The Aaron Renn Show

Conservatives haven't tended to oppose things.  As William F. Buckley famously put it, to "stand athwart history yelling Stop!" But purely oppositional or defensive approached tend to get steamrolled in the long term.  You can't be something with nothing. You can't be someone else's proposal, even a bad proposal, to fix a real problem with no proposal. This is seen most notably in the Republican Party's approach to health care. What is the Republican health care plan? There isn't one and never has been. If you are someone who does not like ideas that other people are pushing, an important question to ask yourself is: what's my alternative?Subscribe to my newsletter: https://aaronrenn.substack.com/Become a Member today for access to exclusive Member Zoom events and Member Slack channel:Via Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/masculinistVia Gumroad: https://gumroad.com/masculinist/membership

So many arguments today de facto reduce the definition of societal flourishing to some economic definition such as GDP growth, per capita GDP, or per capita income. While economic growth is important, there are other dimensions of life that matter to most people. For example: how socially intact a community is (drugs, crime, out of wedlock birth rates, etc), the political functioning of the country, and whether a particular place is expressing people's cultural preferences. We can't allow the economy to become the sole measure of a nation's success or prosperity.

A listener asked how people who don't live on homestead farms can start creating a productive household. I share some thoughts about how people who live in urban environments can do that, primarily through in-sourcing things we presently pay people to do. And also through hospitality.

Returning to the theme of passing on our patrimony, I discuss the great patriotic and folks song of America, using Columbia the Gem of the Ocean as an example. Contrary to popular belief, the celebration of Christopher Columbus in America did not originate with Italian-Americans in the early 20th century. Instead, Columbus has a very long history of association with the United States. In fact, Columbia is simply an alternative name for the United States, as in the District of Columbia. Columbia is also the name of the female symbol of the United States. I learned patriotic songs like Columbia the Gem of the Ocean in music class in elementary school. But today you can't rely on school or organizations like the Boy Scouts to teach this part of our American patrimony to your children. Instead, you need to make sure they learn these great patriotic and folks songs that are part of our cultural treasury.A list of American patriotic songs from Scout Songs: https://www.scoutsongs.com/categories/patriotic-songs.htmlBecome a Subscriber or Member today.Via Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/masculinistVia Gumroad: https://gumroad.com/masculinist/membership

Sean Clifford is the CEO of Canopy, a company that produces software for blocking pornography on phones and other devices. We'll discuss the problem of porn today, how today's porn differs from yesterday's, how Canopy works to block porn, and how we can create a broader cultural pushback against pornography.Visit Canopy's Web Site at: https://canopy.us/TGC: The Most Effective Technology on the Planet to Block Pornography:  https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/the-most-effective-technology-on-the-planet-to-block-pornography/EPPC: How Social Media Harms Children and Families: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0C_wHt7LK4

Everybody today likes to complain about the failures of elites. There's a lot to complain about. But are we willing to be elites ourselves? Are we willing to step into elite roles and change things for the better? We have to be the elite we want to see in the world if we want better leadership in today's world.Become a Subscriber (limited time only $5/month through Dec 2021) or Member (limited time only $35/month through Dec 2021) via:Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/masculinistGumroad: https://gumroad.com/masculinist/membership

Occupations are regularly created and destroyed in modern industrial America. But Rory Groves went back to the jobs that existed at the founding of the country to see which ones have stood the test of time for over 200 years, compiling them into his book Durable Trades: Family-Centered Economies That Have Stood the Test of Time. From farmer to midwife to coachman to brewer, Rory and I talk about trades that have proven themselves durable and how they are still alive in the world today. And how many of them still support creating functional, productive households in the 21st century.Buy Durable Trades on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1725274140/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=theurban-20Become a Subscriber or Member:- On Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/masculinist- On Gumroad: https://gumroad.com/masculinist/membership

Tell people you are starting  a church to reach the homeless, a new immigrant ethnic group in town, a neighborhood, etc. and you'll be praised. But people would look at you sideways if you said you wanted to start a church to reach the elite.This episode discusses the need for more Protestant elite formation, why existing elites who are still theologically orthodox continue to stay with mainline denominations like Episcopalianism, the functions of elite institutions, what conservative Protestants needs to change in their elite formation approaches, and why they should study Catholic approaches.Become a Member or Subscriber on Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/masculinistOr on Gumroad at: https://gumroad.com/masculinist

As we approach the US Thanksgiving holiday, I again remind people not to give into despair, to apocalyptic thinking, etc.  Things are in some ways far worse than people think in the US, but there's more room for hope than people believe.  Deliberately going through all that we have to be thankful for is a good way to avoid giving into apocalyptic thinking and stay hopeful.Also: Indiana under Republican rule and the controversies at World magazine.My article on Indiana under Republican rule: https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2021/11/indiana-under-republican-rule-pro-business-policy-disappoints-outside-the-sunbelt/

Michael Foster and Dominic "Bnonn" Tennant join me to discuss their web project and forthcoming book It's Good to Be a Man. We discuss:How they got interested in men's issuesHow they met and launched It's Good to Be a ManThe "war of the patriarchies"The relationship of Fatherhood to manhoodGravitasFraternityMissionThe manosphere  and pagan masculinity movement.Buy the book:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1954887051/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=theurban-20