Friday, January 06, 2006
(10:29 AM) | Adam Kotsko:
TVs and Playstations for Iraq
As many of you know, even in the aftermath of a highly contested election in the US, we don't have multiple insurgent attacks killing hundreds of people. And so I pondered: what is it that makes us Americans so calm? Is it our high degree of moral virtue? I haven't done extensive studies, but anecdotal evidence strongly suggests that this is not the case. Is it that a "culture of democracy" has taken root in our country, such that we settle disputes in non-violent ways? Given that a strong plurality of the people don't vote and that one of the strongest lobbying groups in the country is fighting for our right to have weapon stockpiles in our homes, I'm skeptical about that.The only solution, the infinite qualitative difference between Iraq and America, is this: in America, there is a critical mass of the population that is absorbed in watching TV, playing video games, and looking at the Internet. Even if a foreign power were to invade the US, I think that the strong revealed preference of Americans for screen-based activity patterns would prevent a large-scale insurgency from breaking out. And this reveals the real tragedy of the failed reconstruction -- without reliable electricity, Iraqis have been unable to watch TV for long stretches. Rebuilding the power grid and making sure that every home had a free one-year trial of the best possible cable plan (8 HBOs, 4 Showtimes, etc.) and high-speed Internet access would have gone a long way toward "winning the peace."
