"Needless to say, the early 21st century is dominated by spiritually enslaved people. And this is where I think we come into the picture." - This encapsulates the feeling we are all having, but cannot explain.
From the Lone Ranger to Paladin; from Annie Oakley (Sat morn version) to the women of Star Trek: we children of the '50's and 60's grew up with TV heroes who were warrior scholars.
According to this insightful talk it was the Paladins of our childhood who helped us be the kind of people who put men on the moon (Ok, that was our parents, but we felt part of it) and the intellectual wimps of culture that crept in during the 90's that robbed us of more achievement.
Both Paladin, the Shakespeare quoting gunfighter, and Spock, who you knew was tougher than the captain but whose knowledge went deeper, were Major Heartthrobs --- and both, the network chiefs were shocked by the fan mail. Perhaps because the network execs were neither warrior nor scholar --- and resented those who were -- the lowering of values was the result of wimpy ignoramuses who wished to glorify their own? And therefore, created a generation more like their miserable selves.
Best summary of the debacle I have seen. It's good to finally see optimism and not 'the left always wins due to some persons laws of political history' that we see from here. Interesting response to the Nietzsche types, haven't heard that one before. Good article.
The experience of Canada, the uk, and Australia should put a fork in the idea that increased Indian immigration is a good thing. If you’re a data driven technocrat, there is your data.
1) the talent pool in India just isn’t that deep. I understand there are minority castes with high iqs, but we are still talking about a country with an average iq of 76. That means there aren’t a lot of people with iq >130 compared to USA/Europe and Asia.
Hence when the other Anglo countries went all in on infinity Indians, the quality dropped substantially.
There is a lesson for current Indian immigrants in the west. Importing more co-ethnics at this point damages and dilutes your “brand”.
2) Indians it seems to me have problems with nepotism, corruption, dishonesty, and resentment.
Importing a new elite class, even if they did have the iqs, would be pointless if it made our elite culture more nepotistic, corrupt, dishonest, and resentful.
I would further add that India, like the rest of Asia, has cratering fertility rates amongst its high achievers, which will only get worse because it hasn’t even fully modernized yet and the demographic transition is relatively new.
Importing low elite fertility norms would be the most devastating long run impact of any policy.
In short there are strong empirical reasons to reject more Indian immigration.
More movies like Whiplash, fewer reruns of “Friends.” More math tutoring, fewer sleepovers. More weekend science competitions, fewer Saturday morning cartoons. More books, less TV. More creating, less “chillin.” More extracurriculars, less “hanging out at the mall.”
That sounds like "More work, less time to enjoy life." Life is to be lived and experienced. There is a place for work, but it's not 24 hours a day. I want the best for my kids, but I also want them to be able to be kids. Thanks to the rampant crime and human trafficking, I can't let them run around after school like we did in the 80's. They might get kidnapped, raped, and killed.
I'll agree there needs to be a balance, but that's it. We don't need techie kids that haven't been outside.
At its height, Western countries always had leaders with BOTH the qualities of the sportsman and the nerd. The warrior scholar was always the Faustian ideal.
Up until the 60's, the Presidents had always been either explorers, in the military, or a mixture of both. The last great president was Eisenhower, who was a WWII General. Teddy Roosevelt explored America and led the rough riders.
I don't want a technocrat president, because I'm not a piece of equipment. I have goals, dreams, and desires, and they aren't tied to the computer screen.
Furthermore, the left’s participation in the cavalcade of elite voices calling right-wingers bigots for having objections to an economic issue just reminded everyone else how progressive egalitarian moralism was central to modern corporate America’s institutional control.
This is why the founding fathers didn't want a city in DC. They knew it would go either hard right or hard left. They actually intended for the congress to work 3 weeks a year and leave the populace alone. They didn't want government to run people's lives.
IF THEY REALLY wanted secure borders and an end to mass migration, they should have voted for Bernie Sanders!”
Sanders is communist, so that would have never worked.
America’s ultimate project is humanity's ultimate project, namely, to pursue two core objectives: the survival of the species and its communion with God.
Humanity cannot continue as long as we kill babies in the womb and mentally ill people mutilate themselves. We are not robots who have interchangeable parts. We are each unique. We also can't be a godly nation if we've kicked god out and replaced him with confusion.
Now, it seems that most modern nations believe humans are just capital material inputs, a resource to be farmed, perhaps conserved but never respected.
I'm going to say it has been since the government gave us identification numbers to carry around. Those numbers are associated with the supposed debt each of us carries around, and has been since birth.
Devon Stack pointed out how hilarious it is that Vivek knew all of the 90s TV shows so well; shouldn’t he have been doing his own math homework instead of being a slick little weasel who thinks a pharmaceutical company stock rug pull is a great capitalist invention? 😂
"All of these constituent collectives have a right to their own sovereignty and to see their posterity thrive. And to the extent that newcomers become American, they become American by the consent of these native peoples and through sublimating their identities into these collectives through marriage or total religious and ethnic conversion."
You should write an article about how you reconcile this with being a traditional Catholic in a country that had an anti-Catholic culture until the 1960s, and in which nativist sentiment and anti-Catholicism were closely tied together. Not a gotcha; would be interesting to read how you put it all together.
Really do agree with that sentiment that they consider us nothing but 'elite capital' and that it is devouring our nations and people, it isn't just Korea. I mean I was treated this way at several points herein Canada, and it has only precipitated health issues and crises.
Honestly, I love working, I love teaching but when pressed like cattle and treated to be nothing else but cattle, kind of causes you to lose faith and begin to feel lost. It is why when not working I cope by disappearing into reading books, and writing novels. It is the only work that feels like play and a kind of 'spiritual release valve' on a stressful day or like a reward after a great day.
> Elon saw H1B-expansion as a way to increase his own political clout and signal that, indeed, his new brand of technocratic liberalism was the real power behind MAGA while improving the financial conditions of his business operations. The only thing he needed was to push through a pro-tech, anti-nativist policy proposal over the objections of Trumps “Red American” base.
If that was the goal, he'd have waited until there was an actual proposal to push and he was in a position to push it. Seems to me like you're just making stuff up.
> The answer to this question is that our ruling class does not understand the nature of politics, history, or the complex systems they presume to manage. Almost no one does in the present year, not the government or deep state, or the people who think they are going to reform the goverment or deep state.
That's a good spirit to have for 2025! A couple of my thoughts:
The short part about millenial politics confused me to be quite honest. Do you base the supposed increase of influence on online victories? And why attribute it to millenials generally? As far as I'm aware, the generation in general seems decidedly more left-wing. I also wouldn't count the chickens before they hatch. Policy changes would constitute a real victory. Currently, seeing how the entire debate brought back some forms of censorship and algorithm modification to X, I'm simply not too optimistic (in the short-term).
I also wouldn't be suprised if the left managed to pivot back to more class-based issues. So while they're currently seemingly down for the count, I wouldn't bank on a longer timeout.
I think the issues with the more Nietzschean parts of the right probably warrant a much more in-depth look and conversation. I don't necessarily see the argument as being an expression of slavery to power.
In any case I think 2025 is a year to look forward to regardless. Not least because things stay dynamic.
I think you're right about the fact that reproduction needs to be valued above immediate economic incentives, but I disagree as to why. I'm general, I think you, like Lewis, misunderstand us Nietzscheans. I go over why in my essay:
"Needless to say, the early 21st century is dominated by spiritually enslaved people. And this is where I think we come into the picture." - This encapsulates the feeling we are all having, but cannot explain.
From the Lone Ranger to Paladin; from Annie Oakley (Sat morn version) to the women of Star Trek: we children of the '50's and 60's grew up with TV heroes who were warrior scholars.
