Hello you savages. Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - chriswillx.com/books/ Here’s the timestamps: 00:00 The Yale & Harvard Fallout 06:35 The Hierarchy of the Harvard Extension School 14:23 How Rob Explains Luxury Beliefs 20:58 Why Defunding the Police is a Luxury Belief 29:49 The Luxury Belief of Getting Rid of Chivalry 38:10 Why You Shouldn’t Make Yourself a Victom 43:50 Why Rob Succeeded Despite a Hard Upbringing 51:37 What It’s Really Like to Grow Up in Poverty 1:03:23 Did Rob’s Quality of Life Change With More Money? 1:12:03 The Skill of Giving & Receiving Compliments 1:17:05 Alexander DatePsych on Twitter 1:21:06 What Surprised Rob When Studying at Yale 1:33:56 Having Agency in Spite of External Limitations 1:36:43 The Best Way to Read 1:45:18 How to Recall What You Read 1:47:31 Where to Find Rob
Proclamation: The Wilderness Tabernacle is a picture of Heaven and Earth. Exodus 26:13 makes Pi π 3.14. Pi was first recorded by Moses in 1440 BC. Josephus the Historian's description of the Tabernacle in 94 AD was inaccurate. This oversight was discovered in 2015 AD. 330 Exodus 26 :7 15 Exodus 26:9, 12 - 1 Exodus 26:13 makes Pi = 314 3.14 = 314 circumference/100 diameter ≈ π ratio (100 cubit court per Exodus 27:9-18) ................................... This exciting news is similar to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Martin Luther's 95 Theses. The knowledge of Pi was lost from Exodus near 1000 BC. Josephus the Historian in 94 AD would NOT have had the understanding to properly explain the Tabernacle blueprints. He deferred to, in error, the Temple's structure and not Exodus 26:13 makes Pi. Consider King Josiah & the Prophetess Huldah rediscovering the scriptures, Right? This engineer appears to have caught this oversight or rediscovered Pi from Exodus in 2015. This might be difficult to grasp at first.
It's not so much the elites don't care. It's their attitude of thinking poor people are poor because they are lazy so we must punish them to get their so called lazy butts to work harder. Yea, I'm not the most eloquent person, but you get the idea. The attitudes towards poverty by rich people is distorted beyond belief. If punishing people for being poor worked, we would not have more homeless people than empty homes in the country. Seriously, why is every person in the country not in some kind of studio apartment at least? Nobody is saying we should all own a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house, but for godsakes, homelessness should not be a thing in any civilized society. Anyway.... enough ranting.
Most brilliant comment I've heard in quite a while... *"Luxury beliefs are ideas and opinions that **_confer status on the affluent_** while often inflicting costs on the lower classes. A core component of a luxury belief is that **_the believer is often sheltered from the consequences_** of his or her belief."* - Rob Henderson
Ever since the rise of social media and the proliferation of wokeness, if said something, albeit not nearly as eloquently similar. In the past material objects were the status symbol of a society. Nowadays, intelligence, or at least the perception of intelligence is the new status symbol. Everyone wants to believe that they are smart. Wokeness has become a proxy for such perceived intellect.
I was a trailer trash kid and haven’t seen my mom since I was twelve ( I’m 55) My sister is my hero , she grabbed me away from my mother ( she moved out at 16) when she was 21 and working at Hardee’s ( burger joint) , I moved out at 18 and have my own business. Sister died at 49 as I held her hand ( pneumonia) she never had health insurance. I’m glad I grew up the way I did if elite life is the alternative. God has always been there for me. Wish he could have left my prostate alone:)
Imagine if you grew up with this evil Left and Democrat Party telling you that your were a perpetual victim every day of your life! Every fool knows that is unhealthy and only keeps people down. I'm sorry you lost your dear heroic sister. Praying your health issue gets cured.
For the prostate maybe look up "saw palmetto" If its cancer look up "Keto Mojo" to measure your glucose ketone index and through diet you can try to reach close to a value of 1. Best of luck to you.
I am sorry for your loss. I have had pneumonia twice, and it nearly got me and my wife in January 2023 until I convinced her we needed medical assistance. For those without health insurance, I recommend Urgent Care. They are often open 24/7 and are less expensive than Emergency Room Care. Antibiotics are an inexpensive pneumonia treatment, especially if caught early. We contracted it as part of an Influenza-A infection. Influenza kills about 40,000 Americans each year, so do not ignore it. I wish you a long life.
I didn't grow up in poverty but it was an abusive home. I left home at 16, and took my 14 yo sister with me. By leaving and living independently we gave my mother the courage to finally leave my father and change her life. My father in law successfully fought prostate cancer much older than you, though my country has socialised health care. It's discusting that someone can die from pneumonia in their 40s in your country. I will pray for you and your sisters soul in heaven.
15:00 The idea of "Luxury Beliefs, and shelter from consequences of being wrong" is simply paraphrasing what Dr. Thomas Sowell wrote about in his books "Vision of the Anointed" and "Intellectuals and Society". Some excerpts - "...intellectuals are people whose end products are intangible ideas, and they are usually judged by whether those ideas sound good to other intellectuals or resonate with the public. Whether their ideas turn out to work - whether they make life better or worse for others - is another question entirely." "The acclaim given to intellectuals, despite their predictions having failed, is a prime example of the lack of ultimate accountability."
Which is the academic way of saying the same thing. But it's utterly rubbish as a meme. Luxury Belief is short, to the point and intuitive. That's why this guy gets more people to hear the message.
If the endeavour prospers point out to your strong leadership. If there is catastrophe it was everything else: the weather, foreign powers, satanic garden gnomes. - Sun Tzu, probably
I don't live in poverty, but I've developed friendships with a couple people who do live in poverty. As Henderson says, there is always chaos when a person is poor. Crisis and drama are engendered by situations many people simply never encounter: running out of pet food and not having money to buy more, being unable to come up with money for a child's school field trip, having your belongings stolen by "friends," running out of gas because a "friend" siphoned gas from your vehicle, being unable to heat your home because you've had to sell heating oil to make ends meet. It is a soul-sucking existence.
And these are the minor dramas of poverty. Not the major crisis moments. Like your car needs repairing so you can go to work. Or your refrigerator stops working and a week's food goes rotten. And you have no idea how you can afford a new fridge.
@@oldbutstillyoung2170 Yes. In my country charities are constantly asked to give people ice. Especially people living in cars. They have no other way to keep food fresh.
