Neo-feudalism and the Middle Class Crises | Joel Kotkin

John is joined by Joel Kotkin to discuss neo-feudalism and the American middle class' declining faith in democracy, as well as the burden they're facing as a collective.
Joel shares his concerns about how American society is becoming more feudalistic, with various inequality crises exemplified through the concentration of wealth and the ascendency of the so-called 'expertocracy.'
Joel Kotkin is the Roger Hobbes Presidential Fellow in Urban Studies at Chapman University and the author of 'The Coming of Neo-Feudalism'. He is described by the New York Times as "America's uber-geographer", and is internationally recognized as the authority on global, economic and social trends.
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0:00 Intro
0:33 Introducing Joel Kotkin
6:50 Neo-feudalism
15:15 New waves of the concentration of wealth
18:40 Health emergencies and their implications
22:25 Privatization of data
27:50 How should we think about climate change issues?
33:30 Is science settled?
45:35 On Millennials dropping out, and other crises they face
57:10 Emerging technologies
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Follow Joel Kotkin:
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Twitter: joelkotkin?lang=en
Facebook: / joelkotkin

[@somerandomhomeboy]

We as elders squandered the benefits of prosperity we inherited.Refused to parent our children. Abandoned manners,courtesy and commonsense. Replaced communion with tribal community, personality with identity, and modesty with hedonistic instant gratification. We are a slow boiling frog of a species and the water's getting warmer!

[@marilynfuller923]

I’ve watched America turn away from God. This has been the cause of our destruction and the reprobate minds leading us. Very scary, but God still has a plan for those who turn to His Son.

[@S.J.L]

It's good to hear someone from the older generation speak up. The Boomers can do alot by taking some responsibility for where we've gotten off track. Giving the younger generations a nudge in this direction would free up a lot of dogmatic people to look at things more sensibly & act better going forward. It's a turning point but not the end of the world.

[@merrywriterb7811]

It isn't that we didn't parent. It's that we trusted our school teachers and didn't realize Bill Ayers and his Marxists took over the teachers colleges to make all our schools Franklin schools. You are correct that it has been a long slow boil to Communism.

[@EndoftheBlock7224]

Boomers used to be the hippies and they are enjoying their retirements. It's up to the rest of us to sacrifice and that's all there is to it. Do or die don't ask why.

[@JamesFitzgerald]

Speak for yourself. I did none of those things.

[@KingMinos316]

Am 22, Australian. Reality changed dramatically when I unplugged from the media and dropped out of college. Suddenly I was in a much more beautiful world which wasn't ending. The hopelessness is manufactured.

[@Eric-kn4yn]

Your using drugs ???

[@Teamshmo]

It is true a lot of worry is in our own heads, but when prices on everything become so expensive you can't live those problems become a very real reality

[@crowesarethebest]

What a pleasure to sit back and listen to two adults have a serious conversation about humanity's future. No hyperbole, virtue-signalling, or any nonsensical utterances.

[@mtg6753]

Joel Kotkins book on Neo Feudalism is a must read for those who are interested in society and culture of western nations. As a father I have taken the information from this book to guide my children into a future where they will be able to avoid the serf class.

[@joemichels4530]

I would suggest the only way to avoid being a serf is to stop the current feudalistic plan by resisting the narrative at every chance.

[@mtg6753]

You do that. My children and the children of my children will not go back to serfdom.

[@serpentines6356]

Several years back I was trying to piece together a definition of what seemed like - well, what was going on. The world was getting weirder, people were getting glued to screens, and now there was the billionaire class, and those meekly souls who live off the giant landfills. I was trying to put a definition on it, and I came up with "Neo-feudalism". Imagine that. I don't even know sheet about economics, but I know a little bit of history, and what class I am in. Teach your children well. Sounds like you are. Good for you. 😁

[@justineking5643]

How? This is a serious question as I have a young teenager & am at a loss how best to guide her. She is a great teen but her school (as all public schools in NZ )is teaching ideology du jour rather than critical thinking

[@mtg6753]

@@justineking5643 For a teenager this is very difficult to do. Teenagers are begining to assert themselves and forming independent thoughts. My suggestion is to spend as much time as you can with her without pushing her away. Bond with her and share your values via the Socratic method. Being a teenager you can't just tell her. She has to meet you at least halfway there for this to work. Not knowing you personally, for me in same situation I would do my best to bring Christianity into the conversation as much as possible. I hope for the best for you and your daughter.

