Regarding Milton Friedman, it needs to be remembered that his belief that corporations should focus almost exclusively on stockholders is, arguably, one of the key factors that have led to flat worker wages, declining communities, and steadily growing inequality.
Brilliant. That line about 'experts' spending a generation telling workers tech disruption is responsible for hardship, then wondering why there's fear? Truely nails the gaslighting. It perfectly encapsulates the hypocrisy and deflection, showing why trust is so eroded. Really insightful perspective, thank you for putting this out there!
Odd how the “new” right struggles so much with modernity. Pining for the past soothes one’s fears perhaps, but does little to keep up with a changing world that will not wait for us. Oren forgot to recommend Don’s new National Security Strategery for weekly reading. Like Oren’s moldy tariff regime from the past, it’s chock full of notions that, one might charitably say, struggled to succeed in their time.
That the new right struggles with modernity is a strong indication that it is making an effort to return conservatism to its roots---conservatives, they are saying, should actually act and behave like conservatives, not like nineteenth-century Manchester liberals and libertarians. If you look at the overwhelming majority of true conservatives---whether Burke, or Newman, or T.S. Eliot, or Russell Kirk---they are skeptical or even distrustful of modernity, for a very obvious and logical reason: they want to preserve a great deal of the past and modernity threatens preservation of the past. That's why they're conservatives. The idea that the foundation of conservatism is innovation, technology, and linear progress is mostly an American aberration.
I'm a lifelong conservative, here's what I want to preserve-the basic institutions and tenets that support liberal (small L) democracy. Free and fair elections, not insurrections. Rule of law and constitutionalism, not threatening to hang political opponents, not rampant corruption, not pardoning of cronies and felons convicted of seditious conspiracy, not gratuitous attacks on the judiciary and legal system. Separation of powers and checks & balances, not deploying the military on our streets over the wishes of local officials. I want to preserve individual rights, individual freedom and pluralism, not attacks on the media, not detention of fellow citizens and neighbors by masked agents under the guise of removing criminals, not shipping fellow humans to dangerous foreign lands without due process, not an inability to endure criticism by political opponents. I want to protect minority rights, not dehumanize them like the worst authoritarians of history-calling them vermin, an infestation, a poisoning of our blood.
I want a professional civil service, not a cast of incompetent loyalists like a drunken womanizing weekend talk show cohost cosplaying as Secretary of WAR. I want to accept science and support health and other research, not empower lunatics like RFK Jr who want to return us to the dark ages.
I want to preserve a world security order that was an 80 year aberration from history devoid of major power conflict, not a return to pre-1945 multi polar approaches. I want alliances with fellow liberal democracies, not thuggish dictators like Vlad who invade sovereign countries, murder civilians, and kidnap children.
I want basic competence and coherence. Not an aging, angry, incoherent imbecile who brags incessantly about "acing" a test meant to detect dementia and tells us to ingest bleach and shove lights up our butt in the middle of a global pandemic. Not someone who claims to not know why he just had an MRI.
In sum, I just want a leader who wants to preserve the tenets of our Declaration of Independence. You know, those now quaint words-we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights... That would be a conservative I would support.
Conservatives are supposed to be wary of the concentration of power. It's interesting you pick Don as your avatar... Are you really saying you’d support a President Newsom wielding Don’s tactics?
You definitely make some important and valid points. Donald Trump is not my avatar. I never voted for him, certainly have problems with his character, and cannot justify January 6. My support is for analysts such as Oren Cass who emphasize family, community, and industry. Although there are a variety of faults with Trump, and a variety of important accomplishments over the past 80 years, you fail to mention the many negative developments that also have occurred, particularly the offshoring of good jobs, the decline of the middle- and working-classes, and sharply increased inequality. In some ways, of course, Trump seems like a curious choice for dealing with these problems. I believe some of the best and most insightful perspective on why Trump may be needed, despite his many faults, has been provided by Ross Douthat, an analyst whose views are very close to my own.
Douthat has never been able to justify Trumpism on its own merits. He doesn’t even try. To the extent that he argues that Trump may be needed, those arguments are based entirely on the premise that the alternative (i.e “the left”) would be worse. That’s merely a euphemism for saying “look what you made me do”, which has long been the rallying cry for wife beaters and drug addicts.
It's been reported that higher management in the tech industry severely restrict access to platforms by their own children.
