Discussion about this post

User's avatar
William Beyer's avatar

A "home-run" column, Alex. I've never lived outside America, but have traveled enough to know a few things. The perspective of people like you, who have lived under multiple governments, is priceless.

Expand full comment
Stephen Burnage's avatar

A counterintuitive and somewhat intriguing example of governance is the Taliban in Afghanistan. Yes, we have all been taught how bad they are but, since they formed the effective government (following the US withdrawal), they have done some intriguing things. Firstly, they curtailed poppy production (now effectively zero) and commenced a program to encourage agricultural production (during the long occupation years, foodstuffs were imported). They are well into construction of a massive nationwide canal project, to distribute water to previously arid areas, in pursuit of that goal. They are also revitalizing the Trans Afghanistan rail project (allowing the country and Uzbekistan access to Pakistani ports). And yet, to most of the world, they are the very opposite of a democracy.

Expand full comment
177 more comments...

No posts