Apocalypse

Having a goal of posting to this blog each day doesn’t mean an acceptable way to get it done is finding someone else’s post and pasting it in. Nor that it would make sense to filter for news stories or opinion pieces that include the terms Crisis, Collapse, Apocalypse, or Cloverfield.

Still,  this post on how Cantor's defeat is a bigger deal than implied merely by first-order political results is quite insightful.  

First, though, it should be noted that it includes the following words: Apocalypse (in the title), threat, collapse, destruction, lawlessness, brutality, doom, panic, dysfunction, and balkanization, plus "semi-failed state". Which sounds as if someone else is anticipating a Crisis, too.  It's a surprisingly bleak view of the political future, even for those who might want to see the existing system made obsolete. 

I would argue that Cantor’s defeat is bad news for both parties and for the stagnant system they represent. If anything, it may signify a nascent or immanent threat to that system.

This is not a piece about where Cantor went wrong, but about how the political system went wrong, is showing its age, and may shortly be replaced.

Cantor’s downfall was the inevitable result of a systemic malfunction, and not an unrepeatable anomaly stemming from low turnout or a single-issue voter meltdown.

If this is "not...unrepeatable," similarly unexpected major changes could occur again.  A system that has unexpected major changes, though, is one which is not stable, and ultimately not usable.  And the end state for a process to improve (or enable) stability is not easily inferred. Considering that end state in terms of the recently released The Rover:

In his imaginary future there are still cars and electricity, still a cash economy of sorts, and some kind of a vestigial state making a feeble effort to keep the peace. Freight trains pass through, covered with Chinese characters and protected by heavily armed guards. It’s more like a recognizable end point for current trends than a total destruction of civilization.

Which is a helpful reminder that there isn't any guarantee about where the Crisis could end up.