I largely agree with this. However, I just badged this not for the conversation it begins about Conservatives or Liberals, but for the conversation it begins on the 'Nation State' as a cultural construct and the condition of its foundation. I'd hate to see this thread only focus on the former, as I see it as less compelling. Like you (I suspect), I do not see an fundamental difference between the American political left and the American political right, and I don't think that Cadell made a convincing case for one here, although I do think his 'Free Market' and 'State' gods analogy makes a convenient shorthand for their method of problem solving. But in the end, it's all the same buy-in now. We might even get Clinton vs. Bush in 2016.

But, as I said, what really interests me here is the viability of the 'Nation State', and where we are all headed globally. There are countless developments suggesting cracks in its foundations, running from Wikileaks and Anonymous to Bitcoin, Tor, Bitnation, and Estonia offering e-citizenship. Even our cross-border conversations here run counter to what keeps a Nation State healthy. It's no wonder the most powerful democracies have taken a totalitarian turn when it comes to our communications. Terrorism is not the existential threat, we are the existential threat.

I disagree with Cadell that the answer lies with the leftists. If anything, it's the libertarians that are doing the most damage to the Nation State as, unlike the left, they have more or less reached consensus that they want out.

As I see it, the election is a debate over what's on the menu on the Titanic. (However, I've found some amusement in watching the talking heads avoid saying 'neoliberalism'.) This boat is going to sink, and technology is the iceberg. However, I disagree with Cadell that there is a right or left issue here. This is an issue of human nature. We have new tools that allow us to act as we are naturally inclined to, and while our political persuasions can provide context to talk about what is going on, they aren't what's driving this change.

At any rate, that's the part of Cadell's essay that got my wheels turning.