“The End of Everything,” with Victor Davis Hanson | Uncommon Knowledge

Recorded on April 9, 2024.
Classicist Victor Davis Hanson is the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and the author of hundreds of articles, book reviews, and newspaper editorials on Greek, agrarian, and military history and essays on contemporary culture. He has written or edited twenty-four books, the latest of which is The End of Everything: How Wars Descend into Annihilation. The book-and this conversation-charts how and why some societies choose to utterly destroy their foes and warns that similar wars of obliteration are possible in our time. Hanson provides a warning to current societies not to repeat the mistakes of the past.
For further information:
www.hoover.org/publications/u...
Interested in exclusive Uncommon Knowledge content? Check out Uncommon Knowledge on social media!
Facebook: / uncknowledge
Twitter: / uncknowledge
Instagram: / uncommon_knowledge_show
The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hoover Institution or Stanford University.
© 2024 by the Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University.

[@baltasarnoreno5973]

Victor makes it transparently clear why anyone in politics or in any kind of leadership role should have a very deep education in history. Everything that is happening in the world today has happened before. It's just a question of recognising the events and personalities.

[@marcbra5074]

Fabulous to listen to. Who watches TV when there’s Interviews like this.

[@billturner6564]

The end does not comes when a society no longer has faith in its own religious beliefs and its own history but when it becomes so cynical it refuses to believe that their adversaries really do still believe in theirs

[@Drunkwithsuccess]

Victor Davis Hanson is a national treasure. Too bad those in power don’t take to his counsel. It is our collective loss.

[@jpmor7327]

He doesnt fit the current agenda.

[@user-qv6uw7yb1g]

So is Peter Robinson. One of the best interviewers ever.

[@lllllllllIIIIIIIIIIl]

can't be a hoover institution video without someone dropping the phrase 'national treasure', eh?

[@heathermc2916]

Have tremendous respect for VDH. Have read him thoroughly. However, as a military strategist, I wish he'd offer a strategy for the majority of Americans who want to save our country! The problems are obvious. The solutions and how to implement them are the problem.

[@paulmilligan3007]

The biggest worry is the truth of “we are not the people we were”.

[@user-ld1dy3yc8j]

Peter is always well prepared and does an excellent job of interviewing his guests. He deserves a lot of praise for his efforts.

[@mackenshaw8169]

I don't think English speakers can get their head around this idea. A short conversation with anyone from Rhodesia would be most educational for this.

[@Dante43437]

Victor Davis Hanson - one of the best military historian nowadays. Thank you for this guest!

[@ChrisMoffat-ov3lx]

50.59: "People who have not been defeated or are accustomed to a position of superiority, culturally, militarily, they think that they are invulnerable for ever, and they are not aware of insidious decline." .... "We have been here a thousand years .... we can't fall" This reminds me, as a Brit, of the UK and of the deluded thinking of our government, indeed of almost all of our political class, that spending only 2% of GDP on defence is adequate, with an aspiration to spend 2.5% "when economic conditions allow" as they themselves put it.

[@rw9854]

I am a fellow Brit (Englishman) and I completely agree. 2% is faffing around at the margins. Laughable level of commitment against real problems. A related and potentially wider issue. Could you imagine anything as in depth, serious and interesting as Uncommon Knowledge and this conversation being produced or broadcast in England these days?? The BBC and other mainstream media couldn't and wouldn’t do it

[@Stuart.McGregor]

Peter, please carve out an extra hour next time you have VDH in the chair. I feel like we only scratched the surface on what he has to say.

[@japponica]

What a brilliant 👏 man and so goes Western society. Instead of a massive onslaught, we are being destoyed by slow strangulation within.

[@DudeFun-yi7nu]

Brilliant, frightening, illuminating -- the cold shower of reality, thank you.

[@gavingarcia9566]

What a humble, wise and brilliant man Victor is. Not enough of fellow citizens know of him. I've often thought what a privilege it would be to drop by the farm on our shared September 5th birthday and spend the afternoon engaged in conversation.

[@friedarobertson1240]

This is my first time to hear Victor Davis Hanson and I am sorry to say that. What a treasure!! What an absolutely spot-on and timely interview and I hope and pray millions in the USA (the world actually) hear this and understand the full parallels of our time and this history lesson. We will learn from history...or repeat it. Thank you so much for this presentation. I am ordering the book pronto.

[@jesuewalker2562]

I was blessed to be taught a class by Dr Hanson. Brilliant!

