Does the Popularity of Connier Mean We're Moving Away From Decadence?

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The popularity of cone suggests we're moving away from decadence, or is that a kind of placibo we use to insulate ourselves from dynamism? Oh, i like cone. And then we go about being decadent. That's probably a little bit of both. I think you can see this in politics right where, when i started writing the book, kind of a long time ago, now, the populist moment hadn't really arrived in the western world. So one of the questions hanging over the argument is, does the populous moment, that decadence is coming to an end?"

For Ross Douthat, decadence isn’t necessarily a moral judgement, but a technical label for a state that societies tend to enter—and one that is perhaps much more normal than the dynamism Americans have come to take for granted. In his new book, he outlines the cultural, economic, political, and demographic trends that threaten to leave us to wallow in a state of civilizational stagnation for years to come, and fuel further discontent and derangement with it.

On his second appearance on Conversations with Tyler, Ross joined Tyler to discuss why he sees Kanye as a force for anti-decadence, the innovative antiquarianism of the late Sir Roger Scruton, the mediocrity of modern architecture, why it’s no coincidence that Michel Houellebecq comes from France, his predictions for the future trajectory of American decadence – and what could throw us off of it, the question of men’s role in modernity, why he feels Christianity must embrace a kind of futurist optimism, what he sees as the influence of the “Thielian ethos” on conservatism, the plausibility of ghosts and alien UFOs, and more.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.

Recorded February 25th, 2020 Other ways to connect

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