Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Every country gets the government it deserves.

-- Joseph de Maistre, 1811



How do some third graders in Alabama deserve this? How do my 22-year-old waiter friends in rural Texas deserve this?

What exactly did they do to deserve this?


Be precise: the quote does not say "individual people deserve...", it's talking about the country as a whole. And even then, you don't necessarily have to agree with it.


It's easy to hide a lot of objectionable stuff in metonymy.

It feels reasonable to me to think of a "country" as the people who live there; doubly so when discussing a putative democracy.

But sure, I will entertain the idea that you mean something different that literally every other person I've encountered who has uttered that similar sentiment:

if the claim is that the owning-class of the US are seeing the results of their 400-year-long racist, genocidal campaign to enslave the world and exploit every crevice of the planet come home to roost in the form of a decaying ability to present themselves as ethically okay...

sure I can agree to that.

But honestly, I don't think that's what you're trying to say.


Those third graders didn't vote hard enough.



> Joseph Marie, comte de Maistre[a] (1 April 1753 – 26 February 1821)[1] was a Savoyard lawyer, diplomat, and political philosopher. He is chiefly remembered as one of the intellectual forefathers of modern conservatism.

Sounds like he'd love Trump, then




Consider applying for YC's Fall 2026 batch! Applications are open till July 27.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: