On Trump's view, #economic strength grounds #power, and power in turn secures wealth. Power thus appears as a consequence of the economy, not the other way around.

Trump’s mercantilist policies hark back to eras when empires ruled the world, each one managing a higher degree of independence.

R. Paxton (2004) stresses interesting differences between #fascism and #authoritarianism: the latter does not “reduce the private sphere to nothing”, it accepts groups such as local notables, economic cartels, families or churches. Moreover, authoritarians strive for a “strong but limited state.”

4/4 In both sectors, productivity growth can slow while expectations stay anchored in post-war growth imaginaries. Will “automation anxiety” finally force political debate on the future of work—or will hopes of a cyclical recovery, and fiscal pressures, postpone it once again?

3/4 Robotics tends to surface differently: capital-intensive deployments, hard integration, exception handling, and physical constraints. So tangible-sector automation stories often read as ROI/complexity realities (and ceiling effects) rather than a broad labour-market shock.

2/4 This isn’t just narrative. Gen-AI is unusually easy to trial and diffuse: low upfront capital, quick organisational pilots, and “good enough” performance for many text-heavy tasks—so the anxiety migrates into the intangible sector fast.

Really appreciated this. I liked the field vs department distinction. It struck me that under “viewpoint diversity” people often run together three issues – what counts as science, free-speech norms, and power dynamics around hiring and careers.