that helped turn Napoleon’s 1812 invasion of Russia into a disaster for the Corsican. Although Alexander introduced reform in the early part of his reign he became increasingly despotic in the latter portion of his life and was dominated by a religious zealotry that was becoming increasingly regressive. Rumors persisted after his death that he was actually alive and was living as a hermit in Siberia. This hasn’t been substantiated.

Why is the UN useless?

 (Asked on Quora). My answer below.

Useless is a bit harsh as it has had some success on the health and political front. The campaign against polio and the military action in Korea (1950–1953) can be viewed in a positive light. The decision to divide what was left of the British Palestinian mandate (Transjordan - later Jordan - had already been cut off) into a Jewish and Arab state was another good move. It was the best of all possible options at the time.

Unfortunately there are more negatives than positives.

United Nation failures though are largely a consequence of several factors

1. The lack of a common vision. Words mean less than action. Enlightenment and Human right ideals are not shared by many of its member states even if they give lip service to it. It would be better if the UN were a league of democracies and had standards for admission
2. The politically expedient use of Veto politics that weaken security council decisions. This was a common feature during the Cold War Era and continues today.
3. Bloc Voting on Key decisions. This pigeon holes necessary debate,
4. The UN has become a platform for local vendettas that detract from the bigger picture eg. look how its anti-Racism conference in Durban was turned into a hate Israel fest.
5. It is overly bureaucratic. Red tape rules. Too many levels of organization that cut against grassroots initiatives. Ownership of deliverables disappear into the aether
6. The United Nations all too often lacks the teeth to enforce its actions on the ground. When pushed by hostile parties it often backs down.
7. Its Programs are often burdened by corruption eg. oil-for-food funds.
8. Many of its Committees have become parodies of themselves eg. Human rights abusing countries sitting on Human Rights Commissions.

Is the Western elite losing the support of the Common People?

 (My answer)

The elites, who traditionally dominate the major parties in most Western nations appear to be losing their grip on the power structure within their respective political domains. What you are seeing now is not necessarily a new phenomenon but an expedite of the ‘disillusionment-with-the-establishment’ process that goes back to WWI.

It makes sense. The elites were chosen to be stewards of the economy and guardians of the nation state. They were elected to protect our rights. Their first priority was supposed to be that of the electorate. In this regard they appear to be failing - economies have been mismanaged, manufacturing sectors gutted, privacy rights infringed, and cultural traditions compromised in the wake of falling education standards, a deleterious lockdown and crumbling institutions. Elite loyalties seem to reside with globalist orthodoxies setting the stage for the emergence of a statist/corporatist bureaucracy that views the unwashed as ‘items’to be managed by the deliberate control of information.

The elites have starved the system of oxygen and may finally be paying the price. Its about time.

List of Observations.

 (Some appeared in an earlier list)

There is no more certain avenue for disappointment than looking to a politician for moral and ethical guidance.

At its core the powers controlling a real world communist nation are the embodiment of the ideal corporate capitalist as there is no more powerful monopoly than the unopposed government.

In any political system it is a virtual certainty that the same types of people will acquire bureaucratic power. The only safeguard that the public has is the foresight of those who anticipated this eventuality, to have put in place, the necessary stop gaps.

To those in power the constitution is at best an inconvenience.

False Messiahs are never in short supply.

Beware of politicians who promise change. What they inevitably fail to mention is that change need not be positive.

The stock market thrives on natural and artificially created uncertainty and is driven by expectations that often detach themselves from reality. It is consequently a poor judge of the overall state of the economy in the short run.

There is nothing more expensive than a government program that promises something for free.

Civilizations prosper when responsibility exceeds entitlement. They atrophy when the balance flips the other way.

You can bury any reasonable conclusion under a statistical mudslide.

The surest sign that a civilization is in decline is the deterioration of the quality of art and the excess in excuses for it offered by the creative class.

The reality is that ignorance is a source of comfort for many.

A great deal of evil can be committed in the name of community safety.

The more you alleviate danger the greater the public propensity to fear the irrational.

Very few people are as great as their resume would have you believe.

Institutional survivability selects for grafters.

Any large organization will eventually collapse under its own weight.

The problem with all ideals is that they are without exception predicated on a misunderstanding of human nature.

There is perhaps nothing as toxic as distorting the gift of science to march head first off a cliff while claiming to advance the greater good.

The world itself is most in need of a serious dose of humility.

Avoid the temptation to marinate in your own propaganda.

Most system critiques far exceed in quality the counter solutions that they propose.

A great deal of government folly is driven by the need to push ahead with absolute certainty into a milieu that is ridiculous at best.

Most problems that exist are a function of an over correction somewhere down the line.

Given enough time and any system will become corrupt

Why do Far Leftist activists all too often have meltdowns when they can't win debates?

 (My answer in Quora)

Far Left ideologies are usually rooted in the anti-Enlightenment Romantic movement that has its origin in the writings of Rousseau. It appeals to emotion and the will of the people and is centered on the ‘ought’ as opposed to the ‘is’.

At its core these ideologies (whether Marxist or neo-Marxist) are utopic and see the ‘other’ as reactionary stumbling blocks in a Manichean world of good versus evil.

A defeat in the context of a rational debate taps into a visceral response. Meltdowns are all too often a consequence.

Do you think Putin's chilling warning to Russian 'traitors' and 'scum' is a sign things aren't going to plan?

(My answer in Quora)

It is certainly something out of the Communist Party playbook .

In 1937 (during the Stalinist Purges) a letter was sent by General George Yakir to the Soviet leadership begging for the safety of his family. Yakir was awaiting execution on trumped up charges.

The letter was published by the Soviet Government in 1961. Four comments were written on it. Look at the similarity of the language to Putin’s recent statements. The dehumanization is obvious.

Stalin: ‘Yakir, trash and traitor.’

Voroshilov: ‘ An exact description’

Molotov: ‘Entire agreement with Stalin.’

Kaganovich: ‘A traitor, a pig.’

Yes. I think it is fair to say that the situation is not going to plan (although it does not mean that the Russians are necessarily losing). The same lines of paranoia that impacted Stalin have come home to roost again. What is even more ominous is that life will look to rapidly deteriorate not just for the Ukrainians but for the Russians as well.

In Putin’s worldview you are either with him or against him. Very little room for a middle ground.

Is the current Liverpool side stronger than the 2019/2020 vintage that won the League?

 As a Liverpool fan I think that it is. Here is my rationale.

In defense Liverpool have replaced the inconsistent Dejan Lovren with Ibrahima Konaté who looks to be a world class defender in the making. There is also dedicated coverage for Andy Robertson in the form of the ever reliable Kostas Tsimikas.

Adam Lallana has left to go to Brighton and in his place the Reds have the brilliant Thiago Alcântara. However the biggest plus has been the way the offense has been greatly strengthened by the acquisition of the exciting duo of Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz. In addition Curtis Jones, Takumi Minamino and Harvey Elliott are better players than they were two years ago.