Regarding Milton Friedman, it needs to be remembered that his belief that corporations should focus almost exclusively on stockholders is, arguably, one of the key factors that have led to flat worker wages, declining communities, and steadily growing inequality.
The University = The "New Religion" (religion of nihilism)
Brilliant. That line about 'experts' spending a generation telling workers tech disruption is responsible for hardship, then wondering why there's fear? Truely nails the gaslighting. It perfectly encapsulates the hypocrisy and deflection, showing why trust is so eroded. Really insightful perspective, thank you for putting this out there!
"At least we'll always have Paris." Mwah, Chef's Kiss.
Odd how the “new” right struggles so much with modernity. Pining for the past soothes one’s fears perhaps, but does little to keep up with a changing world that will not wait for us. Oren forgot to recommend Don’s new National Security Strategery for weekly reading. Like Oren’s moldy tariff regime from the past, it’s chock full of notions that, one might charitably say, struggled to succeed in their time.
Good luck America.
That the new right struggles with modernity is a strong indication that it is making an effort to return conservatism to its roots---conservatives, they are saying, should actually act and behave like conservatives, not like nineteenth-century Manchester liberals and libertarians. If you look at the overwhelming majority of true conservatives---whether Burke, or Newman, or T.S. Eliot, or Russell Kirk---they are skeptical or even distrustful of modernity, for a very obvious and logical reason: they want to preserve a great deal of the past and modernity threatens preservation of the past. That's why they're conservatives. The idea that the foundation of conservatism is innovation, technology, and linear progress is mostly an American aberration.
I'm a lifelong conservative, here's what I want to preserve-the basic institutions and tenets that support liberal (small L) democracy. Free and fair elections, not insurrections. Rule of law and constitutionalism, not threatening to hang political opponents, not rampant corruption, not pardoning of cronies and felons convicted of seditious conspiracy, not gratuitous attacks on the judiciary and legal system. Separation of powers and checks & balances, not deploying the military on our streets over the wishes of local officials. I want to preserve individual rights, individual freedom and pluralism, not attacks on the media, not detention of fellow citizens and neighbors by masked agents under the guise of removing criminals, not shipping fellow humans to dangerous foreign lands without due process, not an inability to endure criticism by political opponents. I want to protect minority rights, not dehumanize them like the worst authoritarians of history-calling them vermin, an infestation, a poisoning of our blood.
I want a professional civil service, not a cast of incompetent loyalists like a drunken womanizing weekend talk show cohost cosplaying as Secretary of WAR. I want to accept science and support health and other research, not empower lunatics like RFK Jr who want to return us to the dark ages.
I want to preserve a world security order that was an 80 year aberration from history devoid of major power conflict, not a return to pre-1945 multi polar approaches. I want alliances with fellow liberal democracies, not thuggish dictators like Vlad who invade sovereign countries, murder civilians, and kidnap children.
I want basic competence and coherence. Not an aging, angry, incoherent imbecile who brags incessantly about "acing" a test meant to detect dementia and tells us to ingest bleach and shove lights up our butt in the middle of a global pandemic. Not someone who claims to not know why he just had an MRI.
In sum, I just want a leader who wants to preserve the tenets of our Declaration of Independence. You know, those now quaint words-we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights... That would be a conservative I would support.
Conservatives are supposed to be wary of the concentration of power. It's interesting you pick Don as your avatar... Are you really saying you’d support a President Newsom wielding Don’s tactics?
You definitely make some important and valid points. Donald Trump is not my avatar. I never voted for him, certainly have problems with his character, and cannot justify January 6. My support is for analysts such as Oren Cass who emphasize family, community, and industry. Although there are a variety of faults with Trump, and a variety of important accomplishments over the past 80 years, you fail to mention the many negative developments that also have occurred, particularly the offshoring of good jobs, the decline of the middle- and working-classes, and sharply increased inequality. In some ways, of course, Trump seems like a curious choice for dealing with these problems. I believe some of the best and most insightful perspective on why Trump may be needed, despite his many faults, has been provided by Ross Douthat, an analyst whose views are very close to my own.
Douthat has never been able to justify Trumpism on its own merits. He doesn’t even try. To the extent that he argues that Trump may be needed, those arguments are based entirely on the premise that the alternative (i.e “the left”) would be worse. That’s merely a euphemism for saying “look what you made me do”, which has long been the rallying cry for wife beaters and drug addicts.
How old are you, Karl?