Jonathan V. Last

Well, let's talk about them serially because they're both important and they're different. Patrimonialism was the standard form of government until, you know, the modern state, basically more or less until, you know, the United States and was actually very common then until the late 19th century when we professionalized the government and until Otto von Bismarck and the modern state.

Well, let's talk about them serially because they're both important and they're different. Patrimonialism was the standard form of government until, you know, the modern state, basically more or less until, you know, the United States and was actually very common then until the late 19th century when we professionalized the government and until Otto von Bismarck and the modern state.

And the interesting question is why did it ever go away? Why was it replaced? And the major reason for that is that running a big modern state with a modern economy and a modern military, you know, a vast, mighty war machine, this takes a lot of expertise. And it takes a whole lot of social organization. And that means it's got to be bureaucratic and rules-based.

And the interesting question is why did it ever go away? Why was it replaced? And the major reason for that is that running a big modern state with a modern economy and a modern military, you know, a vast, mighty war machine, this takes a lot of expertise. And it takes a whole lot of social organization. And that means it's got to be bureaucratic and rules-based.

And the interesting question is why did it ever go away? Why was it replaced? And the major reason for that is that running a big modern state with a modern economy and a modern military, you know, a vast, mighty war machine, this takes a lot of expertise. And it takes a whole lot of social organization. And that means it's got to be bureaucratic and rules-based.

There is just no way that some guy... with his whims and his family and his pals and his personal loyalty can do those things effectively. And what patrimonialists do when they snip the tendons of the administrative state is and replace them with loyalties, diminish the capacity of the state to do what the state needs to do.

There is just no way that some guy... with his whims and his family and his pals and his personal loyalty can do those things effectively. And what patrimonialists do when they snip the tendons of the administrative state is and replace them with loyalties, diminish the capacity of the state to do what the state needs to do.

There is just no way that some guy... with his whims and his family and his pals and his personal loyalty can do those things effectively. And what patrimonialists do when they snip the tendons of the administrative state is and replace them with loyalties, diminish the capacity of the state to do what the state needs to do.

And it turned out that patrimonialist systems were just not able to meet the demands of modern statehood. And you see that in a place like Russia, when you look at the, to use your scientific term, shit show, when they tried to topple a weak neighbor, and what they wound up with wasn't a victory, it was a traffic jam.

And it turned out that patrimonialist systems were just not able to meet the demands of modern statehood. And you see that in a place like Russia, when you look at the, to use your scientific term, shit show, when they tried to topple a weak neighbor, and what they wound up with wasn't a victory, it was a traffic jam.

And it turned out that patrimonialist systems were just not able to meet the demands of modern statehood. And you see that in a place like Russia, when you look at the, to use your scientific term, shit show, when they tried to topple a weak neighbor, and what they wound up with wasn't a victory, it was a traffic jam.

So Trump is doing the same thing here. It's basically a form of Putinism, at least, you know, Putin, pre-war Putin. And he's replacing competent people with incompetent people. And I think you've made that point very well on this show. The name Pete Hegseth springs to mind, but you know, there are... But Lutnik is a great example of this, right?

So Trump is doing the same thing here. It's basically a form of Putinism, at least, you know, Putin, pre-war Putin. And he's replacing competent people with incompetent people. And I think you've made that point very well on this show. The name Pete Hegseth springs to mind, but you know, there are... But Lutnik is a great example of this, right?

So Trump is doing the same thing here. It's basically a form of Putinism, at least, you know, Putin, pre-war Putin. And he's replacing competent people with incompetent people. And I think you've made that point very well on this show. The name Pete Hegseth springs to mind, but you know, there are... But Lutnik is a great example of this, right?

Yeah. And then when you do bring in people who are competent, like I think arguably Scott Besant is probably a competent person, you make them incompetent because you require them to do silly, crazy things, right? So incompetence is just baked in to this type of regime.

Yeah. And then when you do bring in people who are competent, like I think arguably Scott Besant is probably a competent person, you make them incompetent because you require them to do silly, crazy things, right? So incompetence is just baked in to this type of regime.

Yeah. And then when you do bring in people who are competent, like I think arguably Scott Besant is probably a competent person, you make them incompetent because you require them to do silly, crazy things, right? So incompetence is just baked in to this type of regime.

There's some stuff they can do about it by cleaning up their act, but really not very much, especially if Trump continues as he began, which unlike in the first term where he kind of, you know, he subsided a bit and allowed some grownups to run the place. He doesn't seem willing to do that. So this is a major weakness.

There's some stuff they can do about it by cleaning up their act, but really not very much, especially if Trump continues as he began, which unlike in the first term where he kind of, you know, he subsided a bit and allowed some grownups to run the place. He doesn't seem willing to do that. So this is a major weakness.

There's some stuff they can do about it by cleaning up their act, but really not very much, especially if Trump continues as he began, which unlike in the first term where he kind of, you know, he subsided a bit and allowed some grownups to run the place. He doesn't seem willing to do that. So this is a major weakness.