Pseudo-Conservatism and Aesthetics

Taking a cue from a recent interview with Victor Davis Hanson, Benedict Beckeld discusses upcoming work: on aesthetics and pseudo-conservatism.
Interview with Victor Davis Hanson: victorhanson.com/the-pensive-...
Video on Africa memoir (an excerpt from another interview): • My Africa Memoir and A...
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Image credit:
Victor Davis Hanson, art19.com/shows/the-victor-da...
Remaining images are my own.

[@alternativestoaa9288]

Good message

[@BenedictBeckeld]

Thanks!

[@Atomb]

Consider my appetite whet. I would love to hear you speak with James Lindsay.

[@BenedictBeckeld]

Great, thank you! And that's a good idea; I'll see if I can reach out to him.

[@nicof.9368]

Professor, what type of conservatism do you identify with? Understanding that there are various ways to be conservative.

[@BenedictBeckeld]

I don't actually identify with any type of conservatism, or with any political ideology at all. The primary reason for that is that different societies need different ideologies at different times, so there's no set of political principles that has my absolute fealty. And any political ideology, if too powerful, will grow into a perversion and parody of itself, which is why it generally needs at least a measure of resistance. But America, at the present time, needs for its survival more of conservatism than of any other political ideology, so that is the direction in which I'm currently leaning. The conservatism America currently needs is one that blends in aspects of classical liberalism. Aspects of paleoconservatism are also useful now, as long as they don't slide into isolationism, which would be counterproductive. So overall I take a pragmatic approach to politics.

[@Proud_Troll]

Have you ever made a video about anti-Jew-ism?

[@BenedictBeckeld]

No. Since this is a philosophy channel I always want to take a philosophical angle of the subject I'm discussing, and I'm not sure I'd have much to add in that regard when it comes to anti-Semitism. But if you have any ideas, feel free to share them.

[@Proud_Troll]

@@BenedictBeckeld I'm not trying to push you to make anything, it's just a subject I've been thinking a lot about, so I would've wanted to hear what your opinion is. I'm not talking about if it's good or bad, or if it's happening again, I'm thinking about the nature of antisemitism and why Jews keep on suffering from it. Why have the Jews had such a rich history with persecution, and why does it keep on happening? My religious friend, for example, argued that there must be a divine hand in all of this. I disagree. Another example are those who claim that J's have a problem and they deserve it. I also disagree with that.

[@BenedictBeckeld]

@@Proud_Troll No worries, I'm always happy to receive suggestions. I certainly have things to say about the subject, but I think it has been well remarked upon by others already. Anti-Semitism takes on different forms at different times and places, but I think a common root cause is the feeling people have of Jews being more successful than they, and of Jews having a corresponding self-regard. People can't stand that. They also can't stand that a people would consider themselves the elect of God, but, as I explain in my lengthy Islam article, this impression is based on ignorance and the Jews are actually the least arrogant among the Abrahamic religionists in this regard. That's a common thread that tends to run through different expressions of anti-Semitism, and then there are more specific differences depending on time and place.

[@Proud_Troll]

@@BenedictBeckeld Thanks for the response. Yeah, I agree. I've had this "awakening" recently, because I've always been told that Antisemitism is just a remnant from the Church's indoctrination from the middle ages. But I find that incredibly since Antisemitism has basically died down and come back a few times since the middle ages.

[@Proud_Troll]

@@BenedictBeckeld Thanks for the response. Yeah, seems about right. Just to add, the reason why this doesn't happen to other successful groups, is because J's have always lived in foreign countries, but the Japanese, for example, have always had a home. This is why I'm a huge Zionist.