[@thormusique]

This is an absolutely brilliant discussion that should be required viewing. Victor Davis Hanson is precisely the kind of thinker the US (and the world) needs more of, and all his books are remarkable. Let us pray that sanity, knowledge, and wisdom prevail. Cheers!

[@thewealthofnations4827]

Amazing, if you want to wake up to the reality you live in, take Victor Davis Hanson. Choose to ignore it and ride your ignorant bliss into the end of everything.

[@1rwjwith]

MR. HANSON IS A man I will always listen to implicitly on any subject. So brilliant to listen to this history.

[@sayitasiseeit626]

There are some people that can be readily said to be much more than the sum of their parts, Mr Hanson goes way beyond even this explanation of his intellect, knowledge and calm rational thinking and assessments. I could listen to him talk all day. My huge respect to you Mr Hanson.

[@bekscha579]

I went to the Hagia Sophia right before the election when it was still a museum. Only months after that trip it was a mosque again. It was stunning. The history is palpable and fascinatingly still ongoing.

[@MFJoneser]

How a man with this much knowledge gets out of bed everyday baffles me as much it inspires me. Which is a lot a lot.

[@MFJoneser]

We are so blessed to have Peter Robinson working this space. What a talent, what a resource. What a character! Brilliant soul, lovely intentions. Deeply skilled. I’ll calm down now.

[@GlassEyedDetectives]

I always listen up when Victor speaks.....a great mind, thank you. What do we do when impatient, self-assured, tyrannical Futurists go on the offence?....well, the entrenched Traditionalists go on the defense to protect what they hold dear,......while those who just live in the 'Now' are utterly bamboozled and totally oblivious as to what is going on around them, and totally ignorant of what is at stake, and thus they inevitably get captured, displaced and/or even destroyed during the conflict. 'This is the Way' i'm sad to say.

[@calebm8922]

Always love it when you have VDH on! Can’t wait to watch

[@cos2mer2]

VDH, Our national treasure!!!!!!!!!!

[@lesleymclean5635]

Thank you Peter and Victor. So good to listen to a non-strident, thoughtful conversation. I'm a fan from Chile.

[@jaysphilosophy1951]

History remembers the Victors......

[@a.p.5906]

Victor Davis Hanson for Secretary of State.

[@karendowden697]

Such a gentle truth defender. It would be an honour to meet Mr. Hanson.

[@matthewsheek8306]

What an interesting time we live in. The Enlightenment has come to an end and we’re are confident in our power to extend it

[@derekbascombe7731]

Were DJT to win in November, I'd love to see the opportunity to open up (however remote it might be) for the new Trump administration to include Mr. V.D. Hanson as the new Secretary of State. Notwithstanding the numerous reasons that it's unlikely to happen (incl. VDH's own possible unwillingness to join the political world), I'd just love to see any foreign diplomat - even heads of state - try to stand up to the man of VDH's intellect and breadth of knowledge, especially the knowledge so deeply imbued with his understanding of history....

[@rw9854]

Amen brother

[@jamesboekbinder3967]

Wonderful to hear him again explaining the past.

[@kaoskronostyche9939]

For more read The Collapse Of Complex Societies by Joseph Tainter. Great read.

[@tkmmkt6569]

This was very good however I have one criticism. I don’t understand why you put such strict time constraints on this. I heard you say this is television. I’m assuming this is maybe broadcast on PBS or something I’ve only ever seen it on KZbin but may I make a suggestion why not break it into two parts even if you and Victor sat down for two hours straight in reality just make it to episodes. It seemed like barely 25 minutes had gone by when you were already saying you were running out of time and had to compress everything….

[@virtualpar1]

Crime is Not crime .. its a Social Construct - Bingo - The downfall of New York City /. San Francisco .. thank you for the insight.

[@thewealthofnations4827]

Too few people will watch this video.

[@robsrockinout]

And a measurably brilliant find. Thank you Peter and thank you Dr Hanson

[@konstantinosstamatopoulos425]

Thank you for your knowledge and spread of Greek history

[@derekmclellan2824]

"It took us all day to land 135,000, us being the British and the Americans [... and the Canadians.] Just like the Hollywood movie "The Longest Day", no mention of the Canadians. The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division landed on Juno Beach on 6 June 1944. Why do we always get forgotten?

[@jakubjodlowski8416]

Saddest episode to date... 😔

[@pinchebruha405]

A must reads from Jarrod Diamond, ‘The Collapse of Civilizations’ and ‘Guns, Germs & Steel’ written way before this, Victors words seems grounded on Jarrods premise!

