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comment by arguewithatree
arguewithatree  ·  3207 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: So I'm going to Kosovo??

Yeah it's definitely a super squishy abstract concept. I think a lot of the problem comes from the fact that in order for institutions to work, you have to let them do their thing which can take a long time. Personally, I think one of the biggest issues with democracy building is that we don't let time pass and for institutions to take on a character of their own. I think the US model worked for the US because the world basically left us the fuck alone for a century or two and we figured out how to make democratic institutions work for us. But in somewhere like post-Arab Spring Egypt, people want things to happen immediately and it just doesn't work that way.

In high school, I was on a mock congressional hearings team (lmfao i know) which helped give a really in depth look into how you research and prep for a hearing and involved a lot of constitutional study so we weren't just talking out our asses about what the govt can do. This obviously isn't the best form of civic engagement for everyone, but I think national service opportunities is an awesome way of making civic action widely accessible.





blackbootz  ·  3205 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I'm reading an introductory book on economics, and I'm on the part about "institutions." Squishy concept indeed. His stab at defining is "the arrangements between people and organizations." Meh.

    In high school, I was on a mock congressional hearings team (lmfao i know)

I didn't think about it until you pointed it out, but that is hilarious. "Most likely to be president."

arguewithatree  ·  3205 days ago  ·  link  ·  

that's...kind of it. it's more of a feedback loop than that. actions shape institutions which shape actions etc

The mock congressional hearings program (called We The People naturally) is divided into 6 units each with a different focus (philosophical/historical foundations of the US, the founders' process/intent, post-civil war adaptations to the constitution, how the constitution shaped american institutions, the role of the bill of rights, and 21st century issues). I was in the last group which is affectionately dubbed the lovey dovey touchy feely group. And here I am lmao

blackbootz  ·  3205 days ago  ·  link  ·  

That sounds rad actually. We The People. I wish I had something like that in middle school.

    post-civil war adaptations to the constitution

I just read a really interesting book by a legal author Akhil Reed Amar that touched on the Reconstruction Congress and it's "intents" with the 13th and 14th amendments. It inspired me to pick up his America's Constitution: A Biography (though it might be some time before I get to it. I'm currently on hour 3 of 67 of The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York).

But speaking of building institutions, trying to normalize the South after the Civil War... sheesh. Not jealous of that job.

arguewithatree  ·  3205 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Akhil Reed Amar was the patron saint of unit 3. I haven't heard that name in forever haha.

Yeah and it's definitely really easy to look at Reconstruction and where we are today and draw the conclusion that institution building is hard.