Thank you. Shared. This is so on point. I always say to my "Left of Center Independent Intellectual friends and colleagues"... "we liberals eat our young." Thank you for putting into words what I have been trying to say. Hoping my republican friends will read as well. Just shared.
Personally, I think there is a much deeper contextualizing backstory to what's going on in USA politics than this otherwise excellent essay seems to be alert to. Everything's coming apart at the seams mainly because there are two dominant political parties, each of which are just catastrophically bad, and have been catastrophically bad for long enough that sane and informed people don't believe in representative democracy as anything good, or real. Or even salvageable. The sooner we begin to frame things so as to include this understanding, the better. We -- as a culture -- no longer believe in the political machinery which runs this country. Nor do we have much hope that we can alter the machinery. So the real left is just a bit slow to wake up to the shift it has already made... and to ask the sorts of questions which arise only when there are no illusions of democracy to pretend to any longer.
Another great take Jamie. Many of us have been observing the same phenomena. However, there is another group of formerly left or center-left SJWs worth noting, who have gone partially or full on right as SJWs--Glenn Greenwald and Jordan Peterson to name just two. The main points of your email are spot on and along with many others, I believe we're facing an existential threat to this experiment in democracy, recognizing that historically, they seem to last 200-250 years.
Jamie, this is great. Nailed it. My only gripe is I am not convinced our IDW class has the intellectual might and rigor you attribute to them. Among those you mention the intellectual laziness is approaching clown territory. Need new blood.
I'm Canadian, and we have our own problems. But I feel like it's a bit disingenuous to predict the state of the US after Trump without considering the state of the US without Trump. It's not absolutely clear which is worse, if either. I think the people who want to vote for him, the large majority of which can't be Christian nationalists (unless you can show me some stats that would surprise me), are not voting so much for him as against something they perceive to be worse. I find it hard to adjudicate that claim, but it's not obviously false. I do wish they'd change their gaze to Ramaswamy, if they insist on voting Republican, but I think they are afraid to split the vote. Trump is more of a rallying cry against the status quo than a positive vision, but I think, to some people, it's the least worst option.
Recently, there was an article in the NYT (I think) that a friend sent me about the difference between progressive and liberal now. Both of us determined that we could no longer identify as progressive for exactly the reasons you lay out.
A few years back, probably during the last election cycle, I had this clear image come to mind showing how if you go far enough left, you meet up with the right. Either extreme yields a similar sort of desperate desire to control, which is antithetical to the concept of liberalism.
I have a handful of 30 something kids who have leaned toward the SJW derangement syndrome over the past few years. Since I'm their mom, I don't think I can send this to them, but I hope they come across it and take it to heart.
This is the first article of yours I've read on your Substack. I'm somewhat familiar with your work via a few conversations you've had with people like Daniel Schmachtenberger and John Vervaeke.
I generally agree that some vaguely left-wing intellectuals and thinkers and researchers are wasting their time dwelling on the latest absurdity of progressive politics/activism, instead of trying to get a better understanding of the roots of that absurdity. (But then, they are pretty close to being classically liberal, and they're not entirely wrong to think the 'progressive left' is the biggest threat to their ideology. And it's hardly unlike these people to focus on narrow research questions.)
But then you lost me. Worrying about Trump is "the big picture"? I had prepared a long series of critiques of your arguments, but it appears that you are absolutely certain, so I'm not sure how much reasoned argument will make a dent in your worldview. You sound very afraid of Trump and all the terrible things he's absolutely going to do (just like all the other terrible things he was absolutely going to do but somehow never got around to doing). I admit it's hard not to feel a tinge of condescension, but I wish I didn't, because having been terrified of Trump myself at one point (literally, to the point of nightmares), I wish I could help you not feel so much fear.
I guess there is really just one question, or one set of questions, I think you should ask yourself, because so much of your perspective rests on this assumption: Is the military and security state (i.e. the people who lied about Iraq, about domestic surveillance, etc.) really a reliable source of information on Trump, when Trump's agenda is so openly hostile to their own? Is it possible that they have reasons to oppose him aside from him and his supporters supposedly being such a terrible threat to the country? And, if he is as bad as they say, then how would Trump install himself as a dictator and execute his authoritarian agenda? I may be mistaken, but I'm not familiar with a single historical example of a dictator who didn't have the military (not to mention the press and the intelligentsia) on his side.
All your worst fears seem to rely on the truth of the claims made by security state agencies. Is it possible those claims are not true? Is it possible that they have exaggerated their claims? Is it possible that they have ulterior motives for making these claims? Is it possible that they are mistaken, that they have misunderstood MAGA's aims? And if it's not possible, how did they get Iraq and Afghanistan so wrong?
I have a different take on "the big picture", which I'll be writing about in due course. All the best to you sir.
I agree with you, the banks, tanks and white natioalist rule like you wrote. Once, coming from Chicago, I see violence getting worse there. I moved to safer suburbs. Those hurt by darker Chicago fear less in other places and it feels so nice now and I've never been hurt by a white nationalist's whom I saw as protection.
Well said! Really wish the left would stop squabbling over irrelevant shit, focused on the bigger picture & organized. Unfortunately seems to be captured by the post modern deconstructionist mind virus & not at all interested in being constructive..
Don't have anything useful to add to your post, only noticed this smol typo: "Things that matters"
Thank you. Shared. This is so on point. I always say to my "Left of Center Independent Intellectual friends and colleagues"... "we liberals eat our young." Thank you for putting into words what I have been trying to say. Hoping my republican friends will read as well. Just shared.
