Western Self-Contempt: Oikophobia in the Decline of Civilizations

Dr. Beckeld presents his new book, "Western Self-Contempt".
Pre-order on Amazon:
www.amazon.com/Western-Self-C...
Pre-order on Barnes&Noble:
www.barnesandnoble.com/w/west...
Pre-order from Cornell University Press:
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/...
From Roger Scruton:
"A convincing and clearly written survey of a phenomenon that we all need to understand, if we are to face the future with any confidence."
From Victor Davis Hanson:
"A timely, astute and now much-needed historical, social-economic, and psychological analysis of why Western societies in general and in particular America are not just self-critical, but ultimately can become self-loathing. From the Greeks' warnings that with material progress comes moral regress to the contemporary French postmodernists' perversions of language, Benedict Beckeld both warns and shows us that hating what made you free, secure, and prosperous is not merely decadent but ultimately suicidal."
(Note: I have previously referred to this book as "Hatred of Home: Oikophobia in the Decline of Civilizations"; the main title was changed by the publishers.)
Facebook: / benedictbeckeld
Twitter: / benedictbeckeld
My website: www.benedictbeckeld.com

[@JaimePineiro]

I am so proud of you Benedict!

[@BenedictBeckeld]

Thank you!

[@jaybe1203]

Congratulations!!

[@BenedictBeckeld]

Thank you!

[@taylordark]

Pre-ordered! Thank you, Dr. Beckeld!

[@BenedictBeckeld]

Thank you very much for your purchase! Please come again.

[@njbobf]

I want to let you know that I received your book today!!! Am looking forward to reading it..as soon as I get some relief from work. I will be happy to provide you feedback once I'm done. I hope I won't be too depressed after reading it.

[@BenedictBeckeld]

So did I! My author copies were delayed and so I didn't see the book myself until today. Thank you for ordering and reading! Your last sentence gave me a chuckle, but there are positive things in there as well, especially toward the end. Hope you like it!

[@raffles7556]

All I can say is I will be buying this book……and thank you.

[@BenedictBeckeld]

Thanks, I hope you'll like it!

[@renees_ruminations0323]

This is a wonderful accomplishment, and so richly deserved. Congratulations!

[@BenedictBeckeld]

Thank you very much indeed!

[@jebjeb1498]

Great!Cant wait to read it.

[@BenedictBeckeld]

Thank you!

[@ctrl677]

Congratulations, I'll be picking up a copy!

[@BenedictBeckeld]

I appreciate that, thank you!

[@jboylan6970]

Looking forward to reading that book. It will be particularly applicable to Ireland and the Irish.

[@BenedictBeckeld]

Thank you! I'm sorry to hear it's a big problem there.

[@jboylan6970]

@@BenedictBeckeld It is but I wasn't aware it was a 'thing' until I fatefully stumbled upon your videos. Interesting work Dr Beckeld. I enjoy them. Have a nice day ☀️

[@HolyGround777]

Congratulations this is amazing news!🎉🎉 A deeper understanding of this subject is beyond vital in this day and age! The level of widespread self hatred I encounter in other people in my day to day life, the amount of lies people tell themselves and the damage people are mentally inflicting on themselves is worrisome. Both for them as individuals but also for the stability of the western society itself! Such an interesting subject! Can’t wait!

[@BenedictBeckeld]

Thank you very much, I hope you'll like it! And yes, I have the same experience. I wrote the book almost out of philosophical fatigue from all the self-flagellating talk one must constantly endure.

[@HolyGround777]

@@BenedictBeckeld haha I love it! It’s nice to get a philosophical cleanse once in a while. I am really aiming to try to spread the term Oikophobia and your description of it this fall. I don’t like social media platforms like TikTok, I am a couple of years older than their intended audience, however the people who are on there are the ones most in need of the information. I haven’t figured out exactly how to cut down your information on the subject into short form. A lot of the information needs a longer explanation and context to be properly understood. I am really hoping I can figure out how to spread the information in the most efficient way, I have done it within another subject on Tiktok. Like I have already stated: the information is crucial for understanding life in 2021. I hope I can figure it out! For now: Congratulations again on your book deal!

[@BenedictBeckeld]

Thanks, I really appreciate your support! If you're able to get things done on TikTok, you're braver than I. A friend once showed me his TikTok, and after I had spent about ten seconds on the platform I made him promise never to show it to me again. But you're certainly right that the youngsters there are the ones with the greatest philosophical need.

[@HolyGround777]

@@BenedictBeckeld absolutely no problem! Thank you for breaking down these ideas and behavior patterns into a digestible format for the masses. The hard work of putting the idea into existence is done, now it’s purely about communicating it efficiently and broadcasting it to the masses. If I can play a small role in that; that’s great!

