Category: Conservatism

Costco Karens: The Laschian Response (4-Audio)

July 20, 2020

Our current situation demonstrates the extremes of what Christopher Lasch leaned into in his book The Culture of Narcissism. How did we get here? Lasch’s answers take us deeper than the typical observations of the day, which mainly dwell at the surface. In this video, which primarily deals with ideas from chapter 4 of Lasch’s book, we find an explanation for the loose hold many people have on the truth, the deep skepticism about facts, which leads to the childish acting out that we are seeing more and more of, as well as the more serious expression of discontent of protest and riot. Lasch’s views here are not all of even his answer, let along THE answer, as to how we got here, but they deal with one dimension of it that is often overlooked–our often meaningless and unthinking work and our highly “mediated” selves. … More Costco Karens: The Laschian Response (4-Audio)

Costco Karens: The Laschian Response (4-Video)

July 20, 2020

Our current situation demonstrates the extremes of what Christopher Lasch leaned into in his book The Culture of Narcissism. How did we get here? Lasch’s answers take us deeper than the typical observations of the day, which mainly dwell at the surface. In this video, which primarily deals with ideas from chapter 4 of Lasch’s book, we find an explanation for the loose hold many people have on the truth, the deep skepticism about facts, which leads to the childish acting out that we are seeing more and more of, as well as the more serious expression of discontent of protest and riot. Lasch’s views here are not all of even his answer, let along THE answer, as to how we got here, but they deal with one dimension of it that is often overlooked–our often meaningless and unthinking work and our highly “mediated” selves. … More Costco Karens: The Laschian Response (4-Video)

Bureaucratic Dominance: Christopher Lasch on Controlled Labor (3-Video)

July 12, 2020

This video covers chapters 2 and 3 of Christopher Lasch’s The Culture of Narcissism. We explore why the strong narcissist is likely to work their way up the bureaucratic ladder in corporations and government service, and why, since bureaucracy is clearly not efficient, we insist on bureaucratic “rationality.” I also discuss Lasch’s ideas regarding detachment from a sense of time and from immediate experience, which robs people of life, and I introduce Lasch’s views on the origins of all this in the twisted turns of Protestant Christian development in the United States. … More Bureaucratic Dominance: Christopher Lasch on Controlled Labor (3-Video)

Bureaucratic Dominance: Christopher Lasch on Controlled Labor (3-Audio)

July 12, 2020

This video covers chapters 2 and 3 of Christopher Lasch’s The Culture of Narcissism. We explore why the strong narcissist is likely to work their way up the bureaucratic ladder in corporations and government service, and why, since bureaucracy is clearly not efficient, we insist on bureaucratic “rationality.” I also discuss Lasch’s ideas regarding detachment from a sense of time and from immediate experience, which robs people of life, and I introduce Lasch’s views on the origins of all this in the twisted turns of Protestant Christian development in the United States. … More Bureaucratic Dominance: Christopher Lasch on Controlled Labor (3-Audio)

Narcissistic Death Cult: Christopher Lasch’s America (2-Audio)

July 5, 2020

This video reacts to the first chapter of Christopher Lasch’s 1979 book The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations–what does Lasch mean by narcissism, and what does it do to our relationships? In my view, our collective narcissism has created a culture of death, or a societal death cult. Lasch’s ideas are useful for understanding how our economy encourages and feeds off our narcissism and now our turning inwards keeps us from life: being proper spouses, parents, friends, neighbors and citizens. His take on technocracy and its twin vehicles of big government and corporate power is instructive and calls into question our typical distinction between government and business. Both engage in the project of managing us and encouraging our continued narcissism and consequent divisions. … More Narcissistic Death Cult: Christopher Lasch’s America (2-Audio)

Narcissistic Death Cult: Christopher Lasch’s America (2-Video)

July 5, 2020

This video reacts to the first chapter of Christopher Lasch’s 1979 book The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations–what does Lasch mean by narcissism, and what does it do to our relationships? In my view, our collective narcissism has created a culture of death, or a societal death cult. Lasch’s ideas are useful for understanding how our economy encourages and feeds off our narcissism and now our turning inwards keeps us from life: being proper spouses, parents, friends, neighbors and citizens. His take on technocracy and its twin vehicles of big government and corporate power is instructive and calls into question our typical distinction between government and business. Both engage in the project of managing us and encouraging our continued narcissism and consequent divisions. Warning of disturbing footage at the end that will make you wonder if anyone ever gets smarter–and I don’t mean the Alabama college students, though they’d also be a good choice. … More Narcissistic Death Cult: Christopher Lasch’s America (2-Video)

Chantal Mouffe, Carl Schmitt, and the Critique of Enlightenment Liberalism (Video-2)

May 16, 2020

In this second in a series on Chantal Mouffe’s ideas in The Return of the Political, I discuss her use of Carl Schmitt’s critique of liberalism and relate her ideas to authors she draws from, such as Leo Strauss, Isaiah Berlin, Michael Oakeshott, Charles Taylor, Michael Walzer and Hans Georg Gadamer. I try to get an initial handle on her preferred “agonistic pluralism” as an answer to the question–can we respect particular values and traditions enough to compete with them rather than seeking to destroy them? I relate her line of argument to my understanding of Carl Jung’s theory of political ideology as “ideological possession” — the projection of the shadow. … More Chantal Mouffe, Carl Schmitt, and the Critique of Enlightenment Liberalism (Video-2)

Chantal Mouffe, Carl Schmitt, and the Critique of Enlightenment Liberalism (2-Audio)

May 16, 2020

In this second in a series on Chantal Mouffe’s ideas in The Return of the Political, I discuss her use of Carl Schmitt’s critique of liberalism and relate her ideas to authors she draws from, such as Leo Strauss, Isaiah Berlin, Michael Oakeshott, Charles Taylor, Michael Walzer and Hans Georg Gadamer. I try to get an initial handle on her preferred “agonistic pluralism” as an answer to the question–can we respect particular values and traditions enough to compete with them rather than seeking to destroy them? I relate her line of argument to my understanding of Carl Jung’s theory of political ideology as “ideological possession” — the projection of the shadow. … More Chantal Mouffe, Carl Schmitt, and the Critique of Enlightenment Liberalism (2-Audio)

The Problem of the “Common Man”: Against Dogmatic Certainty (3-Audio)

May 2, 2020

Both classical conservative Edmund Burke and democratic socialist Eduard Bernstein were very skeptical about whether the “common man” of their time was up to the task of real political leadership. Even their reasons for being skeptical are similar. But, the differences are also stark, and they bring back the nature versus nurture debate. Bernstein thinks that the deficiencies of the working class that make them not yet ready for pure socialism have to do with their environment and they can be overcome. Burke is pretty sure that human nature expresses itself in a spectrum of ability and that some people will always be unfit to rule. … More The Problem of the “Common Man”: Against Dogmatic Certainty (3-Audio)

The Problem of the “Common Man”: Against Dogmatic Certainty (3-Video)

May 2, 2020

Both classical conservative Edmund Burke and democratic socialist Eduard Bernstein were very skeptical about whether the “common man” of their time was up to the task of real political leadership. Even their reasons for being skeptical are similar. But, the differences are also stark, and they bring back the nature versus nurture debate. Bernstein thinks that the deficiencies of the working class that make them not yet ready for pure socialism have to do with their environment and they can be overcome. Burke is pretty sure that human nature expresses itself in a spectrum of ability and that some people will always be unfit to rule. … More The Problem of the “Common Man”: Against Dogmatic Certainty (3-Video)