Every politically-interested hacker should read that entire series of posts. It's the closest you can get right now to reading a history of the past couple hundred years from a 23rd century perspective, in the sense of "one you will find completely different", a perspective in which an obsession with democracy may be seen as quaint as we now perceive monarchies. For me, the point is less whether he convinces you he is correct in every particular than getting exposed to a truly different perspective.