According to this insightful talk it was the Paladins of our childhood who helped us be the kind of people who put men on the moon (Ok, that was our parents, but we felt part of it) and the intellectual wimps of culture that crept in during the 90's that robbed us of more achievement.
Both Paladin, the Shakespeare quoting gunfighter, and Spock, who you knew was tougher than the captain but whose knowledge went deeper, were Major Heartthrobs --- and both, the network chiefs were shocked by the fan mail. Perhaps because the network execs were neither warrior nor scholar --- and resented those who were -- the lowering of values was the result of wimpy ignoramuses who wished to glorify their own? And therefore, created a generation more like their miserable selves.
Best summary of the debacle I have seen. It's good to finally see optimism and not 'the left always wins due to some persons laws of political history' that we see from here. Interesting response to the Nietzsche types, haven't heard that one before. Good article.
The experience of Canada, the uk, and Australia should put a fork in the idea that increased Indian immigration is a good thing. If you’re a data driven technocrat, there is your data.
1) the talent pool in India just isn’t that deep. I understand there are minority castes with high iqs, but we are still talking about a country with an average iq of 76. That means there aren’t a lot of people with iq >130 compared to USA/Europe and Asia.
Hence when the other Anglo countries went all in on infinity Indians, the quality dropped substantially.
There is a lesson for current Indian immigrants in the west. Importing more co-ethnics at this point damages and dilutes your “brand”.
2) Indians it seems to me have problems with nepotism, corruption, dishonesty, and resentment.
Importing a new elite class, even if they did have the iqs, would be pointless if it made our elite culture more nepotistic, corrupt, dishonest, and resentful.
I would further add that India, like the rest of Asia, has cratering fertility rates amongst its high achievers, which will only get worse because it hasn’t even fully modernized yet and the demographic transition is relatively new.
Importing low elite fertility norms would be the most devastating long run impact of any policy.
In short there are strong empirical reasons to reject more Indian immigration.
More movies like Whiplash, fewer reruns of “Friends.” More math tutoring, fewer sleepovers. More weekend science competitions, fewer Saturday morning cartoons. More books, less TV. More creating, less “chillin.” More extracurriculars, less “hanging out at the mall.”
That sounds like "More work, less time to enjoy life." Life is to be lived and experienced. There is a place for work, but it's not 24 hours a day. I want the best for my kids, but I also want them to be able to be kids. Thanks to the rampant crime and human trafficking, I can't let them run around after school like we did in the 80's. They might get kidnapped, raped, and killed.
I'll agree there needs to be a balance, but that's it. We don't need techie kids that haven't been outside.
At its height, Western countries always had leaders with BOTH the qualities of the sportsman and the nerd. The warrior scholar was always the Faustian ideal.
Up until the 60's, the Presidents had always been either explorers, in the military, or a mixture of both. The last great president was Eisenhower, who was a WWII General. Teddy Roosevelt explored America and led the rough riders.
I don't want a technocrat president, because I'm not a piece of equipment. I have goals, dreams, and desires, and they aren't tied to the computer screen.
Furthermore, the left’s participation in the cavalcade of elite voices calling right-wingers bigots for having objections to an economic issue just reminded everyone else how progressive egalitarian moralism was central to modern corporate America’s institutional control.
This is why the founding fathers didn't want a city in DC. They knew it would go either hard right or hard left. They actually intended for the congress to work 3 weeks a year and leave the populace alone. They didn't want government to run people's lives.
IF THEY REALLY wanted secure borders and an end to mass migration, they should have voted for Bernie Sanders!”
Sanders is communist, so that would have never worked.
America’s ultimate project is humanity's ultimate project, namely, to pursue two core objectives: the survival of the species and its communion with God.
Humanity cannot continue as long as we kill babies in the womb and mentally ill people mutilate themselves. We are not robots who have interchangeable parts. We are each unique. We also can't be a godly nation if we've kicked god out and replaced him with confusion.
Now, it seems that most modern nations believe humans are just capital material inputs, a resource to be farmed, perhaps conserved but never respected.
