Your recent podcast with CJ was fantastic. I've been a listener since day one, as you might remember. I took issue with your comparison of Trump and Kearny. I went back and listened to that episode again today. Here's my question- With everything that is happening in our country and with everything that transpired... All of the revelations regarding the press, the unparalleled illegal immigration, the green movement and shutting down of oil production, the economic turmoil, the growth of aggressive behavior with our enemies, the war in Ukraine, the attacks on the first and second amendment, the WOKEISM deeply penetrating our society.... I could go on but you get it...
Does your episode and comparison stand the test of time?
I think it might, though I can't take credit for the initial conclusion (the ingredients for the backlash, including the demagogue that was Trump) since I got that from (and credited) Niall Ferguson for that. However, I think Trump represented the beginning of the populist backlash that does seem to be continuing onward with or without him; there's always room for more demagogues. I do think COVID caused a lot of things to peak and that we're witnessing a downturn of fortunes for the progressive/"woke" crowd especially since they are FIRMLY identified as elitists and elites are, as you pointed out with your examples, largely hated. Where this goes is anyone's guess, but I think progressivism is on a down swing that I would LIKE to believe is permanent--because I do think we're witnessing a realignment in real time, something else CJ and I discussed on a previous episode--but that I doubt is, since like I said in this episode I think it's a psychological mindset rather than a coherent ideology. I need to repeat my worry about where things will stand when genetic engineering/manipulation becomes a thing because whatever passes as "progressive" at that time will latch onto it like a bulldog. And as CJ referenced, Gattaca will feel a LOT less like science fiction, something I've been thinking about since that underrated masterpiece of a film came out 26 years ago!
The one thing that I've definitely shifted on--and I think we can thank the COVID years for this--is the idea that this populist backlash is wholly a bad thing. I think it's tapped into VERY real anger and legitimate outrage at all sorts of things and that can be a very effective engine for changes that result in net positive outcomes. However, I still have a very healthy skepticism of populism as anything other than a tool. So many alternative outlets and creators have hung their hat on populism as a thing in and of itself, and I get it, but it is not something I see as sustainable. I'm of the belief that for a healthy society to exist, there needs to be a healthy balance between elitism and populism, and unfortunately we haven't really witnessed that kind of balance reappear, at least not yet. It could be coming; I do see an ever-increasing backlash toward elitist progressive overreach, like I said before, a LOT of it is coming from the left, the ostensible domain of progressives these days. But I don't know if things will be better in the long run; that's always the hard part. There are some profoundly disturbing figures on the right who are capitalizing on this backlash and while I think they're too self-interested to really constitute a real threat to anything, I also don't want them anywhere near the handles of power (namely the ones like JD Vance who want to institute administrative coups by firing all the admin state employees and replacing them with loyal lackeys). With that said, though, the mistake a lot of people make is to not take those figures seriously and hear them out when they make diagnoses. Sometimes there's enough truth in there to find a real solution.
Whew! I hope that helped. While I don't think my early work necessarily stacks up to my current work in terms of quality, I don't think I've yet gone back and disagreed with anything I've said previously. But I'm always open to changing my mind and I really appreciate you asking, because it forced me to think about it. Always feel free to reach out here, or anywhere. Thanks as always for listening and supporting, man!
Your ability to write profound sentiments (off the top of your head) are second only to your podcast skills.
For the record, I can agree that Trump is a populist. And probably wittingly panders to half of the country that would like a re-set. Unfortunately/fortunately (not sure), half the country feels strongly that we need to go there. But in defense of that, he did curtail illegal immigration, he did roll back draconian regulations, he did open up domestic energy production, he did say the things that many of us were thinking and too afraid to say. He did what he said he was going to do. And then he was ham strung by a barrage of fake investigations for the majority of his presidency. So, of course, conservatives feel angry and fucked over by the left.
As a conservative, I see him as a brawler at a time when we need a brawler. The pendulum has swung so far left.... But I too am open to other ideas and ways of getting back to the middle, if that's even possible now.
I can't even begin to wrap my head around the AI shit. Would love more on that when you get a chance. I've been using Chat GPT for some of my business marketing copy and it's too good. Scary Good. To start with, this will replace so many creatives. It's interesting/horrifying that creativity may be the first casualty from AI....
Having listened to you for a few years now, I have a good sense and appreciation of where you are coming from. I don't always agree with you (mostly though!) but you are an intelligent guy who is willing to put it out there. You take chances and I love that about you!
Lastly, I have to say that going back to your first episode, I was reminded of how impressive you were, right out of the gate. That was one hell of an awesome and well told story! You should be proud.