[@danieljones-tg9oe]

Joel, you mentioned January 6, what about the riots that went on for months with many deaths and property destruction. Convenient omission.

[@ortforshort7652]

I'm sure that whenever you complain about the riots that went on for months, you always mention January 6 - just to be balanced

[@EndoftheBlock7224]

The only deaths were that of the protestors.

[@cherbug1197]

The blm/ antifa riots that went on for 8 months killing and hurting hundreds destroyed city blocks that have never recovered … spare me on jan 6

[@kaylenehousego8929]

This is one of those conversations I will listen to more than once . Deeply thoughtful and coherent conversation - thank you both .

[@anthonygoodman48]

Joel gets away with far too much, there are no difficult questions. Take a particularly choosey population growth story he tells. he says there was a period of what "1000 years where population doesn't increase at all", and he seems to attribute this to 'Feudalism' any elementary student of history will immediately think hang on this is obviously incorrect. Feudalism was around and increased from the Fall of the Roman Empire and the ensuing chaos. What he is clearly doing is picking a point just before the collapse of the Roman Empire (peak European population during the Roman Empire), and then compares it to immediately after Europe was struck by the Black Death. Clearly Europe grew in population throughout the Middle Ages. Agricultural innovations were present, and while obviously serfdom while fairly rough was obviously far better than the old Roman Slavery which was gradually phased out. It's easy to make these kinds of historical comparisons to support a biased view, and Anderson is clearly not educated enough to pick up on them.

[@anthonygoodman48]

In other words, in multiple different facets of life, Serfdom was a big upgrade on slavery.

[@cyberslim7955]

All I can hear is how Americans are full of themselves! 🤣🤣🤣

[@krcalder]

What happened last time? Mariner Eccles, FED chair 1934 - 48, observed what the capital accumulation of neoclassical economics did to the US economy in the 1920s. “a giant suction pump had by 1929 to 1930 drawn into a few hands an increasing proportion of currently produced wealth. This served then as capital accumulations. But by taking purchasing power out of the hands of mass consumers, the savers denied themselves the kind of effective demand for their products which would justify reinvestment of the capital accumulation in new plants. In consequence as in a poker game where the chips were concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, the other fellows could stay in the game only by borrowing. When the credit ran out, the game stopped” A few people have all the money and everyone else gets by on debt. When the credit ran out, the game stopped. Using debt to keep the system running is what we call a short/medium term solution. It never works over the long term. Is that why Keynes added redistribution? Yes, it stopped all the wealth concentrating at the top. A strong, healthy middle class blossomed in the West. The system didn’t need debt to keep it going. This is what we call a long term solution.

[@venividivici1982]

Probably the most and useful information/interview in the last years, should be broadcasting this everyday to everyone

[@liamflood4532]

Iuuu Hbb

[@roberthumphreys7977]

I suggest that there are similarities between our neo-feudalist present (I think Joel's term is spot on) and the feudal past in terms of concentration of knowledge and treatment of physical labor. We have dumbed down education to the point at which children leaving high school have little knowledge and perhaps even less after leaving university with liberal arts or humanities degrees. Plus, they are in debt to the point at which they become indentured, also similar to feudal times. Those with knowledge (primarily the Church in feudal times) used that knowledge to engender fear of damnation in both the the working class (serfs) and the rulers. The neo-feudal equivalent to the Church. The neo-feudal equivalent to the Church is the SJW class in the universities, and big tech with social media replacing the pulpit. The neo-feudal surfs are the working people who know how to fix things, work the supply chains, and grow the food, now lumped together as the Deplorables. As Mike Bloomberg pontificated, all farmers need to do is make a hole in the ground and pop in a few seeds and voila, up pops the food.

