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)

We Have an Obligation to Rethink Everything.

June 29, 2020

We cannot afford to reject an idea just because the “other side” or some “crackpot” happened to talk about it. The old categories are showing just how old they are. Arguably not only the political parties but the country itself is in a crisis that resembles decrepitude, the inability to get bearings, the lack of hope, the lack of even concerted thought and effort. Rome is burning and Nero is fiddling. Under these circumstances, we have an obligation to rethink everything. … More We Have an Obligation to Rethink Everything.

Marx, Identity, and Recuperation: Interview with Jakob Hanschu (Part 2-Audio)

June 28, 2020

In this second half of my interview with Jakob Hanschu, we evaluate the worth of reading Marx’s Capital, discuss capitalism’s impact on community, culture and faith, discuss the rise of identity politics and the New Right, and deal with the topic of intersectionality. Some of the thinkers discussed besides Marx are Wendell Berry, Chantal Mouffe, McKenzie Wark, Jacques Derrida and Slavoj Zizek.
Jakob Hanschu’s blog: https://theoreticalcapriccio.wordpress.com/
More on Jakob:
http://mpa.academia.edu/JakobHanschu/CurriculumVitae
Here’s the URL to the Political Philosophy Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/60814… … More Marx, Identity, and Recuperation: Interview with Jakob Hanschu (Part 2-Audio)

Marx, Identity, and Recuperation: Interview with Jakob Hanschu (Part 2-Video)

June 28, 2020

In this second half of my interview with Jakob Hanschu, we evaluate the worth of reading Marx’s Capital, discuss capitalism’s impact on community, culture and faith, discuss the rise of identity politics and the New Right, and deal with the topic of intersectionality. Some of the thinkers discussed besides Marx are Wendell Berry, Chantal Mouffe, McKenzie Wark, Jacques Derrida and Slavoj Zizek. … More Marx, Identity, and Recuperation: Interview with Jakob Hanschu (Part 2-Video)

Conversation with Jakob Hanschu: On Responsibility in the Anthropocene (Part 1-Audio)

June 22, 2020

In this conversation with Jakob Hanschu, Fulbright scholar at the University of Nottingham, we discuss a wide range of topics all centered around human impact on the environment. Subjects include New Materialism theory and the insights it provides on large monoculture farming, insights from the psychological theories of Freud, Jung and Lacan (particularly the shadow, death drive and jouissance), Mark Fisher, Jacques Ellul’s concept of “technique”, the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, and the effects of secularism on humanity’s view of its place in nature. … More Conversation with Jakob Hanschu: On Responsibility in the Anthropocene (Part 1-Audio)