Part of that case was that our political system is governed by a gerontocracy that evokes the age of Leonid Brezhnev and Yuri Andropov. After watching Joe Biden’s performance on the debate stage, I think Ferguson can claim that point as proven. His essay folded the gerontocracy argument into a larger case that exemplifies what you might call conservative doomerism. In general there is more doomerism on the American left today than on the right — both more personal pessimism and more anxiety about various apocalypses, from climate change to Trumpian authoritarianism. Like any good provocation, Ferguson’s column inspired various critiques (here’s Noah Smith, here’s James Pethokoukis, here’s Jonah Goldberg) and various defenses (here’s Ferguson responding to Goldberg, here’s Helen Andrews arguing that he doesn’t go far enough).

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Persons: Donald Trump, Niall Ferguson, Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, Joe Biden’s, Ferguson, here’s Noah Smith, here’s James Pethokoukis, here’s Jonah Goldberg, here’s Ferguson, Goldberg, here’s Helen Andrews Organizations: The Free Press Locations: America, Soviet Union