[@roberthumphreys7977]

@Adam Jacobs If the degree is recent, you probably have acquired sufficient “anti-knowledge” to annihilate whatever common sense you were born with when they collide in your brain.

[@roberthumphreys7977]

@Adam Jacobs Now why would I waste my time doing that?

[@GoodnWise]

The term is “serf”

[@michaelcap9550]

Any major that ends in "Studies" is useless in today's world. STEM rules.

[@ulagatin]

One quick comment - mathematics is a liberal art. Economics is a liberal art. This is a much broader term than many realise.

[@NO-bw5dn]

Thank you for everything, John.

[@grahamesmith7663]

Hi John, I want to thank you for taking this subject seriously. Very few of the people I know have any idea of what is coming. The ones I fear for the most our my grandchildren. Thank you for making this discussion one in your series of discussions.

[@mikehiggins946]

I was with this guy all the way till the end when he brought up the seriousness of January 6th and "wanting to hang the vice President." How did he feel about the 120 days of BLM riots? I can't take anyone as being nonpartisan when they focus on January 6th as though it occurred in a vacuum.

[@sukeywatson1281]

Dutch company DMS ( well funded by the WEF ) is poised to swoop in and “save” food production with their product “meatables”. This is a chemically infused lab product for which of course no one knows the long term health effects. DMS is a big mining and chemical conglomerate. Just another big company set to grab control and wrestle resources from the people. Climate change always happens and it is not necessarily warming that is occurring. That entire premise is based on extremely faulty models and not on actual data. This is not to say we shouldn’t find cleaner sources of energy, we should. We need to do this to preserve the benefits not just to the elites, but to all of us.

[@stephenclements6158]

I was taking him seriously until his pearl clutching about January 6th. He is clearly afraid of the wrong people involved in January 6th.

[@elsychra]

I haven't gotten to that point in the interview yet, but I have read his book and listened to other interviews of his, and his hang up with Trump does seem...odd. For someone as intelligent and in touch with working class people as he is, to have written such a clairvoyant and accessible book as _The Coming of Neo Feudalism_ ; one would think he would understand that many voted for Trump _in reaction to_ the very issues he lays out in his book. Whether Trump was actually a viable solution is certainly debatable but quite frankly irrelevant. Millions of working-class Americans sensed that their class was under attack and they were being driven towards serfdom under the status quo (whether or not they understood it in those terms), and the vote for Trump was a hail mary pass to try and upset that rotten apple cart. It's his opinion, and he's certainly entitled to it, but he should probably at least temper his language about it some, *if* he wants to successfully reach many of the very middle, working-class people who most need to hear his message...

[@stephenclements6158]

@@elsychra thank you for taking the time to write such an informative response! It is odd where some people's blindspots are, such as this one.

[@steviejustamann9689]

Gday from NZ. After several hundreds of hours in study of climate, i wish highly intelligent people whom still discuss co2 as a dangerous,, WOULD STOP IT! IT'S A LIE! Love to all!

[@jw-vx8im]

I think the best climate policy is to cut overall pollution

[@pawelpap9]

@@jw-vx8im Pollution has very little to do with climate. For example, plastic residues in ocean water do not change climate.

[@ortforshort7652]

Humans activity is generating more CO2 than the atmosphere can handle without the planet warming. It is a greenhouse gas. The question is not whether humans are generating it, but what are the ultimate effects. It appears that there will be a substantial negative impact on some areas and not much of an impact on others. A better thought rather than denying that human activity causes an overload of greenhouse gasses is to find ways to mitigate creating so much of it without destroying our economies. Where there's a will, there's a way. But, so far, we haven't seen much of a will.

[@ortforshort7652]

@@pawelpap9 That doesn't mean pollution is good.

[@pawelpap9]

@@ortforshort7652 Can you read? Why would you imply something I didn’t write?

[@DanSme1]

Regarding home ownership, it was only one (1) generation (Boomer to X/13th) where EXPECTATIONS were totally turned on its head. My WW2 father had an 8th-grade education. I struggled to complete my college education and a “starter” single-family residence (SFR) was an older 900 sqft fixer-upper. Despite what I taught my three X-Gen sons by both word and action, they would have nothing of it. They expected the university of their choice funded by parents and later a 3,000 sqft “starter” SFR.

[@big1boston]

The merger of corporation in government is the text book definition of fascism. You will also find many Americans willing to move to Russia because they are more free than us.

[@traditionalfood367]

... than we are. (for SoOLs)

[@andrewblake2254]

Good luck! I am sure they will find a helmet and a rifle for you. btw I have lived there. They are about as free as my mate's hamster.

[@countalma9800]

Russia?… You must be kidding. Russia today is the definition of fascism from every perspective, and a country with no future and no opportunities. The day might come sooner than we think when a new Perestroika will begin over there and then it will become a land of opportunity.

[@PrzybyszzMatplanety]

Russians aren't more free than you, stop fooling yourself. You're not free in a regime that'll put you in prison for speaking against the government. Stop fantasizing about supposed Russian "freedom".

[@pawelpap9]

Ignorance is a bliss.

[@hfwilmot]

Yanis Varoufakis calls our present system techno-feudalism

[@AlaricTheArcane]

This guy is a mental midget compared to Varoufakis. Probably stole Yanis' work, too.

[@billphilippou4467]

What an amazing Interview. I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees the world like this.

[@galt67]

Excellent discussion! I'm going to the library to get Mr. Kotkin's book. Thanks for ongoing excellent content.

[@kateoneal4215]

Thank you so much for this holistic discussion!!!

[@brucebarnett8785]

Very good talk by both participants. Thank-you!

[@apemant]

Food for thought indeed, thank you!

[@classicalnotes539]

Outstanding conversation!

[@tacmason]

Thanks Joel - I also wish all Politicians would get into "Recovery" before they eradicate us ALL !🙄

[@user-oi9iz9jr8y]

Great conversation John

[@brainkill7034]

Great interview, thank you for sharing.

[@gregafuso8226]

In reading Locke I understand his original linking of citizenship with property ownership - it means that the property owner also owns a part of their respective countries and has a vested interest in maintaining individual rights over collective matriarchal, socialism (Like the kid is fond of saying, "Hey that's not fair, she got more" as opposed to the kid that says, "No thanks I can do it myself").

[@ortforshort7652]

Sitting Bull said it best when talking about whites. "The love of possessions is a disease in them."

[@philltaylor8442]

I agree with your statements that a balanced conversation. THANK YOU 👍👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏.

[@beritmason8567]

great balanced interview ... it is terrible what has happened.

[@hali_kay32]

Excellent interview - thank you!

[@jeanneelliott7243]

In the 60s, there were segregated bathrooms, and we drove without seatbelts while drinking a cold beer. And on and on. There is no comparison to modern days.

[@oldkoot5828]

Smoked where ever you wanted too.

[@bennoromer1066]

In germany when you inherit a house then you have to pay taxes,. And this tax has been raised recently. They willtake away everything sooner or later.

[@SladkaPritomnost]

Almost no taxes in property market here in Slovakia, it become a money washer for super rich. Everyone holds even old stalls, everything just keep rising so why to sell while you are getting rich.

[@carolyndarragh1891]

Great chat. Sooooo sensible and relatable.

[@Redhotlugnut]

Nice conversation!

[@erastvandoren]

Kotkin is a treasure!

[@oja7561]

Wonderful content

[@tedzimmerly]

Discussions like this are why I love KZbin

[@MussbacherIndustries]

A wonderful and enlightening discussion, enjoyed it a lot. The ending however, with the political bashing, was I thought the weakest part of the discussion but, it did lend itself towards who Joel was. Then all of a sudden Joel reversed those thoughts a little when he acknowledged where most of his current support was coming from, interesting. Interesting to hear Joel's views of where California is today. Mr. Anderson a total wonderful program and thank you so much for the chance to hear it freely.

