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Paris Stories
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Giving Up Is Unfo...
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The Thirty Years War
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See all 13 books that Larry is reading…
Book cover for Balance of Power: States, Societies, and the Narrow Corridor to Liberty
The Allure of Autocrats The way Italian communes dismantled their participatory institutions and disbanded themselves in the process is puzzling at first. Wouldn’t society want to defend its existence in the corridor? We have argued that ...more
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Masha Gessen
“Just as the full absurdity of Trump was sinking in, crushing any hope that he would turn “presidential,” Putin, in the American imagination, was turning into a brilliant strategist, a skilled secret agent who was plotting the end of the Western world. In fact, Putin was and remains a poorly educated, underinformed, incurious man whose ambition is vastly out of proportion to his understanding of the world. To the extent that he has any interest in the business of governing, it is solely his own role—on the world stage or on Russian television—that concerns him. Whether he is attending a summit, piloting a plane, or hang gliding with Siberian cranes, it is the spectacle of power that interests him. In this, he and Trump are alike: to them, power is the beginning and the end of government, the presidency, politics—and public politics is only the performance of power.”
Masha Gessen, Surviving Autocracy

Masha Gessen
“One might say that Trump grasped the essence of the system, which turned money into power and power into money but, until Trump came along, did it politely, tastefully, and by group agreement. Or one might say that Trump acted at once the emperor and the boy who said that the emperor has no clothes, ripping the illusory cover of decency off the system, forcing everyone to stare at its obscene nature. Unlike the emperor in the fairy tale, though, Trump felt no shame and so was not transformed by the exposure—rather, he transformed the system, once again stripping away the moral aspiration of politics.”
Masha Gessen, Surviving Autocracy

Masha Gessen
“Corruption would not be the right word to apply to the Trump administration. The term implies deception—it assumes that the public official understands that they should not benefit from the public trust, but, duplicitously, they do it anyway. The opposite of corruption in political discourse is transparency—indeed, the global anticorruption organization calls itself Transparency International. Trump, his family, and his officials are not duplicitous: they appear to act in accordance with the belief that political power should produce personal wealth, and in this, if not in the specifics of their business arrangements, they are transparent.”
Masha Gessen, Surviving Autocracy

Masha Gessen
“This act of whistleblowing was not like other acts of whistleblowing. Historically, whistleblowers reveal abuse of power that is surprising and shocking to the public. The Trump-Ukraine story was shocking but in no way surprising: it was in character, and in keeping with a pattern of actions. The incident that the whistleblower chose to report was not the worst thing that Trump had done. Installing his daughter and her husband in the White House was worse. Inciting violence was worse. Unleashing war on immigrants was worse. Enabling murderous dictators the world over was worse.”
Masha Gessen, Surviving Autocracy

“Mandy’s voice on the phone last week was grave. “You know, Betty isn’t herself anymore.” She advises, “George, I think you are going to have to consider assisted living.” I wanted to respond, “Oh goodness. That has never crossed my mind.” People mean well; they just aren’t here enough to get what we are dealing with or what home means to my mother. Everyone thinks they know what should be done, and their suggestions make me suspect they must consider me an idiot who doesn’t comprehend the situation. Actually, I don’t, but never mind. I get what makes sense; I just can’t bear to do it. I cannot imagine the sorrow of dragging her out of this house.”
George Hodgman, Bettyville: A Memoir

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