[@ActFast]

Thank God we have big oceans 🌊 protecting our shores.

[@kaoskronostyche9939]

Too bad you are letting in millions of Jihadis through your southern border.

[@joshuap9580]

this is true, our only potential weakness is internal.

[@lorellgingrich6603]

the skies are vast...

[@RichardCanavan-ze9mi]

Excellent, VDH is treasure.

[@oldpcgamers7450]

Close follower of VDH here. I have seen him go from concern to worry. We should worry.

[@nomorebsforme]

Sounds like CALIFORNIA today!

[@marcsmith8716]

Totally and thoroughly BRILLIANT!

[@user-ji2on8eg3l]

"We to the place have come where I have told thee thou shalt behold the people dolorous, who have forgone the good of intellect." Dante

[@Dicklesberg]

Love this guy so much. Both of them actually. Such a pleasure. I would really love to see a VDH deep dive book specifically into Cortes and the conquest of Mexico. It’s such a great and complex story that merits more in-depth exploration.

[@alexeyrodokanakis8827]

This was absolutely brilliant

[@charlesmackey8179]

Enjoyable interview but scary.

[@jjforcebreaker]

Oh I'm going to enjoy this! Thank you Mr. Robinson.

[@tomcampbell4414]

Man this is always the highlight of my month!

[@louverture905]

Professor Hanson is so interesting. I plan to get this book.

[@JeddieT]

Well, it will come down to this... _“Do you want freedom, or not? Freedom costs blood. That’s the fact, that’s the law of human nature. If you want it, you have to pay a price. If you turn around and give it away, you’re not going to have it. The option you’re now playing with is horrible. What you have now that was bought with blood, is going to be taken. And when you give that away, it’s not replaced with a different kind of freedom. You don’t replace freedom with freedom. Freedom is replaced by oppression, by dominance, by horrible things.”_ ~ Native American Comanche Indian, Dr. David Yeagley

[@billallen3696]

After that short summary of VDH's latest timely book coupled with half our country being effectively anti-American, I am convinced that our days in America are numbered in mere decades. But I also believe that everyone everywhere on Earth also has a very limited lifespan to look forward to because of tactical and strategic nuclear weapons as well as chem/bio weapons, EMP weapons and AI. Wouldn't it have been interesting to see how the world would be today, if still standing, had any of these four civilizations had some form of weapon of instant mass destruction. My barber, at the age of 39, tells me (at the age of 71) that he holds out "hope" like the notorious Debbie Birx. I tell him to consider human nature as being almost unchangeable and he scoffs. I think he may not make it to age 71.

[@redcae1911]

This was amazing. Vdh is great Happy to listen my the name of my country,Cyprus in this video

[@sprintcarfan87]

Brilliant!

[@Broomtwo]

This just made my day

[@--Dani]

Good for VHD, no book in ccp china…👍🏻

[@reekinronald6776]

Do some civilizations die in a single day? I'm sure there will be one event where people in the future will say, "This is the day the Western world ended", but Western civilization started it's decline immediately after WWII. It's taken 80 years to get here, but you can plot the route rather easily.

[@ghostbeetle2950]

Thank you, gentlemen!

[@jimluebke3869]

Speaking of Constantinople -- there is a movement online today, known as "Ortho-bro's" -- young men who are rediscovering Orthodoxy. It will be interesting to see where this leads. See also: _Reconquista,_ a movement to re-consecrate beautiful and historic American churches that have fallen away from traditional Christian teaching.

[@user-ji2on8eg3l]

Dueteronomy 32:28-29 For they are a nation devoid of reason, having no understanding. If they had insight they would realize this, they would understand their end:

[@lllllllllIIIIIIIIIIl]

wow so deep bro

[@rebeccac8705]

I wish interviewers would let guests speak without interrupting constantly. 😕

[@6663000]

VDH is the wisest man in the world.

[@ramstrong1961]

Your funny lmao

[@tylerservies3380]

Except possibly Thomas Sowell

[@ttothek131]

His historical arguments are alright but he’s disconnected from the modern world and im pretty sure lives in an echo chamber

[@darlenefoster3379]

@@ramstrong1961 You're not very smart. Your grammar needs brushing up.

[@fastingman4726]

I don’t know about that. VDH said anti-Zionism is antisemitism. That is a mind-numbingly stupid remark given that half American Jews are against Zionism. Although he is a very wise man. He just isn’t the wisest.

[@pammentzer3584]

Victor Davis Hanson is the Francis Schaffer of our time.

