Learning from History to Avoid Political Extremes

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Schmitt, a prominent thinker in Weimar Germany, got entangled with the Nazis due to bad judgment. Weimar thinkers emerged post-WWI, critiquing the failed past empire and liberal democracy. They revisited political theology neglected since the Enlightenment. The Weimar period is likened to dwarves awakening the Balrog in Moria due to delving too deep. Similar parallels are drawn between the 1920s Germany and the current US in the 2020s where liberalism and democracy seem exhausted, urging a reflection on critical questions beyond conventional norms.

In this conversation recorded live in Miami, Tyler and Peter Thiel dive deep into the complexities of political theology, including why it’s a concept we still need today, why Peter’s against Calvinism (and rationalism), whether the Old Testament should lead us to be woke, why Carl Schmitt is enjoying a resurgence, whether we’re entering a new age of millenarian thought, the one existential risk Peter thinks we’re overlooking, why everyone just muddling through leads to disaster, the role of the katechon, the political vision in Shakespeare, how AI will affect the influence of wordcels, Straussian messages in the Bible, what worries Peter about Miami, and more.

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Recorded February 21st, 2024.

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