[@MilkShake]

This guy has got it 👌

[@omgyeaXD]

A free country like Australia. Lol good one

[@chopincam-robertpark6857]

another winner John, I've said the exact same thing about Blazing Saddles. The Sherriff is Near ...would never be made, just teen 70's humor.

[@HS-PGA]

Even before the price spike in housing . Australia was already very expensive . The house has become a idol and worshiping idols usually involves offerings of sacrifice . In this context it’s to own a home you now have to sacrifice , food , family time , vacations , peace of mind from high debt levels, .

[@thefleecer3673]

Great interview. Why can't anyone put this on the MSM?

[@drstrangelove4998]

I agree with almost everything this guest has said, except for his odd TDS. I was horrified on hearing about Trumps bid for President, the slowly saw what he did, his record as POTUS was incredible.

[@serpentines6356]

Everyone I know hated Trump, and were freaking out about him staring WW3. I just wasn't on that page, and thought, well, we shall see what happens. As President he did better than any other President in my adult life. At least in my opinion.

[@danielkempton9659]

To Dr Please tell me, I missed ur point on Trump?

[@ilikethiskindatube]

If the Chinese government can take away private property at any time is it really private property? More like a licence from the state to use their goods until you contradict their viewpoints.

[@crhu319]

Still more accountable than a CIA.

[@danielkempton9659]

I loved the statement, " who are you, to come into my domain/ home and critique me".

[@oskar6607]

Very good discussion/talk. Stred it with my father and brother in our current affairs chat. Don’t agree about the carbon accounting argument though. Yes, Sweden import a lot of carbon footprint through the products we consume but a lot of the exports from Sweden - steel and pulp & paper - are very energy intensive but are here in Sweden produced with low carbon footprint energy (hydro, nuclear and bioenergy). So, that certainly skews accounting.

[@stevenwiederholt7000]

What makes people think this Environmental Activism has Anything To Do With "Savng The Planet."?

[@sunroad7228]

"In any system of energy, Control is what consumes energy the most. No energy store holds enough energy to extract an amount of energy equal to the total energy it stores. No system of energy can deliver sum useful energy in excess of the total energy put into constructing it. This universal truth applies to all systems. Energy, like time, flows from past to future".

[@albwilso9]

No, we as a people got lazy,and allowed a small group of people take away our, wealth, income, benefits, safe society (since poverty CAUSES crime, and violence), and education, and are going to continue until the vast majority are in poverty, and injustice, with no rights!!!

[@slavaryklin4010]

Great show John, bring in Candace Owens. She tells it like it is. Was nice to see an old school Democrat like Joel as well!

[@paulheydarian1281]

She's way too young to have any well-thought out opinions. She's had little life experience. She might be worth interviewing in 15 to 20 years.

[@deluxieeee]

Fascinating! Kotkin says he stems from the left, yet his words have been heard by me in the right (not in libertarians). The right I know (limitedly) has adopted the pragmatic principle that Prof. Kotkin backs. "What works" -- oh, blessed principle for policies. I have troubles with Trump, but ask just who can stir up the "middle class" more than Trump. I would hope that someone else goes to the fore, From where? is my impression that Trump is #1 for awakening? Thanks for an excellent interview.

[@nancyjimeno7001]

Great talk, but NOT originating in Los Angeles. Chapman University is located on the City of Orange, California. A very different setting than L.A.

[@StpBks]

"...it's not what your intention is, its what the results are..." 3:08

[@bv2thetiger]

i enjoyed listening to the podcast and came here to comment on the point that is highlighted in the opening of the video here: that the US and Australia are uniquely self sufficient due to natural resources. i think it’s a misapprehension based on a lack of geographical knowledge. while the US and australia might be enormous, south east asia is actually the most food rich part of the world due to the fertility of the land and the rainfall. hence the extremely high population it can sustain in such a small amount of land.