[@Kaiser_Johan]

Very interesting, would love to hear more in-depth on each of these subjects

[@MrAMandTM]

56:00 It's almost as though a collapse is being engineered.

[@TheScotian82]

A new Uncommon Knowledge?! 😃

[@rollnstone5539]

I'm just glad it was a book review

[@rishotube]

These two are great together

[@MrRentgould]

Always great ,thank you .

[@DevinFlake]

That opening statement scares me! 😁

[@averygraning2629]

In New York there ARE human sacrifices every day

[@benjamindover4337]

Very interesting

[@justwanderin847]

excellent interview

[@tkmmkt6569]

VDH!!!

[@kingcrazymani4133]

Victor and I have very different views of Cortes and the Aztecs. The motto “Don’t get even. Get odd” comes to mind in the parallel between the stories told by Cortes’s troops and the opponents of Vlad IV of Transylvania. Don Quixote was a satire. But, a satire of what? Cervantes had been a soldier before he was an author. Also, the point about Curtis LeMay was timely. I had forgotten Victor made the point about the nature of wartime imperial Japanese manufacturing. 59:00. Victor illustrates my unstated point by saying “nobody”.

[@brooklyn8787]

VDH + Peter Robinson is like Mantle and DiMaggio

[@parochial2356]

Victor Hanson @ 54:37: No capitulation to the Chinese. Bravo Professor!

[@cielitagarcia6489]

Such challenges and we have a president that sets a record for the most vacation days and is depleting our nation's strategic oil reserves for his own political gain of trying to keep gas prices down! This and he could possibly still win the reelection albeit maybe with some amount of shenanigans. 😥

[@markmartin2292]

I think the obsession with shows like The Walking Dead and other apocalyptic movies is kind of like our collective unconscious. I think it warns of what is about to come. Nature has a way of weeding out the weak.

[@stephendavey329]

Brilliant presentation!

[@tombergins8215]

The Last Real Professor in Academia

[@bsdpowa]

History and geopolitics are apples and oranges. Some people think that if you have apples, you also have oranges. But you don't, you have apples only.

[@mrnice9232]

It’s because the spiritual world always infiltrate the heart of man, causing him to be wicked, deceitful, arrogant, only looking towards his own self desires, unknowingly, because the spiritual is unseen! I think JFK’s famous speech says it all to me. Which can be applied to physical and spiritual.

[@poetmaggie1]

We are so a post modern moral world that we have fallen back into our old pagan ways.

[@morganstewart-kp2dy]

Able body men and women should be conscript

[@Zyzyx442]

Hope mr Davis hasn't lost confidence in the West, if you read Taiwanese message boards they believe in freedom, the South Koreans and Ukranians believe in freedom, it's sad I think the radicals in the west on both left and right have ruined the general populace appreciation of freedom, only when you lose something it seems we value it.

[@Dmindthinker011]

He has the Punic wars a little bit out of order, but I do understand his point.

[@morganstewart-kp2dy]

Military better call up conscript!

[@anacerar6810]

Mithologies of rulers and oppressors. Search your own heart for the truth. Do unto others the way you want others to do to you. That is it, and the world is (will be) free.

[@EdwinPriestley-in3xy]

Canada is going to be Concorde !

[@wolfie71231]

54:48 My man...

[@robertprawendowski2850]

⭐

[@lomotil3370]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 *Civilizations vanish swiftly.* 01:21 *Study reveals repeating patterns.* 02:45 *Vulnerable nations face threats.* 04:38 *Alexander the Great's conquests.* 11:51 *The obliteration of Thebes.* 13:12 *Rome vs. Carthage rivalry.* 16:18 *Rome's aggressive actions.* 20:46 *Roman strategy Carthaginian allies.* 22:29 *Romans struggle siege.* 24:47 *Scipio Emilianus captures Carthage.* Made with HARPA AI

[@FiveLiver]

Sorry Victor, the Janissaries were not a 'mercenary', elite they were Christians taken as slaves in childhood.

[@productostotal2103]

Arrogance seems like a major factor on the demise of empires. Remember when Aztecs were cornered and almost defeated, Cortez didn't want to destroy Tenochtitlan, but even there, Aztecs kept brawling and yelling to the new rulers.

[@michaelbarry8513]

"We have entered a new dark age made more sinister by the lights of perverted science." Winston Churchill

[@jesuewalker2562]

Nobody and I mean nobody can interview like Peter

[@jamesjones3320]

Vdh 2028 !