The State Capacity Crisis
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The State Capacity Crisis
Pressure on the technocracy will build. America is heading toward an institutional crisis in which the competence of the technocracy and the institutions of the federal government will be questioned.
George Friedman • The Storm Before the Calm: America's Discord, the Coming Crisis of the 2020s, and the Triumph Beyond
Indeed, states now exist to a large extent in order to maintain and to promote economic, technical, and legal foundations and infrastructures of mass consumption.
Vaclav Smil • Making the Modern World: Materials and Dematerialization
Historian Scott Gabriel Knowles proposes that we think of the “deferred maintenance” of public infrastructures as slow-motion disasters, which sustain the oppression of marginalized and underserved populations. 23 Summers, meanwhile, emphasizes the “debt burden on the next generation,” since the cost of fixing the world compounds over time.
Places Journal • Maintenance and Care
Once the system didn’t function normally, it came very close to not functioning at all.
Philip Auerswald • The Coming Prosperity: How Entrepreneurs Are Transforming the Global Economy
At its worst, the recent collapse has exposed our aging republic’s staggering incompetence at carrying out even basic tasks. We can’t keep the electricity turned on or baby formula stocked in stores. We can’t recall how to enforce laws on the streets or at the border. We can’t ensure minimal care for homeless families or minimal compliance from tax
... See moreNeil Howe • The Fourth Turning Is Here: What the Seasons of History Tell Us about How and When This Crisis Will End
little more difficult to fund projects or hire truly qualified people.