It can get to the point where it's really bad. But having some poverty in your life is not always a bad thing, because you learn to use your creativity and your ingenuity to solve these problems. People who never have to deal with problems, budgeting challenges or crises go into adulthood unprepared to handle real life and it's challenges. They become dependent, herd-like creatures, easily led. I would not trade the "education" I got from growing up poor for an easy existence, and my adult children say the same.
@LadyIarConnacht I 100% agree. Though I've never actually been "poor," money has been very tight for me at various times in my life, and I've always had to make my own way in the world. I am a resourceful person because I've had to be. In contrast, people I know whose parents have always made life easy are not resourceful and are easily led (as you said).
They all think we are just like them, so we want the same things they want. It’s a form of naivety and narcissism. It explains why they think they know best and feel like heros
Look, the issue isn't that we have elites... it's that they are indoctrination thier children into this narcissistic stupidity. We can change the indoctrination into something more beneficial for everyone. Communist derived tripe will lead to communist style problems in my opinion. The problem is that nobody with an interest in fixing the issue has the power to do it... and the current system is very beneficial to entrenched power.
Somewhere along about 15:30, Rob talks about those having luxury beliefs also having been raised in households with at least one parent who went to university, and those folks have no clue what life is like for anyone who is not aiming for, working on, or completed at least one degree at a high prestige/difficulty school. He is so correct -- and that situation has been around for ages and includes a wider range of schools. And they never really do fathom the degree of separation unless they enlist in the military or fall on hard times. Their ignorance is no different than that of someone in a more humble situation except that the uni person believes she understands the lives of others.
I grew up in the lower working class, with an alcoholic machinist father, and a gas station attendant mom who ultimately worked her way up to bank teller. I joined the army as soon as I graduated high school, eventually going to a local college on the GI Bill in my 30's. I had a daughter in high school that we put up for adoption. She grew up in a rich suburb, went to private schools until getting her undergrad at ST Andrew's, and her master's from Cambridge. We got into an argument about some of this woke/luxury belief shit, and she straight up told me to check my privilege. She had her path laid down in front of her to two of the most exclusive universities in the English speaking world, and I'm working on a master's from an online university you've probably seen advertised online. But, I'm the privileged one. This shit is a mind virus, not a blind spot.
I've never been quite so grateful that i was raised working class, and rose up. I will say that it has been difficult to make friends. Indeed, most friends i have made over the years I've had to disconnect from because of the absolute insanity that they fell into. I've stood toe to toe with these pillars of intellect, and all they had for me was isms, with no substantiation. It all started with "oh no, you're one of those", and went downhill from there.
Thank you for getting Rob in person! I honestly think he is one of the most important young intellectuals in the western world today. Thrilled to read his book!
I was in university in 2007. I saw that shit back then also but it was really confined and came up in conversation rarely. I specifically remember a guy from marching band back then talking about how his prof in women’s studies would essentially shame the white males in the room. I remember thinking back then it was screwed up but never imagined we would be where we are today. Boy was I naïve.
Rob Henderson's insights on luxury beliefs are eye-opening. Entrepreneurs should note that understanding the social dynamics of your market can be as crucial as the product itself. For instance, aligning your brand with values that resonate authentically with your target audience can significantly enhance trust and loyalty.
Triggernometry is boring and one dimensional. They don’t elucidate much at all, they just constantly confirm what we all know which is that cancel culture exists
I’m a first-generation college grad, and law school was the first time I recognized the “luxury belief” phenomenon. It was comical listening to rich kids circle jerk each other about how to solve problems I grew up witnessing as self-inflicted.
Law school students are funny because they’re all woke and initially say they’re gonna use their degree for good but inevitably they all try to get high paying big law jobs
The extension school part of the conversation is fascinating. UCLA has an extension school and we've noticed the same attitudes. Like it's this money grab but the professors don't take it seriously and the admin keeps saying it's the "Same" when selling it but don't treat it the same on the other end of certificate recognition.
This is where you have a class lawsuit and claim misleading and/or deceptive conduct. Discovery would be a gold mine, and knowing prestigious academics and admins, they are terribly honest in their internal communications.
40:45 "Monk mode is a great tool but a bad master." Love this. There's some lyrics from Zack Hemsey that made this clear for me: "If you gather all the teachings that the wise have told Compile every scripture from the books of old And muse upon the meaning of the truths you've sewn You will germinate the mind, but the fields won't grow" Song is Zack Hemsey - "Lesson From A Nomad"
Precisely. So many don't understand or won't accept there is group that works in the shadows exclusively, and has enough wealth and knowledge to control the richest people in view. And I think that group has figured how to make us all sacrifice ourselves and own for them.
I think the sad part is this: The mere fact that even the "academic elite" (university students/professors and all derivative professions) are so easy to manipulate may just confirm "how much we are in need of being controlled" - how we could not do without a shepherd from on high. And for so many people that is true. Few people can really think for themselves and possess the skill of critical thinking.@@brandonmay3094
You just called abortion birth control and called the preference for its restriction a luxury position. As a Non-American lower socio-economic class citizen, I can tell you that this is pretty much never the case. Everyone that I talk to that feels as strongly as I do that abortion is wrong, feels that way because they have a visceral response to the idea of killing the unborn. It's a moral position. Perhaps it's not as well-reasoned as it could be, but that doesn't make it wrong. There are other forms of birth control. I've seen the heartbeats of my daughters on ultrasound, it changed me.
I stopped the video when he said that and immediately began scrolling the comments. I was heartened to see your well stated response. Thank you! Wish there were many more such responses.
@@davebramble2444 Cheers, Dave! Same here. The flippancy with which abortion is viewed in the West is downright disgusting. This is what is wrong with these podcasts though. Too much ground to cover for any set of people to have expertise in or sensitivity to.
I like Chris William's podcast but I don't know if he realizes that he conflated abortion access as a form of birth control... Even the pro-abortion crowd avoids doing this. Also, the wealthy elites in our country are overwhelmingly in favor of abortion access, particularly for people in low-income neighborhoods. Bad take Chris. Still like your podcast though.
@@stevenstratton4804 It could be an honest mistake. Chris seems like a good guy. As a podcast host you have to be somewhat adaptive to your guests, perhaps he went a little overboard with it and misspoke.