[@ianlang6058]

I'm British and I can't think of an American comedy that ever actually made me laugh. I don't watch TV anymore, but I haven't seen anything funny from the UK since forever either. Black Books wasn't bad. I was advised to watch that by a girl from Slovakia. And my Dad used to like Mrs Brown's Boys. But whenever I caught a bit of it, it left me cold. Although he swore by its antecedent, Hancock's Half Hour, as well.

[@brucerobtoy2888]

I'm a American and think y'all's humor isn't funny, except for Monty Python.

[@ianlang6058]

@@brucerobtoy2888 You managed to pick the one thing I never did think was funny. Except Life of Brian of course. That was a masterpiece.

[@amraceway]

@@ianlang6058 Northern Exposure, Six Feet Under. There are funny ironic US comedies.

[@Tubes12AX7k]

Among British comedies, we have Fawlty Towers, Monty Python, and Doc Martin on DVD. Full set for all of them.

[@TheIceyeddy]

Frasier was probably the best American comedy. Sophisticated and didn't have to dumb down to get laughs.

[@charliebarton]

17:40 - good stuff.

[@professoruc]

May have many beneficial and productive uses; not just entertainment value; combined with ai, scenario of actions can be run forward and outcomes shown. Exactly, like climate change and how to go forward

[@FromTheHeart2]

20:20 SBF portrait right there!

[@downeys1]

Pretty reasonable guest but out-of-his-mind on January 6th. I see myself as a member of the “practical” party and this gentleman is well reasoned. What is the practical party? Basically it is rooted in math.

[@user-ko3tv7jl2r]

The practical party is race communism, but slower and legally.

[@danmcdonald9117]

He doesn't know "Jan 6" was an establishment psyop?!

[@50_Pence]

Probably own 3 houses and read the daily mail

[@solosailor8799]

Door or do not. And bear the consequences. What was true for my father and my father's father is true for me and my son. Adaptation as a core human trait is present in every generation.

[@bigg5582]

Great guest..any relation to the Russian expert Stephen?

[@drTAMU-T]

Neofeudalism is what I’ve been saying we are headed for…

[@covertcounsellor6797]

+1 It’ll be the “Nobles” and the powerless “peasants “ - no cars, no houses, insecure, low-paying employment…

[@michaelsmith473]

The science is settled. - JB (Jabba) Pritzker

[@9mwood]

Enjoyed the discussion. I’m glad the very intelligent guest kept his liberal douchyness to a minimum

[@JS-dt1tn]

Few edits to the information shared as the video goes along: Middle class and upper class are getting squeezed, more people are being added to the bottom 50th percentile during this inflationary period. The covid spending resulted in a 350% increase in bank deposits for the bottom 50th percentile. And a 1000% increase for the 90th-100th percentile. I am family with the Cousteau's, good people, especially his boys, probably also a hyperbolic statement. Niether here nor there. They don't have the power others do. You're absolutely not going to get a 7% return from "green energy" no matter what. Most green energy ETFs were flat for the entire 2010s decade. That is underperformance. And so on...

[@therealtoni]

The lifeboat scenario is designed to desensitize students to make decisions on who should live and who should die. I did it as a young teacher. I no longer will do it in classes.

[@EndoftheBlock7224]

People die yet you still live and have to carry on so do you ignore death to lesson the humanity of it in the future. Hopefully not. It's a useful scenario to be thought through. Making tough choices does not turn you into a psychopath but can help you make better choices if taught correctly. The young must grow up

[@darbyheavey406]

Malthusian economics is false….we are not running out of resources. People are the solution to our problems.

[@pawelpap9]

It is a minor and inexpensive modification to make gasoline car to run on natural gas. Many cars were transitioned in Central Europe in past two decades and it worked great until Ukraine war. Surprising neither of them new that.

[@whitehorse1959]

❤❤❤❤

[@patriciaglass9779]

THE CLIMATE HAS BEEN CHANGING SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME. GET OVER IT!!!

[@carausiuscaesar5672]

What about Canada?🇨🇦

[@TheOrphicLyre]

John, the left brain is the supposed pragmatic and rational side, the right is the creative and emotional side. However I think this model is outdated, it varies depending on which is your dominant hand and perhaps some other factors.

