KenFraser

Substack:

[KenFraser @Ken__Fraser]

https://t.co/2MxZyUxIuK

[KenFraser @Ken__Fraser]

@lyndall19414 @Dempsey57Jackie Who silenced you? Do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound? You're here on a public social media platform that everyone can see, complaining about how you've been silenced. Now, just take a little time and think about what that looks like.

[KenFraser @Ken__Fraser]

The most significant populist movement today is led by a man who inherited money beyond the capacity of most of us to imagine, who lives in a gold-plated penthouse in a tower in the richest city on earth. Admittedly, he's very poorly educated, but in every other way he is a card-carrying member of 'the elite': fabulously rich, ethically empty, profoundly decadent, unaccountable, etc etc.

[KenFraser @Ken__Fraser]

@SociologenHD Disqualify whose claims? The populist leaders'? It doesn't, necessarily, but it does show that the truth or falsity of their claims is largely irrelevant, since the whole thing is generally a scam.

[KenFraser @Ken__Fraser]

Proof? The evidence is copious. Try putting "leaders of populist movements are often members of economic elites" into copilot or some such. The data is unequivocal. Populism is bad for the populace, because it is generally a scam being run by rich, educated elites in order to justify ignoring rules and transferring resources from the populace to themselves.
This is what Copilot says: "Yes — many populist leaders come from economic or social elites, even though their rhetoric claims to represent “the people” against “the elite.” This pattern is well‑documented in comparative political‑economy research, though it varies by region and movement type."
And here's one of many references:

[KenFraser @Ken__Fraser]

@TimGlauert @cochranereturns @colwight The Lebanese government may not want them there, and they are undoubtedly closely allied with Iran, but clearly a lot Lebanese people want them there. That's all.

[KenFraser @Ken__Fraser]

@TimGlauert @cochranereturns @colwight Hezbollah successfully participates in elections in Lebanon, and is a significant bloc in their Parliament.

[KenFraser @Ken__Fraser]

@TyCobbuofw @Josh_Merfeld You haven't been to the desert, have you?

[KenFraser @Ken__Fraser]

@IonaItalia Oh, please, there's no winter in Sydney.

[KenFraser @Ken__Fraser]

@Peter_Scavenius @SociologenHD "Common" has more than one meaning.

[KenFraser @Ken__Fraser]

@grok @SheilaGreenfiel @ReauxURBeauxt @colwight @grok Has Hamas moderated its charter's call for an end to Israel, since 1988? What about Hezbollah? What does the Hamas Charter say about Shia Muslims and Iran, if anything?

[KenFraser @Ken__Fraser]

@OlenaRohoza Be careful when you call for burning someone's world down. You might find that it's your world, too.

[KenFraser @Ken__Fraser]

@otigart @ZacGoldsmith Yeah, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to go to war, after all.

[KenFraser @Ken__Fraser]

@cloudy225393723 @PabloReports Yeah, I didn't think so.

[KenFraser @Ken__Fraser]

@cloudy225393723 @PabloReports Have you ever come up with an original phrase? Try it, it's fun. Might be frustrating for you, though, I suppose.

[KenFraser @Ken__Fraser]

@ross_baglin @WestminsterWAG ...and then we could have a big discussion about different kinds of 'authority', and from where they derive.

[KenFraser @Ken__Fraser]

OK, the key word here is 'respect'. But, as I say, we're broadly in agreement, although we probably disagree about how respect should be given and/or earned. I've tried to instill in my children respect for, among other things, their own judgement about who, and what rules and procedures, should be respected. I always told that, while we were close, and friendly, a father is different from a friend, in some important ways. But you would probably call me 'liberal'.

[KenFraser @Ken__Fraser]

@ArtemisConsort This is pretty extreme.

[KenFraser @Ken__Fraser]

@ross_baglin @WestminsterWAG I'm not sure it does. The parent has to be answerable not just to the child, but to some other authority. The child should have a course of appeal over the parent's head. I don't know you, and we're in general agreement, but I wonder how you would think of this.

[KenFraser @Ken__Fraser]

@ross_baglin @WestminsterWAG You forgot 'accountable', 'responsible' and subject to appeal.