Hey Alexander,
Your recent podcast with CJ was fantastic. I've been a listener since day one, as you might remember. I took issue with your comparison of Trump and Kearny. I went back and listened to that episode again today. Here's my question- With everything that is happening in our country and with everything that transpired... All of the revelations regarding the press, the unparalleled illegal immigration, the green movement and shutting down of oil production, the economic turmoil, the growth of aggressive behavior with our enemies, the war in Ukraine, the attacks on the first and second amendment, the WOKEISM deeply penetrating our society.... I could go on but you get it...
Does your episode and comparison stand the test of time?
I think it might, though I can't take credit for the initial conclusion (the ingredients for the backlash, including the demagogue that was Trump) since I got that from (and credited) Niall Ferguson for that. However, I think Trump represented the beginning of the populist backlash that does seem to be continuing onward with or without him; there's always room for more demagogues. I do think COVID caused a lot of things to peak and that we're witnessing a downturn of fortunes for the progressive/"woke" crowd especially since they are FIRMLY identified as elitists and elites are, as you pointed out with your examples, largely hated. Where this goes is anyone's guess, but I think progressivism is on a down swing that I would LIKE to believe is permanent--because I do think we're witnessing a realignment in real time, something else CJ and I discussed on a previous episode--but that I doubt is, since like I said in this episode I think it's a psychological mindset rather than a coherent ideology. I need to repeat my worry about where things will stand when genetic engineering/manipulation becomes a thing because whatever passes as "progressive" at that time will latch onto it like a bulldog. And as CJ referenced, Gattaca will feel a LOT less like science fiction, something I've been thinking about since that underrated masterpiece of a film came out 26 years ago!
The one thing that I've definitely shifted on--and I think we can thank the COVID years for this--is the idea that this populist backlash is wholly a bad thing. I think it's tapped into VERY real anger and legitimate outrage at all sorts of things and that can be a very effective engine for changes that result in net positive outcomes. However, I still have a very healthy skepticism of populism as anything other than a tool. So many alternative outlets and creators have hung their hat on populism as a thing in and of itself, and I get it, but it is not something I see as sustainable. I'm of the belief that for a healthy society to exist, there needs to be a healthy balance between elitism and populism, and unfortunately we haven't really witnessed that kind of balance reappear, at least not yet. It could be coming; I do see an ever-increasing backlash toward elitist progressive overreach, like I said before, a LOT of it is coming from the left, the ostensible domain of progressives these days. But I don't know if things will be better in the long run; that's always the hard part. There are some profoundly disturbing figures on the right who are capitalizing on this backlash and while I think they're too self-interested to really constitute a real threat to anything, I also don't want them anywhere near the handles of power (namely the ones like JD Vance who want to institute administrative coups by firing all the admin state employees and replacing them with loyal lackeys). With that said, though, the mistake a lot of people make is to not take those figures seriously and hear them out when they make diagnoses. Sometimes there's enough truth in there to find a real solution.
Whew! I hope that helped. While I don't think my early work necessarily stacks up to my current work in terms of quality, I don't think I've yet gone back and disagreed with anything I've said previously. But I'm always open to changing my mind and I really appreciate you asking, because it forced me to think about it. Always feel free to reach out here, or anywhere. Thanks as always for listening and supporting, man!
Your ability to write profound sentiments (off the top of your head) are second only to your podcast skills.
For the record, I can agree that Trump is a populist. And probably wittingly panders to half of the country that would like a re-set. Unfortunately/fortunately (not sure), half the country feels strongly that we need to go there. But in defense of that, he did curtail illegal immigration, he did roll back draconian regulations, he did open up domestic energy production, he did say the things that many of us were thinking and too afraid to say. He did what he said he was going to do. And then he was ham strung by a barrage of fake investigations for the majority of his presidency. So, of course, conservatives feel angry and fucked over by the left.
As a conservative, I see him as a brawler at a time when we need a brawler. The pendulum has swung so far left.... But I too am open to other ideas and ways of getting back to the middle, if that's even possible now.
I can't even begin to wrap my head around the AI shit. Would love more on that when you get a chance. I've been using Chat GPT for some of my business marketing copy and it's too good. Scary Good. To start with, this will replace so many creatives. It's interesting/horrifying that creativity may be the first casualty from AI....
Having listened to you for a few years now, I have a good sense and appreciation of where you are coming from. I don't always agree with you (mostly though!) but you are an intelligent guy who is willing to put it out there. You take chances and I love that about you!
Lastly, I have to say that going back to your first episode, I was reminded of how impressive you were, right out of the gate. That was one hell of an awesome and well told story! You should be proud.
Enough from me!
Thank you, Sir.