Personally, I think there is a much deeper contextualizing backstory to what's going on in USA politics than this otherwise excellent essay seems to be alert to. Everything's coming apart at the seams mainly because there are two dominant political parties, each of which are just catastrophically bad, and have been catastrophically bad for long enough that sane and informed people don't believe in representative democracy as anything good, or real. Or even salvageable. The sooner we begin to frame things so as to include this understanding, the better. We -- as a culture -- no longer believe in the political machinery which runs this country. Nor do we have much hope that we can alter the machinery. So the real left is just a bit slow to wake up to the shift it has already made... and to ask the sorts of questions which arise only when there are no illusions of democracy to pretend to any longer.
Another great take Jamie. Many of us have been observing the same phenomena. However, there is another group of formerly left or center-left SJWs worth noting, who have gone partially or full on right as SJWs--Glenn Greenwald and Jordan Peterson to name just two. The main points of your email are spot on and along with many others, I believe we're facing an existential threat to this experiment in democracy, recognizing that historically, they seem to last 200-250 years.
Jamie, this is great. Nailed it. My only gripe is I am not convinced our IDW class has the intellectual might and rigor you attribute to them. Among those you mention the intellectual laziness is approaching clown territory. Need new blood.
I'm Canadian, and we have our own problems. But I feel like it's a bit disingenuous to predict the state of the US after Trump without considering the state of the US without Trump. It's not absolutely clear which is worse, if either. I think the people who want to vote for him, the large majority of which can't be Christian nationalists (unless you can show me some stats that would surprise me), are not voting so much for him as against something they perceive to be worse. I find it hard to adjudicate that claim, but it's not obviously false. I do wish they'd change their gaze to Ramaswamy, if they insist on voting Republican, but I think they are afraid to split the vote. Trump is more of a rallying cry against the status quo than a positive vision, but I think, to some people, it's the least worst option.
Recently, there was an article in the NYT (I think) that a friend sent me about the difference between progressive and liberal now. Both of us determined that we could no longer identify as progressive for exactly the reasons you lay out.
A few years back, probably during the last election cycle, I had this clear image come to mind showing how if you go far enough left, you meet up with the right. Either extreme yields a similar sort of desperate desire to control, which is antithetical to the concept of liberalism.
I have a handful of 30 something kids who have leaned toward the SJW derangement syndrome over the past few years. Since I'm their mom, I don't think I can send this to them, but I hope they come across it and take it to heart.
This is the first article of yours I've read on your Substack. I'm somewhat familiar with your work via a few conversations you've had with people like Daniel Schmachtenberger and John Vervaeke.
I generally agree that some vaguely left-wing intellectuals and thinkers and researchers are wasting their time dwelling on the latest absurdity of progressive politics/activism, instead of trying to get a better understanding of the roots of that absurdity. (But then, they are pretty close to being classically liberal, and they're not entirely wrong to think the 'progressive left' is the biggest threat to their ideology. And it's hardly unlike these people to focus on narrow research questions.)
But then you lost me. Worrying about Trump is "the big picture"? I had prepared a long series of critiques of your arguments, but it appears that you are absolutely certain, so I'm not sure how much reasoned argument will make a dent in your worldview. You sound very afraid of Trump and all the terrible things he's absolutely going to do (just like all the other terrible things he was absolutely going to do but somehow never got around to doing). I admit it's hard not to feel a tinge of condescension, but I wish I didn't, because having been terrified of Trump myself at one point (literally, to the point of nightmares), I wish I could help you not feel so much fear.
I guess there is really just one question, or one set of questions, I think you should ask yourself, because so much of your perspective rests on this assumption: Is the military and security state (i.e. the people who lied about Iraq, about domestic surveillance, etc.) really a reliable source of information on Trump, when Trump's agenda is so openly hostile to their own? Is it possible that they have reasons to oppose him aside from him and his supporters supposedly being such a terrible threat to the country? And, if he is as bad as they say, then how would Trump install himself as a dictator and execute his authoritarian agenda? I may be mistaken, but I'm not familiar with a single historical example of a dictator who didn't have the military (not to mention the press and the intelligentsia) on his side.
All your worst fears seem to rely on the truth of the claims made by security state agencies. Is it possible those claims are not true? Is it possible that they have exaggerated their claims? Is it possible that they have ulterior motives for making these claims? Is it possible that they are mistaken, that they have misunderstood MAGA's aims? And if it's not possible, how did they get Iraq and Afghanistan so wrong?
I have a different take on "the big picture", which I'll be writing about in due course. All the best to you sir.
I agree with you, the banks, tanks and white natioalist rule like you wrote. Once, coming from Chicago, I see violence getting worse there. I moved to safer suburbs. Those hurt by darker Chicago fear less in other places and it feels so nice now and I've never been hurt by a white nationalist's whom I saw as protection.
Well said! Really wish the left would stop squabbling over irrelevant shit, focused on the bigger picture & organized. Unfortunately seems to be captured by the post modern deconstructionist mind virus & not at all interested in being constructive..
Don't have anything useful to add to your post, only noticed this smol typo: "Things that matters"
for instance why are these disinformation operations being staffed by FBI and pentagon veterans?
Good insights, but if you’d drop your transphobic thoughts you might have had a share from me.
Insightful.. Keep up the good work 👍🏻🍀