Aricie's thoughts

Just venting

There is nothing interesting here, it’s just me venting

May 31, 2026

From Suez to Hormuz: Anatomy of an Empire's Reckoning

In March 2026, as Iranian drones set merchant vessels ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz and Brent crude breached one hundred dollars a barrel, a comparison began circulating with increasing frequency across social media, newsrooms, and academic commentary: this is America's Suez moment.

March 16, 2026

The Machine Still Clatters

Institutional Rot, the Personalist State, and the Long Decay of the American Republic

March 07, 2026

Some personal thoughts about American exceptionalism

With everything that is happening in the US and how often the discourse about how this is the end of the American Exceptionalism concept, and although it is, I think a key part is missing; what is American Exceptionalism and more importantly, where does it comes from?

November 10, 2025

How Trump presidency is a mix of Louis XIV mercantilism and dictatorial rulership

Donald Trump’s presidency can be best understood not as a traditional democratic governance style, but through the lens of historical absolutism. He is, in essence, a hybrid figure part Louis XIV, part Hitler; not yet in terms of genocidal violence (although he flirts with policies that would lead to that), but in structure, symbolism, and the political mechanics of control.

August 26, 2025

A letter to the press

French version below

August 26, 2025

The charisma of the (un)charismatic leader

How Trump captured the American mind

August 23, 2025

Radical Liberalism, Pragmatism, and Me

As I’ve gained in followers on bluesky I’ve been meaning to write about my political views, where they come from and how they articulate the way I see the world. Not only to explain to my new followers who I am, but also for myself as a way to formalize how I see things. So let’s break it down. I am Aricie, a trans older zoomer who’s autistic, has ADHD and is recovering from depression and deals with general anxiety. I also have received a very peculiar education. I describe myself as a Radical Liberal, although my views could well be described as being anarchist. I ascribe to a similar way of seeing intelligence as Jacques Rancière. I guess I could be described as a pragmatic or realistic anarchist, although I don’t like this framing as often the people who claim to be “realist” are simply hiding from people and themselves their right wing beliefs.

April 12, 2025