About growing up poor: It's much more about the internal stress level and being in survival mode rather than "not being able to afford a toy". There may also be factors of social exclusion but personally i think it was just a heightened sense of chronic stress. I experienced both: middle/upper middle class and lowest class (foodstamps) while growing up, to the point where I felt the compulsive urge to grab the last slice of bread in the basket on the table even if I had already been satiated. While economic conditions and home life were good i was best in class, later on i stopped attending school, barely passed or failed. Make or break, sink or swim.
Ive not struggled like that, much anyway, but ive seen it and yes, you nailed it. Its the short term sight bc you cant trust the essentials will be available. Its scarcity mindset reinforced through experiences.
Yes - and that also has an impact on brain development. Basically each developmental phase of childhood is meant to foster certain skills/qualities/dimensions of the person. A dysfunctional and unstable environment is a completely different primer. Chronic stress can also reduce IQ by up to -14 points so that is quite a significant impact. @@BigTyronie
I once read about this hypothesis for cancer that stipulates that a cell turns into a cancer cell because it can no longer rely on it's environment to supply it's needs. So the cell will stop cooperating and become "egotistical" because it gets forced into survival mode. I find it a really good analogy. @@BigTyronie
I agree that people at all levels of the socio-economic spectrum have their cross to bear. The wallop to the physiological system gleaned from low status in society is a uniquely thorny cross. Though status vs. neighbor may be a more impactful influence on wellbeing.
Your comment about the slice of bread in the basket struck a note. You could have been describing my mother. Her father broke his back when she was six. And she was bitterly poor most of her childhood. She was quite obese in old age but still perpetually afraid of getting hungry.
Oregon passed a law in 2019 that just went into effect this January 1 that all egg farmers have to be free range. I wasn't even aware it had passed as a law back then, wasn't aware it was going into effect now, and all of a sudden my eggs cost $5 a dozen instead of $1.29 Democrats do not care about the poor.
Hold up though. Factory farmed eggs are garbage. It’s an exploitative industry for humans and animals… We should go back to free range. It needs to be implemented carefully and correctly though.. They shouldn’t force it in the entire state and consumers though… They should’ve found a way to make it a bit more affordable.. It’s not the idea, it’s the implementation… People in charge that aren’t qualified. It’s not necessarily just the democrats fault. Sorry you’re going through that. Every one deserves high quality affordable food. It’s BS. It could be a win win win win for everyone..
As someone who is transitioning away from the party life on a similar arc to yourself and having always been intrigued by the mechanics of life and higher thinking - thank you Chris. My weekly diet of your content is very thought provoking and often bang on the money
Entitlement is not limited to the rich or those who attend Ivy League universities - it is growing out of control in children as well. And not just those who attend private schools but also in inner city public schools- kids are defiantly proclaiming my feeling are more important than your rules and policies
there's the door. or let me call childrens services for you. i will never allow myself to be manipulated by a kid in this manner ( because i have been manipulated by kids through my affection) there are some lines though that YOU DO NOT CROSS.
Rob is a good example of how the military, even with its wokeness, can be a great stepping stone to adulthood for young men who grow up in chaos. Extreme discipline, self awareness of consequences, predictability, etc.
Poverty is a continuing downward spiral. When you have to borrow money, for instance, you get bankrupting rates because you don’t have or didn’t inherit assets to borrow against. The check engine light coming on can be a life altering experience. The affluent middle class and wealthy put you down because they don’t understand this constant anxiety and fear you deal with every day. They think there’s something wrong with you and that you simply need a vacation and to practice more self care… ha ha.
My parents began having kids at 16 and both dropped out and got GED’s, while I went to law school and became a small town attorney. As comparatively well as I have done, my classmates who had parents with graduate degrees (and beyond) were much wiser to the importance of things like participating in extracurriculars, such as Law Review and Moot Court. They also were pre-plugged into elite internships. I realized these things were critical to elite job opportunities, too late. They seemed to have known since birth.
Your story very much mirrors the experience of economist/youtuber Gary Stevenson, a poor bright kid who ended up at LSE and found himself at a huge disadvantage because he did not know he was supposed to have applied for 60 internships or «play the oboe at the Royal Albert Hall».
Chris is exactly backwards on the luxury beliefs around abortion: It is overwhelmingly the wealthier classes who vehemently push abortion onto everyone and never suffer an abortion. **Abortion is a luxury belief.**
Abortion originated with the wealthy. Peasants had dozens of kids. Scandal and family bloodlines with wealthy sought abortions to keep things proper. Income has nothing to do with secret love affairs and unexpected pregnancies
I have to say some of the things your where talking about how wonderful life is as a academic. And how horrible it is to be a middle class or even lower class people. You can have a satisfying life as a someone that works with their hands I could survive with out academics but could you survive without carpenters or mechanics and many other tradesmen or even laborers. Not everyone is Einstein some of us have to keep the roads rolling
Not all abuser are from the lower classes. Ask any police officer their isn’t a typical profile of a abuser. What does a abuser look like. Just like what does a serial killer look like. Also how many illegitimate children does the Kennedy and Biden families have not all baby daddies wear wife beaters some wear Brooks brothers.
It's the elitism that he's talking about. He's completely clueless. I'd like to take a minute to remind any middle or upper class readers of this comment that the world only keeps turning because of the WORKING class. "Elite's" have caused every problem ever in the world - farmers never declared war or committed genocides.
100%. What's more, a graduate job you do on a laptop can be offshored in a heartbeat. But when you need a plumber or an electrician someone on a laptop in India is no use to you. And in my country, Australia by the age of 40 a tradesman is wealthier than a university graduate of the same age. They were earning money instead of running up student loans. Women with degrees often marry tradesmen, as socially they are viewed as equal.
When I was young, I was walking down a road with a couple of my classmates. One said her father was VP of such a company, the other said her father was editor at a prestigious industry magazine, so I told them my father was a janitor. We came from different worlds but still studied together.
There are about... say 100 other people I would rather see interview the legendary Thomas Sowell than Chris Williamson.. No disrespect to Chris, but I doubt he read even one of Dr.Sowell books. At 93, Sowell is still sharp as a tack.. I do wish he would grant more interviews in his advanced age. Kind of like how Charlie Munger did many interviews over the last several years before he passed at 99
I will take Thomas Sowell being interviewed by anyone. Just as long as I can hear Thomas Sowell. There is indeed a sense of urgency given Sowell's advanced age.
@@ebonypenguin2899 I agree.. I really give the legendary Charlie Munger mad respect for granting so many interviews before he died. I think he did at least 10 to 20 interviews in 2023 alone.. The last interview Sowell did was six months ago and before that like 2 years. I truly hope he does grant more interviews in his final years.. His popularity has been surging as of late..
@@ousamaabdu794especially younger Black generation. The sort of Post, Post Civil Rights absolutists. The children who have either been the victims of the Great Society or seen the worst affects of it. And maybe were confused how their parents could still blindly support it considering the GOP was the party of Lincoln and was founded to fight Slavery and most of the worst of Jim Crow was perpetrated by Democrats, not Republicans.
I generally agree with you, Chris, but I think you miss the point on the abortion issue. The anti-abortion crowd isn’t making an economic argument like you are making. They consider it a moral issue of taking a human life, and think a better route are birth control and adoption. Those solutions satisfy your economic argument, so the anti-abortion crowd would consider your position a straw man. Edit: Testing for censorship.
I can't speak directly for Chris, but I do think that it was an accidental conflation, and sadly, much of the pro life movement packs contraception and pregnancy termination together, and it shouldn't be. Of course one can avoid sex, but in a loving relationship why, and hold in mind that most terminations in the UK happen in that setting, and the driver for the procedure is lacking in funds. And strangely, at the other and often sordid end of this, the surrogate industry is often terribly misogynist (check Julie Bindel) and down right cruel and one that serves the privilege class. I am sure there are exceptions in all these issues, but the norm is important to serve the needs of women and their individual physical autonomy.
I immediately think- brain dead sheep -when I hear someone say “defund the….” Also- chivalry is NEVER, EVER patronizing. I can’t believe you just said that! It’s polite and loving and thoughtful. I can open my own door has always felt psycho lady to me! - and I’m female.
I worked at a very exclusive country club. Seeing what actual billionaires are like when they're completely comfortable cemented my opinion that rich people are completely unaware of the insulation their money provides. They are clueless and often careless about the implications of the decisions they make.
If you’re talking about conservatives, then I would agree with you. Libs always seem to be trying to make it easier for poor people to get access to healthcare so they don’t die. I’m a poor white American born guy and my state (Washington) covered my visit to the ER last year. All while giving more to federal government than it takes as a state. If I lived in Texas I’d probably be homeless after that 9K bill, guess I’m lucky that the “elites” where I live care enough about their fellow Americans.
Everytime I listen to Rob Henderson I can't believe how he's never used Orange is the New Black as an example of this elite portrayal of poverty and crime as a noble and justifiable endeavour
On the topic of "Monk Mode". The real problem with it is that society has told me, and women too, to get a job, get a job, get a job. The reason so many men aren't pursuing relationships is because our schools and society just tells them to study and then work while assuming that people will just somehow figure out how to form relationships. Men will work hard jobs to provide for people they have a relationship with already, we've put that cart before the horse and it has severe negative consequences for people.
Grew up poor and bounced around from family member to family member. I've always hated cops almost all my encounters with them have been negative. Most of it was domestic disputs as a kid, I ran away once, my mom had schizophrenia. They were the enemy. Not much changed as I got older. Always treating people like they were guilty until proven innocent. Treating the victims like they were criminals. I might be considered middle class now still hate them. There might be only a couple of bad apples but all of them are complicit in the crimes of their fellows. If they were held accountable for the bad actors then I would be more willing to support them but they won't. So I was and will always be till something changes be in support of defund the police. I absolutely hate authority in most cases because in most cases they're all corrupt.
I was in the Army from 17 to 22 then was in the Guard until 24. Being a college freshman qt that point in liffe is tough enough but I went to the commuter campus if a state university. Most of the kids around me did not come from money. I couldn't imagine being thrust into a place like Yale.
I know someone who studied at Duke who was unusual in that he was lower middle class and homeschooled. Some interesting things I heard from someone who knew him there. He was infinitely wiser, more mature, and a better thinker than other students who had been born to luxury. (They sought him out for help academically and in life). Students who surrounded him in classes and the dorms, were dead-serious, obnoxious, and dedicated lots of time to protesting and meetings about how terrible poverty was, and were rage-filled about how little the govt was doing about it, yet they spent thousands on luxury travel, luxury expenses, and never once donated even a penny to anyone in the actual city of Duke, which had an enormous population of poor (black and white). Quite hypocritical.
This is normal today. It’s easy to outwardly want or demand someone else to do something, but not do anything themselves. This isn’t hypocritical, it’s straight up status projection.
19:34 You guys missed the crucial part: the relationship between tan and class has flipped post-industrual revolution. In Feudal times, a tan would actually signify being a peasant - as the Sun was strongest during the Summer - their work season, while the noble class could afford to remain indoors year-round made a pale skin a status of power. And this pattern can be observed in other cultural spheres; from Sub-Saharan Africa to the Arab World, Persia, India and the Far-East.
Pretty much all status signals, especially for women, are indicators of NOT having to work. Long fingernails etc. In my case, I do not wear a tie anymore.
I am enjoying your defund the police conservation. One of my sons did retire from a police force in a beautiful city, due to this ignorance of liberals. However his wife made a wonderful salary, and me and his dad have upper class incomes, and university graduates. So he is living a amazing retirement at 50 years old. We still believe in the police, and support them.
Reading Erich Fromm The Art of Being while listening to this. I thought I was weird for reading this and putting it down and reading two other books along the same lines and then your guest talked about "peculiar" reading approaches. Definitely pursuing this episode later and taking notes. All the best!
Ain't nothing like a mayo sandwich 😂 start running out of ANY liquid, add water. Honestly I feel like I would be much less of who I am today if it weren't for those times. Sounds cliché, but it builds character
Or the good 'ol jam sandwich if the bread is about to go too moldy to continue scraping it off. Jam a slice between two others, dry if Mayo is already gone until payday.
I am a martial arts expert and I would not lift a finger to help a stranger. I'll protect people in my family, but the rest of you ladies are on your own.
After growing up in a conservative, white, racist, sexist, ultra-Christian working-class "ghetto" (a company town, in other words), I was surprised to find that my college peers from fancier neighborhoods were just as rigid, scared, stupid, irrational, prejudiced, and reactionary as my people only trending the opposite direction politically. The word didn't exist at the time, but I felt like I went from one culture obsessed with virtue signaling to another. It was disappointing and of course, I didn't speak the more monied language of virtue signaling and suffered for it. There weren't sorting hats in college but the dean and faculty were preoccupied with finding students who could add power and prestige to themselves (this was a state school in the USA). I was there to learn, which didn't work out.
The hire and acquire class doesnt think. Theyve been to institutions that teach them they are better than others. They are a problem because someone else gets stuck with fixing theirs!
I have to know this guy's secret. He said he barely graduated high school but got into Yale. I had a 4.0, also went into the military, and still got denied by half the schools I applied for, let alone an Ivy school.
Yep. Religion has been a staple of societies for thousands of years. It has bonded communities and families. If religion is thrown out, then what is the equivalent replacement? There isn’t one.
I like religion for the ethics, but when the bs of a man with a beard in the sky,a man walking on water, resurection of a dead man step in, i turn away. I cant capture that people actually believe this, even the fact when you die you go to a heaven. Come on. I still think religion is a form of opression, youre being opressed but get the good life after you die? 😂
Chris, would you consider bringing Charles Murray on? Coming apart is a book written over a decade ago where he touches a lot on luxury beliefs in practice
Status is as human as breathing air. It will never change. Never. And don't worry about Ivy League schools losing their status. As long as alumni preferentially hire their graduates, they'll be fine.
Re: ~ 21:50 consequences, specifically, 23:30 homicide rates at early '90s levels. Happened to take martial arts instruction from a Minneapolis man as a kid in the late 80s. He would say his degree was in social psych. He stated something like this to a few of us: social psychologists are predicting the 90s are going to be rough ... the way you raise children is to tell them you're a good person and you do things like this and you don’t do things like that because it's what good persons are like. Black kids were being told instead it doesn’t matter cuz they're going to screw you anyway. That last part he said with some emphasis, seemingly saying they were being told that --well-- really *hard*. That still captures something ongoing/still relevant. Especially if you're still in a major US inner-city. E.g. there are young people (usually the predictable bunch) who have trouble hearing 'no' on the street.
The root that they are tapdancing around in this discussion is rampant narcissism throughout our society. This is just a discussion about hypocrisy and narcissism.
1:02:42 think of it this way. Ppl werent having sex as often so the failure risk wasn't so high, or if it was, you were married. Now ppl have more "protected sex", but that still has a failure % that is increased with each incident of intercourse. The failure rate is magnified by the higher incident rates
Monk mode is a terrible idea for young men. The relationships that are forged in youth, in school and college, are nigh unto impossible to find again in the real world. Burning those bridges and networks down is not reversible. Most people take these connections for granted and have no idea how much they owe to them. Far too many young men are passing through this golden era of opportunities in their life without forming connections, thinking they can do it later. Or that they don't need them. Or its too hard. No it isn't. Its EASY during school years. Meanwhile, there they are sitting in their rooms on the internet letting it all pass by. A young man should not need to be his best to enter the game; he should be surrounded by brothers helping him reach his goals.
It's not because of men though. Society just tells everyone to study, study, study and then work, work, work to get a high paying job. Why are we blaming young men when they're just doing what they were told to? This isn't something society can just assume will work itself out, because it isn't. We need to change our message to kids.
I wish this wasn’t true but it basically is. One exception is (organized) religion. Very straightforward way to thrust yourself into a community but yeah, I very much regret being overly studious in college at the expense of networking.
47:50 "From '17 to '25[...]" That's the first time I'm hearing someone using 2010s and 2020s years in double digits. And it's the first time I'm hearing the prophetic perfect tense spontaneously in a contemporary setting.
Considering that it's not yet 2025 and Rob is already out of the military, I'm pretty sure it's safe to assume that he meant between the *ages* of 17 to 25.
Amazing interview Chris! "The luxury of beliefs" isn't that another word for modern communists/the woke?
6 หลายเดือนก่อน +1
I propose further cathegorisation. Regular tier elites - career politcians, CEO's / management Top tier elites - owners, trust fund babies / families with their own foundations
By this definition, an anti-abortion stance or anti-workforce-wife stance is a "luxury belief" because those who hold these beliefs are sheltered from their consequences (by way of not incuring costs or simply being wealthy).
Mr Williams, 30 min in, you state that wealthy women want to remove easy access to abortion, thus creating a problem for poor women, who need access to birth control. A number of things are wrong with that assessment: 1 - Wealthy women are the chief proponents of Abortion on Demand. They have no intention of using that option themselves, but they're mighty keen on poor people taking themselves, and their children out via Abortion. They're all for that. 2 - Abortion is Not Birth Control. It's a medical procedure to end the life of a living child. Birth control IS widely available, and abstinence is Free, so no one HAS to get pregnant. It's a choice - just like eating too much junk food will make you fat, and if you opt to eat it, don't be surprised if you get fat. Having Sex will get you pregnant, so if you opt to have sex, don't be surprised if you get pregnant. HAVE A PLAN. 3 - The people who Do want to restrict Abortions are not requiring that women go to the back alley, as the Abortion Clinic propagandists insist, but merely ask that any woman who wants to abort her child - make up her mind in a timely manner. Ie, three months in, is plenty of time to realize you're pregnant, and decide if you want to keep the baby or not. Why must anyone wait until the child is being born, to decide they've changed their mind, and want to murder it? That's just inhumane, and anyone who supports late term abortions either does not know what that entails, or is sick. Look into that, if you think I'm wrong, but be prepared to be sickened by what you find. Mr Williams, I suggest you look into such things for yourself, and think it through, before you make such wide ranging statements, which are demonstrably false. All these issues you're discussing are coming from one side of the political spectrum. From Defund the Police, to Antifa, BLM, College Corruption, Medical Corruption, Media Corruption, Political Corruption, & Race hatred - it's always the same people. College Educated Democrats, and their minions. It's time to stop trying to lay their insanity at the feet of anyone but themselves. Democrats brought you the hell we're all living with now, and it's time to stop them - Again, as this is Not their first time trying to take down this country from within.
An important realization is that all superiority complexes are just a different expression of an inferiority complex. All elites are insecure if they seek be elite for its own sake. This of course is not the same thing as wanting to excel. In fact, people who want to excel may often not have degrees, because their desire for knowledge and time to execute is so great that the patience to acquire a largely spoon-fed degree is a trait they aren't willing to muster.
1:43:34 - if you look at an orchestral part from an actual working professional orchestra, you will find the notes that have accumulated through many performances. Curating these is an art practiced by librarians trained in just how and when to save, erase, and edit these notes, which are tailored to the players performing that specific part.
1:05, discussion of being really poor as a child/young adult, & how that affects a person later in life, when they have more money. I was born into poverty, & was quite poor as a young adult. I found it normal, because I didn't know any other way, but completely freeing, all through my later life. I knew I could live without all the money, so I was never terrified of losing it. I also didn't care what the neighbors thought of my less expensive cars or clothes, so I was able to save all that money they were blowing on keeping up appearances. Does having enough money = a better life? Sure. Of course! Having enough money means you can buy daily needs items without worrying about where the money will come from - as opposed to crying over a minor discrepancy in your bank statement from what you thought you had, forcing you to go over the records for an hour, trying to find that money. Or keeping a running tally in your head on your grocery cart as you shop, so you can be sure the bill will not exceed the money you have in your pocket to pay for it. (I prided myself on never being more than a buck or two off the actual checkout price). But more important than being able to buy things more easily, is the peace of mind of knowing that you can lose that money, & still survive. People who are raised in financial comfort have no idea what it's like to be poor, & can't fathom how they'd survive it, so they're terrified of losing their money. For many, that's a valid fear, because they're fairly useless, outside their offices. Poor people are forced to be creative, & figure out how to make do with a lot less, so they tend to be resourceful, & good at building/fixing things, & making dual use of things. Rich people simply throw out anything that's not like new, while poor people are delighted to take that off their hands. I fear for my grandchildren - if they ever find themselves without money. They're being raised in great comfort, & will likely never need to be resourceful, but I can't say I think that's a 100% good thing. Being able to simply ask, & be given whatever you want is not a good way for children to become self sufficient. Being told 'No, we can't afford that' is a benefit to kids. It forces them to find a way on their own, or at least prompt them to go out & get their own money, so they can afford the things they want. Added bonus - they'll appreciate it a lot more, if they had to work for it. Luckily - I was poor in a rural area, not the city, so my experiences were not the same as your guest, but I assume city dwellers must also be resourceful, to survive poverty in the city. He seems like a resourceful young man, & I'm happy he's doing well. I also agree with him that joining the Military has saved many a young man, by getting them out of the house, teaching them some discipline & a skill, when they're still young enough to benefit from it. Not sure that's still true today, but it certainly was in the past 30-40 yrs. I'd urge caution now, but my sons were encouraged to join 20 yrs ago, & one did. It paid off for him.
My history podcast reconstructs the Great Depression. It took almost a year for people to realize things were not going to reverse, and the worst still hadn't happened yet. Things kept getting worser every year with 1933 being one of the darkest times. It would take decades to recover to pre-Crash times. Ironically, I tell the stories through the lives of a set of heirs & heiresses. First b/c they were the first media celebrities, stripped from anonymity and obsessions due to their wealth gave more documented accounts that could connect and compare effectively. But overall, out of the 5 main fortunes much misery came about, and 3 will have cases of elder abuse by the end of their lives.
Forget getting fired from the job -forget even being considered. If you want to work as an academic at a university in California for example you have to, and this is fucking 2024, show a digital Covid “vaccine” proof and include an explicit diversity equity inclusion statement as to how you have actively in the last year worked to further diversity, equity, and inclusion. That’s just the application. If you don’t do those things you don’t even get looked at. So the people this guy is talking about that had a hard time keeping their jobs already were willing to bow down to this tyranny of thought police and lie to them to try to just get a position. I can’t do it. I fucking won’t do it. That’s why I had to move to a state that made that shit illegal a.k.a. Texas.
Hello you savages. Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - chriswillx.com/books/
Here’s the timestamps:
00:00 The Yale & Harvard Fallout
06:35 The Hierarchy of the Harvard Extension School
14:23 How Rob Explains Luxury Beliefs
20:58 Why Defunding the Police is a Luxury Belief
29:49 The Luxury Belief of Getting Rid of Chivalry
38:10 Why You Shouldn’t Make Yourself a Victom
43:50 Why Rob Succeeded Despite a Hard Upbringing
51:37 What It’s Really Like to Grow Up in Poverty
1:03:23 Did Rob’s Quality of Life Change With More Money?
1:12:03 The Skill of Giving & Receiving Compliments
1:17:05 Alexander DatePsych on Twitter
1:21:06 What Surprised Rob When Studying at Yale
1:33:56 Having Agency in Spite of External Limitations
1:36:43 The Best Way to Read
1:45:18 How to Recall What You Read
1:47:31 Where to Find Rob
Proclamation:
The Wilderness Tabernacle is a picture of Heaven and Earth. Exodus 26:13 makes Pi π 3.14.
Pi was first recorded by Moses in 1440 BC. Josephus the Historian's description of the Tabernacle in 94 AD was inaccurate. This oversight was discovered in 2015 AD.
330 Exodus 26 :7
15 Exodus 26:9, 12
- 1 Exodus 26:13 makes Pi
= 314
3.14 = 314 circumference/100 diameter ≈ π ratio (100 cubit court per Exodus 27:9-18)
...................................
This exciting news is similar to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Martin Luther's 95 Theses.
The knowledge of Pi was lost from Exodus near 1000 BC. Josephus the Historian in 94 AD would NOT have had the understanding to properly explain the Tabernacle blueprints. He deferred to, in error, the Temple's structure and not Exodus 26:13 makes Pi.
Consider King Josiah & the Prophetess Huldah rediscovering the scriptures, Right? This engineer appears to have caught this oversight or rediscovered Pi from Exodus in 2015.
This might be difficult to grasp at first.
I stitched you, check it out
@@Exodus26.13Pistitched, go check it out
It's not so much the elites don't care. It's their attitude of thinking poor people are poor because they are lazy so we must punish them to get their so called lazy butts to work harder. Yea, I'm not the most eloquent person, but you get the idea. The attitudes towards poverty by rich people is distorted beyond belief. If punishing people for being poor worked, we would not have more homeless people than empty homes in the country. Seriously, why is every person in the country not in some kind of studio apartment at least? Nobody is saying we should all own a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house, but for godsakes, homelessness should not be a thing in any civilized society. Anyway.... enough ranting.
How could 2015 be the beginning of woke when the first great war against the Social Justice Warriors (Gamergate) began in 2014?
Most brilliant comment I've heard in quite a while...
*"Luxury beliefs are ideas and opinions that **_confer status on the affluent_** while often inflicting costs on the lower classes. A core component of a luxury belief is that **_the believer is often sheltered from the consequences_** of his or her belief."* - Rob Henderson
Ever since the rise of social media and the proliferation of wokeness, if said something, albeit not nearly as eloquently similar.
