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0 pointsstickfigure2mo ago0 comments

Venezuela has already been going really badly, by nearly any quantitative metric of "how going". This is a country that - a couple decades ago - was a rare success story of democracy and prosperity in Latin America.

I think the Venezuelans will work it out, despite Trump's ineptitude.

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estearum2mo ago

I see this sentiment around here a lot and I just have to laugh.

Things going badly does not mean — even at all — that things cannot go much much worse.

Libya was bad and got worse

Syria was bad and got worse

Afghanistan was bad and got worse

Sudan was bad and got worse

In fact, nearly every really bad situation was already bad, and then it got worse.

stickfigureOP2mo ago

I can appreciate that but taken to its conclusion it's a recipe for paralysis and complacency. It always could be worse, so let's just let sit here and let shit happen?

Unlike all those places you mention, Venezuela has a democratic tradition which was only recently derailed. This isn't some middle eastern theocratic monarchy. It's "get back on track" not "find new tracks where none existed before".

estearum2mo ago

No, shit can always get worse so act carefully and with a plan.

I and many others are asking for evidence of such a plan. The US administration has denied the existence of such a plan.

Maybe those factors you mention will turn out to be relevant or even determinative, and maybe not. I suspect in absence of an actual plan, the mere tradition of democracy will not suffice.

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estearum2mo ago

I see this sentiment around here a lot and I just have to laugh.

Things going badly does not mean — even at all — that things cannot go much much worse.

Libya was bad and got worse

Syria was bad and got worse

Afghanistan was bad and got worse

Sudan was bad and got worse

In fact, nearly every really bad situation was already bad, and then it got worse.

stickfigureOP2mo ago

I can appreciate that but taken to its conclusion it's a recipe for paralysis and complacency. It always could be worse, so let's just let sit here and let shit happen?

estearum2mo ago

No, shit can always get worse so act carefully and with a plan.

I and many others are asking for evidence of such a plan. The US administration has denied the existence of such a plan.

Maybe those factors you mention will turn out to be relevant or even determinative, and maybe not. I suspect in absence of an actual plan, the mere tradition of democracy will not suffice.

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse