Scott Alexander reviews a book about Hugo Chavez, analyzing his rise to power, rule, and impact on Venezuela, while drawing parallels to other populist leaders. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews 'Comandante', a book about Hugo Chavez's rise to power and rule in Venezuela. The review describes Chavez as a charismatic showman who used populist tactics, media control, and oil wealth to consolidate power, while implementing policies that ultimately damaged Venezuela's economy and institutions. Scott draws parallels between Chavez and other populist leaders, particularly Donald Trump, and reflects on the vulnerabilities of democratic systems to such figures. Shorter summary

Commenters provide additional context and debate points from Scott Alexander's review of a Putin biography, covering Putin's rise, the author's objectivity, and comparisons to US politics. Longer summary

This post summarizes comments on Scott Alexander's review of a Putin biography. The comments provide additional context and perspectives on Putin's rise to power, question the objectivity of the book's author Masha Gessen, suggest Putin may be slightly less bad than portrayed, discuss Putin as a culture warrior, and express concern about the potential for US intelligence agencies to undermine democracy. Key points include the importance of Russia's economic collapse in the 1990s for Putin's popularity, debates over Gessen's bias and reliability, alternative explanations for some seemingly suspicious events, Putin's alliance with the Russian Orthodox Church, and discussion of whether US agencies like the FBI/CIA could potentially act in ways similar to Russia's FSB. Shorter summary

A review of 'The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich' analyzes Hitler's rise to power, identifying key factors to recognize potential authoritarian threats. Longer summary

This review of William L. Shirer's 'The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich' focuses on Hitler's ascent to power in Germany, analyzing the key factors that enabled his success. The reviewer extracts five main characteristics of Hitler's approach: open illiberalism, strategic use of terror, building a 'second state' through organization, thriving in times of crisis, and securing financial backing. The review aims to provide insights for recognizing and preventing similar authoritarian threats in the future. Shorter summary

Scott reviews a biography of Vladimir Putin, tracing his rise to power and methods of maintaining control in Russia. Longer summary

This post reviews 'The Man Without A Face: The Unlikely Rise Of Vladimir Putin' by Masha Gessen, detailing Putin's life from childhood to his rise to power in Russia. It covers his KGB career, his unexpected ascent in politics, and his methods of consolidating power, including potential involvement in apartment bombings. The review also discusses Putin's shift towards conservative values and ends with reflections on whether a similar rise to dictatorship could happen in the US. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander argues for a nuanced view of cryptocurrency, highlighting its legitimate uses and potential benefits despite common criticisms. Longer summary

Scott Alexander explains why he is 'less than infinitely hostile' to cryptocurrency, despite widespread criticism. He argues that crypto has clear use cases in countries with weak banking systems, that major crypto projects are rarely outright scams, and that crypto provides valuable insurance against authoritarianism by enabling financial transactions when governments try to restrict them. Scott also contends that while the crypto financial system may be inferior to traditional finance in many ways, its decentralized nature gives it unique advantages. He concludes by suggesting that crypto's potential utility shouldn't be dismissed, even if one doesn't personally need it. Shorter summary

Scott reviews a book on Xi Jinping's rule, exploring China's government structure and Xi's rise to power, concluding that China's system failed to prevent authoritarianism. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews Elizabeth Economy's book 'The Third Revolution' about Xi Jinping's rule in China, but finds it doesn't answer his key questions about how Xi came to power. He explores China's government structure, the pre-Xi era, Xi's rise to power, and his actions as leader. Scott concludes that China's oligarchic system failed to prevent authoritarianism, increasing his confidence in democracy, though he's uncertain about attributing China's economic success solely to its government. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander discusses reader responses to his review of Viktor Orban's leadership in Hungary, exploring debates around authoritarianism, democracy, and effective governance. Longer summary

Scott Alexander summarizes and responds to reader comments on his review of Viktor Orban's governance in Hungary. Key points include debates over whether Orban qualifies as a dictator, comparisons to other political leaders, analysis of Hungary's electoral system and immigration policies, and reflections on the tradeoffs between decisive governance and maintaining democratic safeguards. Shorter summary

Scott reviews Viktor Orban's rise to power in Hungary, detailing his political transformation and methods of consolidating control through exploiting constitutional loopholes. Longer summary

This post reviews Viktor Orban's rise to power in Hungary, detailing his transformation from a liberal democrat to a far-right nationalist and his methods of consolidating control. Scott describes Orban's background, his political maneuvering, and how he exploited Hungary's political system to create a near-impregnable position. The post also discusses Orban's anti-immigrant stance during the 2015 refugee crisis and his attempts to boost Hungary's fertility rate. Scott concludes by expressing his dislike for Orban, comparing him unfavorably to other dictators, and warning about the dangers of leaving political loopholes that can be exploited by such figures. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines the relationship between handedness, authoritarianism, and cognitive flexibility, finding unexpected results that contradict a recent study. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses a study suggesting that consistently-handed individuals are more authoritarian and prejudiced than ambidextrous people. He attempts to replicate these findings using data from a previous SSC survey, but finds opposite results. Scott explores possible explanations for this discrepancy, including coding errors, the Lizardman Effect, and differences in study populations. He then speculates on the relationship between need for cognitive closure, ambidexterity, and various aspects of cognition and identity, including mental illness and intelligence. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews a book on Erdogan's rise to power in Turkey, analyzing the factors that led to democratic backsliding and considering lessons for other democracies. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews the book 'The New Sultan: Erdogan And The Crisis Of Modern Turkey', which details Recep Tayyip Erdogan's rise to power and Turkey's shift from a flawed democracy to a partial dictatorship. The review explores Turkey's unique historical context, Erdogan's political journey, and the strategies he used to consolidate power, drawing parallels and contrasts with other countries' experiences of democratic backsliding. Shorter summary

The post examines the compatibility of Islam and liberal democracy by analyzing six Muslim-majority countries, finding a wide spectrum of outcomes and concluding that Islam often acts as an obstacle to liberal democracy. Longer summary

This post examines the compatibility of Islam and liberal democracy by analyzing six Muslim-majority countries: United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Iran, and Lebanon. The authors review each country's history, constitution, democratic institutions, and human rights record to assess the extent to which liberal democracy has taken hold. They find a wide spectrum, from Tunisia's robust democracy to Iran's theocratic regime, with the other countries falling in between. The authors conclude that while it's possible for Muslim countries to adopt liberal democracy, Islam often acts as an obstacle, and most Muslim countries have only taken small steps in that direction so far. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews 'Seeing Like A State', examining how state efforts to standardize and control societies often backfire by ignoring local knowledge. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews 'Seeing Like A State' by James Scott, which examines how states have historically tried to make societies more 'legible' through standardization and top-down planning, often with disastrous results. The book covers examples from forestry, urban planning, agriculture and more, contrasting the failures of high modernist schemes with the success of local, traditional knowledge (metis). While acknowledging some benefits of standardization, the review explores the book's critique of overzealous state planning that ignores local conditions and wisdom. Shorter summary