Opinion | For a closely divided United States, a coin toss would have sufficed – Technologist

In China, the quantitative mechanism of elections isn’t a big deal. It would be wrong to say it’s not there; China does have elections, though only at the lowest local levels. This, I almost want to say after the undignified spectacle in the US, is a genuine blessing.

It was a clash between a highly disciplined, ambitious, cautious climber who sought to avoid every mistake, and a cocky, street-smart, “authentic” trust-fund kid. The speeches were empty, pathetic, emotional – a celebration of the most trivial forms of communication. What struck me was that the ruling party campaigned with “A New Way Forward”, a wonderful paradox befitting the paradox of democracy itself: vote for the same party to make a change.

Americans were offered little more than two sides of the same coin. Were there real alternatives? Not really, despite the best efforts of the political parties to position themselves as offering a genuine contrast. The candidates, with their stark differences, gave the illusion of choice. Jacques Ellul captured this dynamic decades ago in his book on propaganda: Donald Trump and Kamala Harris weren’t fighting each other; they were trying to capture the voter.