There is a weird parallelism between the way Sachs and others , e.g., John Mearsheimer, treat Russia and the way the legacy media, e.g., NYT and WaPo, treat the GOP. It goes something like this: Russia, and the GOP, will, in their respective spheres, do what they do because it is their nature (river, frog, scorpion), and it only remains for the US, and the Democratic Party, to accept their responsibility for provoking that behavior in the first place. When it comes to the US and Russia, only the US has agency; likewise the Democrats in relation to the GOP. The question of Russian and GOP responsibility for their own behaviors does not arise. How could it, given the worldviews of Sachs, et al. and the legacy media?
It is also almost quaint that Russia, and its apologists, still seem to believe that a country’s safety from its adversaries derives principally from the geographical distance between them. The next great-power war is more likely to be announced by hackers trying to take down the power grid and internet than by armored divisions crossing the border.
I keep coming back to this point: Substitute "Germany" for "Russia", "Czechoslovakia" for "Ukraine", and "Sudetenland" for "Crimea". This is bound to provoke howling about Godwins Law, of course, but where exactly do the parallels break down? Is it just that Russia waited a few years before taking another bite, while the Germans went back for the rest of the Czech lands immediately?
There is a weird parallelism between the way Sachs and others , e.g., John Mearsheimer, treat Russia and the way the legacy media, e.g., NYT and WaPo, treat the GOP. It goes something like this: Russia, and the GOP, will, in their respective spheres, do what they do because it is their nature (river, frog, scorpion), and it only remains for the US, and the Democratic Party, to accept their responsibility for provoking that behavior in the first place. When it comes to the US and Russia, only the US has agency; likewise the Democrats in relation to the GOP. The question of Russian and GOP responsibility for their own behaviors does not arise. How could it, given the worldviews of Sachs, et al. and the legacy media?
It is also almost quaint that Russia, and its apologists, still seem to believe that a country’s safety from its adversaries derives principally from the geographical distance between them. The next great-power war is more likely to be announced by hackers trying to take down the power grid and internet than by armored divisions crossing the border.
I keep coming back to this point: Substitute "Germany" for "Russia", "Czechoslovakia" for "Ukraine", and "Sudetenland" for "Crimea". This is bound to provoke howling about Godwins Law, of course, but where exactly do the parallels break down? Is it just that Russia waited a few years before taking another bite, while the Germans went back for the rest of the Czech lands immediately?
Giving thanks for Brad DeLong...
That is a very good letter.
Duly noted. Slava Ukraini!
Someone should escort Jeffrey Sachs out to a short pier and suggest he take a long walk for his health.
Yes, thanks Brad!
what is a comment? I decided I wanted to delete.
It is so nice to have the history and the multiple points of view.