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RomeoStevens comments on Politics Discussion Thread January 2013 - Less Wrong Discussion

6 Post author: OrphanWilde 02 January 2013 03:31AM

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Comment author: mwengler 03 January 2013 05:16:23PM 1 point [-]

What do you think would be the important change in your behavior if you were convinced, in general, that Republicans were "better" than Democrats or vice versa, and how do you think that would impact the political process?

The political discussion moves the parties around. Economics discussion resulted in significant deregulation which has since been pretty broadly adopted by both parties. A discussion of what features make one party better than the other will, if it bears up, tend to contribute to making both parties more like the better position.

Since politics is a team sport, if it turned out that one team is doing better at what you want (assuming it is prosperity, hardly the only metric possible), then you would be well advised to support that team in some ways.

These are two practical implications for this discussion.

Comment author: RomeoStevens 03 January 2013 07:37:54PM 1 point [-]

I hear the deregulation thing touted a lot and I don't buy it. Do you have any links or sources? It seems like "deregulation" usually refers to less explicit rules in favor of a closer alliance between government and the major players of the industry in question.

Comment author: mwengler 04 January 2013 01:59:51PM 2 points [-]

Reagan further removed controls on oil and gas, cable television and long-distance phone service, as well as interstate bus service and ocean shipping.

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deregulation#Deregulation_1970-2000

Reagan was not the only president who reduced regulation, but he was one of them.