Bourgeois Overproduction and the Problem of the Fake Elite

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May 20, 2021

Dive into the concept of elite overproduction, exploring how sending too many to higher education creates underemployment and social instability. Discover insights on the harsh realities faced by graduates and the clash of bourgeois values with societal needs. The podcast critiques Marxist interpretations of class, revealing tensions within today's media landscape where talent often collides with sensationalism. Join a thought-provoking discussion on the implications of a 'false elite' and the cultural challenges that arise from these dynamics.

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Intro

00:00 • 4min

The Harsh Realities of Graduate School

03:52 • 8min

Exploring Elite Overproduction and Its Societal Implications

11:48 • 9min

Bourgeois Values and Their Impact

20:35 • 15min

Seizing the Means of Cultural Production

35:51 • 2min

The Crisis of the False Elite

37:47 • 32min

The New Discourses Podcast with James Lindsay, Episode 36 Elite overproduction is a concept that was forwarded by the anthropologist Peter Turchin to attempt to explain some part of why we face growing social instability in today's society. This is an insightful concept that deserves serious consideration in our present circumstances. It is characterized by a society engaging in practices, like sending too many people to college or for advanced degrees, that create conditions for potential elites to end up underemployed and underaccomplished in the existing socioeconomic power structure of society, and it breeds resentment in this class of people. Indeed, it generates a bourgeoisie, which in turn generates social instability due to the overproliferation of their values and, eventually, ressentiment. In this episode of the New Discourses Podcast, James Lindsay walks through the idea of elite overproduction to focus in on the operant problem that it leads to, bourgeois overproduction, and posits that this problem is the seat of the Woke menace and many of the large-scale ills that have arisen in similar form over the past few centuries in prosperous societies. He also discusses the ways in which the Marxian characterization of the bourgeoisie was imprecise in a way that led to identifying something akin to this problem while misdiagnosing its true foundations (or his own role in it). Join him for a detailed discussion of this phenomenon. Support New Discourses: paypal.me/newdiscourses newdiscourses.locals.com/support patreon.com/newdiscourses subscribestar.com/newdiscourses youtube.com/channel/UC9K5PLkj0N_b9JTPdSRwPkg/join Website: newdiscourses.com Follow: facebook.com/newdiscourses twitter.com/NewDiscourses instagram.com/newdiscourses https://newdiscourses.locals.com pinterest.com/newdiscourses linkedin.com/company/newdiscourses minds.com/newdiscourses reddit.com/r/NewDiscourses Podcast: @newdiscourses podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-…es/id1499880546 bit.ly/NDGooglePodcasts open.spotify.com/show/0HfzDaXI5L4LnJQStFWgZp stitcher.com/podcast/new-discourses © 2021 New Discourses. All rights reserved.