In the past material objects were the status symbol of a society. Nowadays, intelligence, or at least the perception of intelligence is the new status symbol. Everyone wants to believe that they are smart. Wokeness has become a proxy for such perceived intellect.
DEI is a perfect example of this concept.
@@tensaijuusan4653 - it decribes woke in general, of which DEI is the corporate expression.
It's a version of "leftist elites are never subject to the ramifications of their own policies." - Victor Davis Hanson
I was a trailer trash kid and haven’t seen my mom since I was twelve ( I’m 55)
My sister is my hero , she grabbed me away from my mother ( she moved out at 16) when she was 21 and working at Hardee’s ( burger joint) , I moved out at 18 and have my own business. Sister died at 49 as I held her hand ( pneumonia) she never had health insurance. I’m glad I grew up the way I did if elite life is the alternative. God has always been there for me. Wish he could have left my prostate alone:)
Imagine if you grew up with this evil Left and Democrat Party telling you that your were a perpetual victim every day of your life! Every fool knows that is unhealthy and only keeps people down. I'm sorry you lost your dear heroic sister. Praying your health issue gets cured.
For the prostate maybe look up "saw palmetto"
If its cancer look up "Keto Mojo" to measure your glucose ketone index and through diet you can try to reach close to a value of 1.
Best of luck to you.
@@barboglesby2162 Do you think "trailer trash kid" is a category of up-bringing that could be erradicated?
I am sorry for your loss. I have had pneumonia twice, and it nearly got me and my wife in January 2023 until I convinced her we needed medical assistance. For those without health insurance, I recommend Urgent Care. They are often open 24/7 and are less expensive than Emergency Room Care. Antibiotics are an inexpensive pneumonia treatment, especially if caught early. We contracted it as part of an Influenza-A infection. Influenza kills about 40,000 Americans each year, so do not ignore it. I wish you a long life.
I didn't grow up in poverty but it was an abusive home. I left home at 16, and took my 14 yo sister with me. By leaving and living independently we gave my mother the courage to finally leave my father and change her life. My father in law successfully fought prostate cancer much older than you, though my country has socialised health care. It's discusting that someone can die from pneumonia in their 40s in your country. I will pray for you and your sisters soul in heaven.
15:00 The idea of "Luxury Beliefs, and shelter from consequences of being wrong" is simply paraphrasing what Dr. Thomas Sowell wrote about in his books "Vision of the Anointed" and "Intellectuals and Society".
Some excerpts -
"...intellectuals are people whose end products are intangible ideas, and they are usually judged by whether those ideas sound good to other intellectuals or resonate with the public. Whether their ideas turn out to work - whether they make life better or worse for others - is another question entirely."
"The acclaim given to intellectuals, despite their predictions having failed, is a prime example of the lack of ultimate accountability."
Which is the academic way of saying the same thing. But it's utterly rubbish as a meme. Luxury Belief is short, to the point and intuitive. That's why this guy gets more people to hear the message.
@@DennisNeijmeijer Yes, someone should meme-ify "Analects" to bring age old wisdom and insights to a new generation.
Vebler wrote about this 100 years ago. It is how we are. Even me. Especially me, you peasants.....
@@jackdeniston59Thank you, sire.
If the endeavour prospers point out to your strong leadership. If there is catastrophe it was everything else: the weather, foreign powers, satanic garden gnomes. - Sun Tzu, probably
I don't live in poverty, but I've developed friendships with a couple people who do live in poverty. As Henderson says, there is always chaos when a person is poor. Crisis and drama are engendered by situations many people simply never encounter: running out of pet food and not having money to buy more, being unable to come up with money for a child's school field trip, having your belongings stolen by "friends," running out of gas because a "friend" siphoned gas from your vehicle, being unable to heat your home because you've had to sell heating oil to make ends meet. It is a soul-sucking existence.
And these are the minor dramas of poverty. Not the major crisis moments. Like your car needs repairing so you can go to work. Or your refrigerator stops working and a week's food goes rotten. And you have no idea how you can afford a new fridge.
@@grannyannie2948 If you even have a refrigerator. One of my friends is living out of a picnic cooler.
@@oldbutstillyoung2170 Yes. In my country charities are constantly asked to give people ice. Especially people living in cars. They have no other way to keep food fresh.
It can get to the point where it's really bad. But having some poverty in your life is not always a bad thing, because you learn to use your creativity and your ingenuity to solve these problems. People who never have to deal with problems, budgeting challenges or crises go into adulthood unprepared to handle real life and it's challenges. They become dependent, herd-like creatures, easily led. I would not trade the "education" I got from growing up poor for an easy existence, and my adult children say the same.
@LadyIarConnacht I 100% agree. Though I've never actually been "poor," money has been very tight for me at various times in my life, and I've always had to make my own way in the world. I am a resourceful person because I've had to be. In contrast, people I know whose parents have always made life easy are not resourceful and are easily led (as you said).
Before I watch it I'm gonna go on a limb and answer the question... NO.
😂💯 literally
@@brianmeen2158 Perhaps they should not be replaced if there is no better alternative available. And of course, who decides "better alternative"?
They all think we are just like them, so we want the same things they want. It’s a form of naivety and narcissism. It explains why they think they know best and feel like heros
Stitched, go see
Look, the issue isn't that we have elites... it's that they are indoctrination thier children into this narcissistic stupidity. We can change the indoctrination into something more beneficial for everyone. Communist derived tripe will lead to communist style problems in my opinion. The problem is that nobody with an interest in fixing the issue has the power to do it... and the current system is very beneficial to entrenched power.
Not only do they not care, many of them are actively working against everyone else.
Somewhere along about 15:30, Rob talks about those having luxury beliefs also having been raised in households with at least one parent who went to university, and those folks have no clue what life is like for anyone who is not aiming for, working on, or completed at least one degree at a high prestige/difficulty school. He is so correct -- and that situation has been around for ages and includes a wider range of schools. And they never really do fathom the degree of separation unless they enlist in the military or fall on hard times. Their ignorance is no different than that of someone in a more humble situation except that the uni person believes she understands the lives of others.
I stitched him, go check it out
The people in a "humble situation" are far smarter, they just use shorter words.
The system isn't broken. It was built this way on purpose..
@b4zz3d59 OH NO MERITOCRACY
I grew up in the lower working class, with an alcoholic machinist father, and a gas station attendant mom who ultimately worked her way up to bank teller. I joined the army as soon as I graduated high school, eventually going to a local college on the GI Bill in my 30's.