[@Andrew-mv2qb]

i can not concede to everything he says he seems a little bewildered chopping and changing however many momentum of clarity

[@Gumbatron01]

Many of the economic issues could be rectified (in the medium term) with sound currency. Fiat currency allows the reckless debt based spending that inevitably devolves into a corrupt corporatist system that we have now. It's no panacea, but it will go a long way. But no politician will every propose it, because it cuts off their ability to spend at will.

[@stevenlightfoot6479]

Kotkin is really good.

[@UDimwit]

Thre is no hopelessnes when you learn to understand that the internet has actually opened up the world to a new era .. information that once took a month to get half way around the world. can now be seen in a few seconds.. we cn put more pressures on politicians now than ever before.. we just need to learn how powerful the internet is..

[@stevenwiederholt7000]

#UDimwit The Effect of the Intenet is like the effect of the Moveable Type printing press. It Changed Everything.

[@dendradwar9464]

Good point .. good point

[@ennuied]

Being told to be proud of what was given to you by nature was the worst advice to the new generation. A whole generation is lost.

[@big1boston]

My grandfather tortured nazi and now we are becoming them in a quick hurry.

[@wolfsden3]

He's incorrect about agriculture's power in CA. It's been consolidated and it now controls 80% of the water resources for pomegranates, pistachios which is partly why the U.S. has an anti-iran policy to protect the pistachio industry and citrus. Industry and agriculture have all the lobbying power in fact. The cars by the way, won't last that are made in the 2020's because they all have computers in them. The computers will die and thus, so will your car. They want you to rent your cars because they will have short lifespans.

[@covertcounsellor6797]

Agree with you about the cars’ lifespan. Even my Mercedes is full of computers that (1) Only a dealer’s shop can work with and (2) Confer inbuilt obsolescence.

[@johnmadany9829]

If you have a good fund of knowledge, you realize that John Campbell is one of the few left in England.

[@andrewwoods8153]

A good conversation, however I think you miss the actual significant changes in train, and the significance of the depletion of wealth from local economies and low economic groups. World and National change trough all mediums is happening. That's just the Western and Asian privileged, not the rest of the world where poverty and opportunity are endemic and remote, because of accumulated resources and wealth of the Western and Asian privileged.

[@roberthumphreys7977]

The response I think you will see from working Americans will be apathy. I believe we are experiencing this attitude more and more in the so-called service sector of the economy. If I was a member of the rail unions that just lost their rights through action by our government, my response would be, well, fine, I'll just work more slowly and not do one extra thing that I might have done in the past. Over the long run, this will be more damaging than a strike and they know it. Our government is quite happy to support the wealthy, connected folks who give big to the two parties. When one of the Great Unwashed asks for their piece of the pie, suddenly it's a national emergency. Our government seems to dedicate every action to making the lives of the average American more difficult. The predictable result will be a long term drop in productivity. Why work hard when others close to power reap all of the rewards. It is interesting to note that China seems to heading down the same road, with 20% youth unemployment and tens of millions of men with no prospect of finding a spouse thanks to the one-child policy. Every direction you look, big government is failing. Their answer? Globalization. More of the same, but worse.

[@roberthumphreys7977]

@Adam Jacobs Norway has about the same population as a middle sized US state. That’s small government. We have 3 million more people living on what we call Long Island. The US government has not far off half the number of employees as Norway has people. That is big government. It sucks at everything.

[@roberthumphreys7977]

And I agree that Norway has a good, effective government snd citizens who demand it. We have states like that, too. That’s where people from badly run states are going.

[@roberthumphreys7977]

@Adam Jacobs Florida, Montana, Wyoming, New Hampshire, to name four. Education is a problem here, without a doubt. Signs are it isn’t getting better anytime soon. As for “sinking ship”, Norway and the EU had better hope not.

[@roberthumphreys7977]

@Adam Jacobs I should add, Norway’s so-called hate speech laws are quite inconsistent with free speech. On this one, we do better, by a lot. So far, the 1st Amendment means what it says. So, perhaps citizen “education” does not guarantee freedom of speech and thought.