I'm going to say it has been since the government gave us identification numbers to carry around. Those numbers are associated with the supposed debt each of us carries around, and has been since birth.
Again, we are each unique.
Devon Stack pointed out how hilarious it is that Vivek knew all of the 90s TV shows so well; shouldn’t he have been doing his own math homework instead of being a slick little weasel who thinks a pharmaceutical company stock rug pull is a great capitalist invention? 😂
Well said Joseph you said it all!
"All of these constituent collectives have a right to their own sovereignty and to see their posterity thrive. And to the extent that newcomers become American, they become American by the consent of these native peoples and through sublimating their identities into these collectives through marriage or total religious and ethnic conversion."
You should write an article about how you reconcile this with being a traditional Catholic in a country that had an anti-Catholic culture until the 1960s, and in which nativist sentiment and anti-Catholicism were closely tied together. Not a gotcha; would be interesting to read how you put it all together.
Really do agree with that sentiment that they consider us nothing but 'elite capital' and that it is devouring our nations and people, it isn't just Korea. I mean I was treated this way at several points herein Canada, and it has only precipitated health issues and crises.
Honestly, I love working, I love teaching but when pressed like cattle and treated to be nothing else but cattle, kind of causes you to lose faith and begin to feel lost. It is why when not working I cope by disappearing into reading books, and writing novels. It is the only work that feels like play and a kind of 'spiritual release valve' on a stressful day or like a reward after a great day.
Shocking data.
There is a very good video just been put out on YouTube channel ACADEMIC AGENT called 'The WORST Immigration Lies You Have Been Told'.
Great stuff, Dave. You bring it all together very nicely.
> Elon saw H1B-expansion as a way to increase his own political clout and signal that, indeed, his new brand of technocratic liberalism was the real power behind MAGA while improving the financial conditions of his business operations. The only thing he needed was to push through a pro-tech, anti-nativist policy proposal over the objections of Trumps “Red American” base.
If that was the goal, he'd have waited until there was an actual proposal to push and he was in a position to push it. Seems to me like you're just making stuff up.
We are speculating
Seemed like he wanted to dissuade any criticism of the new AI guy?
> The answer to this question is that our ruling class does not understand the nature of politics, history, or the complex systems they presume to manage. Almost no one does in the present year, not the government or deep state, or the people who think they are going to reform the goverment or deep state.
And not you either.
If we bring in so many elite high achievers, then the competition will become so bad that even if we got an Einstein, he couldn't be identified.
To be an Einstein requires both brain power and Slack. Need a job which doesn't burn out the brain so you can do some truly creative thinking.
Beautiful letter, Dave. I loved the last couple of paragraphs. I almost felt like I was at dinner in Sac with y'all.
That's a good spirit to have for 2025! A couple of my thoughts:
The short part about millenial politics confused me to be quite honest. Do you base the supposed increase of influence on online victories? And why attribute it to millenials generally? As far as I'm aware, the generation in general seems decidedly more left-wing. I also wouldn't count the chickens before they hatch. Policy changes would constitute a real victory. Currently, seeing how the entire debate brought back some forms of censorship and algorithm modification to X, I'm simply not too optimistic (in the short-term).
I also wouldn't be suprised if the left managed to pivot back to more class-based issues. So while they're currently seemingly down for the count, I wouldn't bank on a longer timeout.
I think the issues with the more Nietzschean parts of the right probably warrant a much more in-depth look and conversation. I don't necessarily see the argument as being an expression of slavery to power.
In any case I think 2025 is a year to look forward to regardless. Not least because things stay dynamic.
I think you're right about the fact that reproduction needs to be valued above immediate economic incentives, but I disagree as to why. I'm general, I think you, like Lewis, misunderstand us Nietzscheans. I go over why in my essay:
https://open.substack.com/pub/uraniumgriffin/p/a-vitalist-argument-for-voluntary?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=bb3i0