We need to stop obsessing about the perceived shortcomings or virtues of individuals. The relevant changes in human society are systemic. Individuals rise or fall in that system. If it's not one of them, it'll be another.
The real stories aren't Trump or Thunberg or Musk, the real story is the system that made those people rise to popularity and power.
This is why AI is such an important development -- it's a systemic change, and a huge one at that.
Trump too should be seen as a symptom of a disease and not a cause. It's partly a problem specific to the US American financial and political system, but partly he is symptomatic of a general problem with democracies that they're too slow and unresponsive for modern times.
Thunberg was a condensation seed at the right place at the right time for a community that was looking for a focus. If it hadn't been her, it'd have been someone else.
It makes no sense to psychoanalyse and complain about people in those positions, it'll not make any difference in the grand scheme of things.
Culture Magazine
