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Curt Adams's avatar

Less political repression is a small thing? If you lived in a country where thousands were executed in a soccer stadium, like Chile, or shoved out airplane hatches over the South Atlantic like Argentina, you might think it's a big thing. Even in less brutal regimes the secret police and censorship are oppressive to everybody. Comparatively benign authoritarian regimes like Singapore are very rare, and even they aren't a match for an ordinary democracy. Democracy lets you live a normal life in a way few if any authoritarian regimes do. That's a huge win, and that's why they're preferred. Any benefits to economic growth or avoiding war are just gravy on that big meal.

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Stephen Diamond's avatar

While your observations identify a genuine problem...

A problem compared to what, I would have to ask Robin. Compared to humans being instinctive utilitarians? I think Robin sometimes selectively forgets that coordination is hard.

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