DO 211 - The digital politics of spiritual war with James Poulos and Donald

James Poulos joins Donald to talk about Tocqueville, McLuhan, Orthodoxy, and "the digital politics of spiritual war."
James Poulos helps advance enterprises impacting American life in technological, spiritual, and political ways. He is the co-founder and editor of The American Mind at the Claremont Institute, the founder and editorial director of RETURN, acquired by Blaze Media, and the host of Zero Hour at BlazeTV. He is the author of The Art of Being Free, Human Forever, and the forthcoming Pink Police State. Over nearly twenty years as a prolific writer, his columns and essays have been featured in publications spanning the spectrum of mainstream and independent media. He has appeared on numerous audio and video programs and regularly addresses domestic and international audiences. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Duke University and a Ph.D. in Political Theory from Georgetown University, both with distinction. He lives in Los Angeles.
Links:
The American Mind: ⁠americanmind.org⁠
RETURN:⁠ blazemedia.com/return⁠
Zero Hour: ⁠www.theblaze.com/podcasts/zer...
Human Forever: ⁠canonic.xyz/p/1YV9yExbmJ9mgBX...
@‌jamepoulos on Twitter

[@leonardeaslick812]

A thought-provoking discussion, especially the segment on Bitcoin, spiritual praxis and technology, etc. I also am unconvinced about what seems like the Boromirian take that 'the ring is a gift to the enemies of Mordor'. Of course the nature of technology, and particular implements of technology, is hard to pin down without sustained philosophical effort, so the claim that digital technology is the One Ring to Rule Them All is highly contestable. But it seems that James' practical mindset is the 'other side of the coin' from the techno-optimists. 'This is inevitable, and that's good' isn't far from 'this is inevitable, use it to protect yourself from its inevitability'. But all one needs to do is to question the inevitability to exit the framework, which I think Donald touched on when he expressed doubt about the competency of our 21st century beauracrats. The tension between agency and inevitability is all throughout our discussions of technology because technology has a unique relationship to causality, both causes outside of our control and our own free choice as a cause. Anyways, an enlightening discussion.