From: jimruttshow8596
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted public perceptions of government competence, leading to a re-evaluation of institutional effectiveness and underlying societal structures. Discussions on The Jim Rutt Show explored these shifts, drawing parallels to historical periods and analyzing the motivations behind decision-making.
The Inability to Take the World Seriously
Curtis Yarvin’s essay “2020: The Year of Everything Fake” posits that modern society, particularly its discourse, views itself as an “Italian Renaissance” while potentially being more akin to “late antiquity” – a period that “cannot be taken seriously” 00:03:22. This suggests a disconnect between self-perception and reality regarding intellectual achievements and governmental effectiveness 00:03:52. The host, Jim Rutt, often refers to the political process as a “clown show” 00:04:49.
This notion is similar to presentism, a “temporal chauvinism” that assumes one’s own world is completely real and deserving of great respect 00:07:20. Historical examples, like scholars of the late Roman Empire who did not believe their empire was declining, illustrate this blind spot 00:07:36. These historical figures were focused on “connections” and “flattery” rather than addressing the deeper problems of their time 00:07:56.
The Mythos and Political Formula
The concept of a “mythos” describes the series of beliefs most people in a society hold as right and good 00:10:33. Related to this is the “political formula,” a term from Gaetano Mosca, which describes the element of the mythos that makes people believe the government and its power are good and right 00:11:57. Today’s political formula often makes individuals feel “powerful and important” for supporting the government 00:12:33.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed a significant “shock” to this mythos 00:14:48.
00:14:56 “The status quo, the emperor is wearing no clothes, it’s probably increased by at least an order of magnitude in one year.”
This shock led many to question the competence of agencies revered for their effectiveness, revealing failures in both political leadership (Trump) and the “deep state” bureaucracy 00:13:39.
The Stupidity Quotient (SQ)
Yarvin introduces the “Stupidity Quotient (SQ)” as a lens to evaluate decisions, suggesting that many governmental actions failed to meet the basic reasoning of a child 00:18:16.
For instance, a six-year-old would immediately suggest stopping international flights from a disease-affected area, a logical step the US government failed to take due to concerns about “disrupting travel and trade” 00:19:56. This highlights a fundamental issue: governments are not optimizing for sense-making or quality decisions, but for bolstering “institutional reputations and strengths” 00:20:51.
Conflicts of Interest within Bureaucracies
In bureaucracies, loyalty shifts from direct results to internal “mafias” and the institution itself, often causing the institution’s real goals to diverge from its nominal ones 00:21:46. This is exemplified by the Department of Homeland Security, created post-9/11 because “national security” had come to mean “conquering the planet” rather than securing the homeland 00:23:03.
Mancur Olson’s work, such as The Rise and Decline of Nations and The Logic of Collective Action, explores how self-serving internal bureaucracies and small, intensely motivated groups can capture decision-making, leading to outcomes favorable to them but detrimental to broader societal interests 00:24:01.
A striking example of this is the lab leak theory of COVID-19’s origin. It is argued that research into bat coronaviruses, funded by American grants and involving gain-of-function experiments, contributed to the pandemic’s emergence from the Wuhan Institute of Virology 00:25:39. Notably, Dr. Anthony Fauci was involved in supporting this research, and Peter Daszak, a key figure in the bat coronavirus studies, was appointed to lead the WHO investigation into the pandemic’s origins 00:35:15. This situation, where a “credibly accused culprit” leads an investigation, highlights a profound conflict of interest 00:35:49.
Vaccine Approval and the Hippocratic Oath
Another SQ test failure involved the slow approval of COVID-19 vaccines. Despite rapid development, the FDA’s approval process was lengthy, though still faster than usual 00:31:33. The argument that all 100 developed vaccines should have been released immediately, with adverse effects tracked and recalled, highlights the institutional prioritization of avoiding “bad outcomes” (like the 1976 swine flu vaccine causing Guillain-Barré syndrome) over preventing a much larger number of deaths 00:36:26.
This reveals a deep-seated conflict of interest: institutions prioritize “retaining their prestige” over making risk-benefit decisions that would save more lives but carry a higher risk of public blame 00:39:25. The Hippocratic Oath, “above all, do no harm,” is framed as a “memetic strategy” for doctors to prioritize their personal survival and reputation, even if it means not acting wholly in the patient’s best interest 00:41:51.
The Lockdown Strategy
The US lockdown strategy also failed the SQ test 00:43:52. China’s approach involved aggressive, proactive testing and mandatory quarantine facilities, effectively reducing transmission rates 00:45:36. In contrast, the World Health Organization (WHO) initially promoted false narratives against quarantines due to influence from the hospitality industry 00:46:04.
The idea of “test, trace, and isolate” was proposed in the US, but the “state capacity” of American institutions was “greatly overstated” 00:47:45. The US government lacks basic capabilities like accurately counting its population or efficiently tracking individuals, making a “hammer and dance” strategy (aggressive suppression followed by targeted measures) impossible to execute 00:50:06.
00:51:56 “Many features of the American system have this kind of anarchy built into them where they don’t want to be seen as a state.”
This weakness led to a “permanent war mentality” against the virus, where the goal shifted from eradication or herd immunity to simply “control,” accepting that the fight might not be winning but preventing worse outcomes 00:54:12.
Historical Context of Government Competence
Historically, the American government demonstrated high competence during World War II, exemplified by the Manhattan Project 00:55:16. This project was run like a startup, with “two-in-a-box leadership” (technical and logistical) and a top-down, monarchical structure 00:59:09. Scientists were ordered what to work on, a stark contrast to today’s “oligarchical” science model where scientists are seen as “independent spirits” 00:59:52.
The Department of Energy, the direct successor to the Manhattan Project, is now considered one of Washington’s “most incompetent departments,” illustrating a systemic deterioration 01:01:02.
This shift is attributed to a change in the fundamental “form of government” 01:04:55. The US in the 1930s under FDR operated as a “de facto monarchy,” where the president could “destroy, create and destroy agencies” and delegate to highly effective managers 01:01:43. FDR’s 1933 inaugural address, delivered in a time of emergency, invoked a call for national unity and a willingness to submit to “discipline” under a strong “leadership,” even demanding “broad executive power to wage a war against the emergency” 01:05:26. This centralized, decisive leadership contrasts sharply with the “oligarchical” structure observed today, where accountability for failures is rare 01:03:38.
The political dynamics of political polarization also played a role. Trump’s “personal decision” to take a hard line on the virus is argued to have caused the establishment to “turn on a dime” and adopt a full lockdown theory, largely as a counter-reaction 01:11:51. This suggests that political opposition, rather than rational policy-making, often dictates governmental responses in the current environment.
The challenges of modern governance and media include the media influences on political opinions and the shift from an effective executive to a bureaucracy driven by self-interest. The economic restructuring and future elections will likely reflect these changed perceptions of competence.