Jonah Goldberg never leaves you wondering what he thinks. Clear, bold, and exciting, Goldberg makes politics more fun than should be allowed.
Goldberg has been a keen observer of conservative politics for nearly four decades. You might say he was the voice of Republicanism in America before President Donald Trump. He thinks deeply, reads widely, and is willing to change his mind.
Don't miss this episode withJonah Goldberg, witty, thoughtful, and entertaining as always.
From his website:
"Jonah Goldberg is a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute where he holds the Asness Chair in Applied Liberty. In 2019, he left National Review magazine after a 21-year stint to cofound The Dispatch, where he is Editor-in-Chief. He has been a weekly columnist for the Los Angeles Times since 2005 and a nationally syndicated columnist since 2000. He hosts the popular podcast The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg.
His syndicated column appears regularly in many of America’s leading newspapers. His first book, Liberal Fascism, was a #1 New York Times and Amazon bestseller and was selected as the #1 history book of 2008 by Amazon readers. His second book, The Tyranny of Clichés, was also an instant bestseller and hailed as perhaps “the best and most fun-to-read primer on the tenets of conservative politics since P. J. O’Rourke’s Parliament of Whores.”
His most recent book, Suicide of the West: How the Rebirth of Tribalism, Populism, Nationalism, and Identity Politics Is Destroying American Democracy, was also a New York Times bestseller in 2018."
Thanks for checking this out!
Shawn
Chapters and AI summary:
Jonah Goldberg clarifies his consistent dislike of populism while distinguishing between necessary elites and irresponsible or hypocritical ones. He argues conservatism is rooted in prudence, trade-offs, and Burkean skepticism of one-size-fits-all principles, warning that ideologies claiming all good things align invite authoritarianism. Goldberg critiques technocracy and “value-neutral” pragmatism as rhetorical games used to short-circuit debate, linking moral-equivalent-of-war politics from Wilson through the New Deal to modern progressivism. He explains his idea that “complexity is a subsidy,” rewarding those with cognitive, financial, and social capital and fueling resentment. In discussing Suicide of the West, he argues capitalism, democracy, and rights are “unnatural” historical achievements deserving gratitude. He condemns Trump-era right-wing dishonesty, audience capture, and the erosion of character standards, and briefly addresses Canada’s politics and Trump’s treatment of Canada.
00:00 Populism and Elites
00:58 Poverty Wealth and Complexity
02:52 Trump and Character Test
03:21 Conservatism and Contradiction
05:42 Fusionism Tradeoffs and Prudence
08:51 One Thingism and Triage
13:46 Liberal Fascism Cover Controversy
16:42 New Right and Illiberal Turn
23:10 State Cannot Love You
23:45 Microcosm vs Macrocosm
32:42 Complexity as Subsidy Revisited
36:54 Tyranny of Cliches and Values
38:18 Values in Government
39:05 Liberal vs Progressive Labels
41:30 Word Games and Cliches
43:57 Pragmatism and Technocracy
48:47 Crisis Politics and War
51:12 New Deal as Mobilization
53:09 Elitism vs Populism
56:26 Tea Party Lessons
58:47 Defining Elite and Oligarchy
01:04:34 Institutions and Staying Lanes
01:06:21 Unnatural Miracle of Modernity
01:12:05 Hockey Stick Prosperity
01:14:49 French vs English State
01:15:32 Straussian Theology Questions
01:16:29 God And Rights
01:18:29 Locke And Liberal Origins
01:22:59 Culture Over Intellectuals
01:24:41 Ideas Lag Reality
01:28:44 Trump And Right Wing Capture
01:38:00 Power Corrupts Intellectuals
01:42:47 Canada And Trump Fallout
01:46:13 Closing Thanks