[@HolyGround777]

@@BenedictBeckeld and yes Tiktok is truly soul crushing. But hopefully it can be a tool for some good ideas, not just bad ones!👍

[@CHIEFTATELLI]

Congratulations. I am very happy to have just ordered your book on the Cornell site. This is such an important work but I fear that it is to late to turn back the tide.

[@BenedictBeckeld]

Thank you, I hope you'll like it! I fear you're probably right, but as I say in the book, we can at least try to slow the fall, if not stop it.

[@CHIEFTATELLI]

@@BenedictBeckeld Yes, you are right and this can be slowed by people like you joining the discussions taking place on Rebel Wisdom. I also suggest your looking into having a conversation with Jonathan Pageau. Your thought would dovetail quite well with his I am certain. kzbin.infovideos

[@BenedictBeckeld]

Thank you for the recommendations! I'm sending the publisher names of podcasts and shows that I think would be suitable for discussing the topic, so this is timely. Hopefully they can make it happen.

[@CHIEFTATELLI]

@@BenedictBeckeld So that's perfect. Consider then also John Vervaeke who has done videos with Pageau on Pageau's channel as well as his, Lex Fridman, Eric Weinstein and possibly even Coleman Hughes who is in NYC. Best of luck setting something up.

[@mindyschaper]

How did I miss that Roger Scruton endorsed this?

[@BenedictBeckeld]

Scruton and Hanson, quite the catch! But I'm not sure you did: a while back you said on FB that it was nice that Scruton had commented on the book, so perhaps it just slipped your mind temporarily.

[@AutisticJew]

ישר כוח!!! הזמנתי אותו. May you go from strength to strength! I also can’t wait to read Kalahari Singing. I’m reading Levinas book on Talmud and he admits it not being an area in which he has any expertise. I’d be interested in hearing what you think about Jewish topics if you could release videos on the subject sometime. Not Jewish philosophy - waste of time, IMO. I’ve studied a bit of it (Rambam, that Hegelian Krochmal, Fackenheim). More interested in what you might think about your experiences in different Jewish environments and also whether you could support Orthopraxy. (I think that was the word.) Also, what you think about Soloveitchik’s work.

[@BenedictBeckeld]

Amen, thank you! I also can't wait to get Kalahari Singing out there. If Western Self-Contempt does well, that should make it easier for me to sell Kalahari Singing to publishers. And that's an interesting suggestion, perhaps I will indeed make a video about it; I hadn't considered that possibility. Perhaps something partially personal - although I don't do too much personal material - together with the reasons why I think orthodox Judaism is the only proper form of Judaism, although there are many subcategories, of course. In chapter 4 of Western Self-Contempt you'll find some defense of what one might call orthopraxy (albeit not in a specifically Jewish context), although it's not a main topic there and I personally have abandoned all religion. As for Soloveitchik, I did go to Yeshiva University High School, where he was all the rage, but I never got that deep into his work to have a strong opinion about it beyond some generalities. Anyway, I'll think about it. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@njbobf]

Will this be available as an audio book as well?

[@BenedictBeckeld]

Hopefully, though as of yet it's uncertain. On launch it will be available as hard copy and on Kindle, but I believe that if it sells sufficiently well, as I hope, there will be a push to make an audio book as well. If that happens I'll certainly announce it on social media.

[@njbobf]

@@BenedictBeckeld Well, I can't/won't wait. I'll gladly buy the hardcopy. I'm sure it will be an important book, one that must be kept as a written word.

[@BenedictBeckeld]

@@njbobf Thank you very much, I appreciate it! (And the next time I write to the publisher I'll make sure to ask them more specifically about audiobooks, so we'll see.)

[@BenedictBeckeld]

@@njbobf For your information, I did inquire with the publisher, and the person responsible for subsidiary rights replied to me, in relevant part: "Your book was among a dozen or so from our Spring 2022 list that I felt would have audiobook potential, and I pitched them to audiobook publishers. Unfortunately, only a handful of the books ended up being licensed. I’ve licensed audiobook rights on only four books in philosophy over the years, and all of those leaned more toward biography/autobiography than philosophy. However, I keep abreast of the reviews and media hits that come in for our books and as those accumulate, I do try pitching books again." So while I hope there will be an audiobook at some point, it will not be soon, unfortunately. If word spreads and the book sells well, that'll increase the chances, as I thought.

[@njbobf]

@@BenedictBeckeld thanks for the update. Odd comment from the publisher about philosophy books. I have 2 audio books by Audible from the Great Courses "Phosophy of Science" and "The Great Ideas of Pholosophy" and 2 other Audible books "What Philosophy Can Do For You", "The DIM Hypothesis". Audible has a fairly robust catalog on philosophy beyond just biographies. As you said they likely want to see how successful it is before going to other formats. Have you looked into e-books?