[@roberthumphreys7977]

@Adam Jacobs We do not have speech laws. I cannot be prosecuted for what I say. Big difference. And we are fixing the suppression, slowly but surely. Example: Twitter.

[@BlorkTDork]

Its all about removing as much agency from as many people as possible

[@ZelenaZmija]

I think younger generations have given up too much already. The Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington has estimated that global fertility rates will be below replacement by 2050..... You read that right GLOBAL fertility rates below replacement. Overlay that with the fact that people who need to be having kids aren't. The people who need to be having kids are millennials because they are the majority of the population who's aged appropriately (not too young or too old) for child rearing/family creation. We are in the window for them now; things like housing affordability, affordable healthcare, parental support; to the extent all that stuff helps people feel secure enough to have kids, now is when the maximum impact would be. In 10 to 20 years the kids the millennials have will be the generation after Gen Z, and as far as its looking now it'll be smaller than Gen Z (whose already smaller than the millennials). In 2022, the US population grew by 0.4%, roughly 1.3 million. Of that 1.3 million, 1.0 million was from immigration.

[@Thomas...191]

Can someone tell me if this guy is anything to Stephen Kotkin

[@slackvariable7295]

OMG. people like Joel Kotkin are exactly why we are where we are. There's no two ways about it. Read Amity Shlaes for crhissakes. It's in English even.

[@tonybaldwin6280]

Take a look how the water cycle works not ghg, especially if you want to be a resilient farmer

[@benjiwatson2368]

He’s wrong on the ability to feed self point. The UK has some of the best farmland in the world and is only second to Ireland in food security. If you’re talking natural resources, then sure. But we’re not lacking in those, we just don’t have as many as Aus/US.

[@germanicus4864]

I’m 22, I have little to no hope of ever buying a home

[@kimeldiin1930]

Then again , in a system where is one state a vote is worth 57 times than a vote in another state , how can THAT b a DEMOCRACY !!???????

[@HiwasseeRiver]

Oh my - Debt slavery does not equal "home ownership" I could support home ownership for those who chose it and can actually own their homes vs. house-debt for all.

[@Melki]

17:40 🧐👍 Although, cab drivers like to keep their passengers entertained let's say. But this inflation trend do begs the question shouldn't we already be able to have those for a lot more people already? Have the people contributed less or more to the world? Why are we contributing worse now than our parents? Or are we? Haven't our parents left humanity assets to step up on massively? Or their long termness just sucks?

[@JamieZero7]

I've really been think the best system is Feudal-libertarianism. Since you do need a government. So that sorts the problem with libertarianism. this system would work sorta similar to age of sail where people had charters that would be able to help expand a business granted not every business would need one. This could back you up with trade around the world. The kings, princes's and lords job is to allow you the business man to get good deals in other countries too. But essentially it would be a relaxed control. Now you either pay a little bit towards army. I think the royals running their own business would be good to support them so they aren't broke. And if they needed anything else put it in a request to the people to vote on. Say if you needed a plane for dimplotmats if the royals can't afford one. Granted I would hope private business would be able to give them one to rent. Military, firebregade would still need to be paid and army will replace somewhat of the police force. Reshape of the police force is needed this needs to be thought out. Reshaping parliament 100% needed.

[@dougmoore5252]

Don’t tread on me. Great American tradition.

[@hostashevsky]

Totalitarian systems are always humorless.

[@saliksayyar9793]

Boys, remember the ozone hole? The Australian boy should remember. Australians are holding on to an entire continent with about 20 million people. Why?

[@DrLimbic]

Anyone who describes metaverse has had no experience with VR or Oculus. It is not like creating your own reality. It is not impeccably real or more real than real. It is a video game with 360 view and it is much less real than you think both in your perception and in the graphics and processing power of current AAA titles. It is not even close to replacing real experience and it is not at all like it can substitute international travel.

[@lowersaxon]

Last hope: a rebellious next generation.