I had a daughter in high school that we put up for adoption. She grew up in a rich suburb, went to private schools until getting her undergrad at ST Andrew's, and her master's from Cambridge.
We got into an argument about some of this woke/luxury belief shit, and she straight up told me to check my privilege.
She had her path laid down in front of her to two of the most exclusive universities in the English speaking world, and I'm working on a master's from an online university you've probably seen advertised online. But, I'm the privileged one.
This shit is a mind virus, not a blind spot.
I've never been quite so grateful that i was raised working class, and rose up. I will say that it has been difficult to make friends. Indeed, most friends i have made over the years I've had to disconnect from because of the absolute insanity that they fell into. I've stood toe to toe with these pillars of intellect, and all they had for me was isms, with no substantiation.
It all started with "oh no, you're one of those", and went downhill from there.
Thank you for getting Rob in person! I honestly think he is one of the most important young intellectuals in the western world today. Thrilled to read his book!
Take it like everything else, with a grain of salt.
1:23:15 showing up at a university campus after being in the military really is like that meme with Steve Buscemi saying “how do you do fellow kids?”
I was in university in 2007. I saw that shit back then also but it was really confined and came up in conversation rarely. I specifically remember a guy from marching band back then talking about how his prof in women’s studies would essentially shame the white males in the room. I remember thinking back then it was screwed up but never imagined we would be where we are today. Boy was I naïve.
Rob Henderson's insights on luxury beliefs are eye-opening. Entrepreneurs should note that understanding the social dynamics of your market can be as crucial as the product itself. For instance, aligning your brand with values that resonate authentically with your target audience can significantly enhance trust and loyalty.
If you don't organically share the values of your target market, they will find out.
Or your product is political naturally, and the market is fairly predetermined ideologically. That's what I went with anyway. 👍
case in point: Bud Light
This and Triggernometry are the best TH-cam channels for open honest discussions
I agree! Cheers bud
Andrew gold has a new channel called Heretics which is good too.
Triggernometry is boring and one dimensional. They don’t elucidate much at all, they just constantly confirm what we all know which is that cancel culture exists
I’m a first-generation college grad, and law school was the first time I recognized the “luxury belief” phenomenon. It was comical listening to rich kids circle jerk each other about how to solve problems I grew up witnessing as self-inflicted.
Law school students are funny because they’re all woke and initially say they’re gonna use their degree for good but inevitably they all try to get high paying big law jobs
The extension school part of the conversation is fascinating. UCLA has an extension school and we've noticed the same attitudes. Like it's this money grab but the professors don't take it seriously and the admin keeps saying it's the "Same" when selling it but don't treat it the same on the other end of certificate recognition.
This is where you have a class lawsuit and claim misleading and/or deceptive conduct. Discovery would be a gold mine, and knowing prestigious academics and admins, they are terribly honest in their internal communications.
Extension schools are an extreme example but there is a general trend of prestigious schools offering expensive but worthless Masters degrees.
@@james3744Ehh lawsuits can be won against for-profit schools (eg Trump university) but I doubt anyone would have success suing Harvard et al.
40:45 "Monk mode is a great tool but a bad master." Love this. There's some lyrics from Zack Hemsey that made this clear for me:
"If you gather all the teachings that the wise have told
Compile every scripture from the books of old
And muse upon the meaning of the truths you've sewn
You will germinate the mind, but the fields won't grow"
Song is Zack Hemsey - "Lesson From A Nomad"
"That's the modal case". Dealing with someone who *understands* statistics is always refreshing.
Those aren't the elites. They're simply the henchmen.
Precisely. So many don't understand or won't accept there is group that works in the shadows exclusively, and has enough wealth and knowledge to control the richest people in view. And I think that group has figured how to make us all sacrifice ourselves and own for them.
@@brandonmay3094 They are the ones clambering to get into / back into the elite.
You say that now. But will you feel the same after getting a taste of Beagling?
I think the sad part is this:
The mere fact that even the "academic elite" (university students/professors and all derivative professions) are so easy to manipulate may just confirm "how much we are in need of being controlled" - how we could not do without a shepherd from on high.
And for so many people that is true.
Few people can really think for themselves and possess the skill of critical thinking.@@brandonmay3094
Nope, they're elite.
I'm glad someone wrote a book about luxury beliefs.
I always learn new words when I listen to Chris. This video's Word for the Day is: concatenation- a series of interconnected things or events.
You just called abortion birth control and called the preference for its restriction a luxury position. As a Non-American lower socio-economic class citizen, I can tell you that this is pretty much never the case. Everyone that I talk to that feels as strongly as I do that abortion is wrong, feels that way because they have a visceral response to the idea of killing the unborn.
It's a moral position. Perhaps it's not as well-reasoned as it could be, but that doesn't make it wrong. There are other forms of birth control. I've seen the heartbeats of my daughters on ultrasound, it changed me.
I stopped the video when he said that and immediately began scrolling the comments. I was heartened to see your well stated response. Thank you! Wish there were many more such responses.
@@davebramble2444 Cheers, Dave! Same here. The flippancy with which abortion is viewed in the West is downright disgusting.
This is what is wrong with these podcasts though. Too much ground to cover for any set of people to have expertise in or sensitivity to.
I like Chris William's podcast but I don't know if he realizes that he conflated abortion access as a form of birth control...
Even the pro-abortion crowd avoids doing this.
Also, the wealthy elites in our country are overwhelmingly in favor of abortion access, particularly for people in low-income neighborhoods.
Bad take Chris. Still like your podcast though.
@@stevenstratton4804 It could be an honest mistake. Chris seems like a good guy. As a podcast host you have to be somewhat adaptive to your guests, perhaps he went a little overboard with it and misspoke.
It does make it wrong. Because well being of the mother is more important than a fetus.
About growing up poor:
It's much more about the internal stress level and being in survival mode rather than "not being able to afford a toy".
There may also be factors of social exclusion but personally i think it was just a heightened sense of chronic stress.
I experienced both: middle/upper middle class and lowest class (foodstamps) while growing up, to the point where I felt the compulsive urge to grab the last slice of bread in the basket on the table even if I had already been satiated.
While economic conditions and home life were good i was best in class, later on i stopped attending school, barely passed or failed.
Make or break, sink or swim.
Ive not struggled like that, much anyway, but ive seen it and yes, you nailed it. Its the short term sight bc you cant trust the essentials will be available. Its scarcity mindset reinforced through experiences.
Yes - and that also has an impact on brain development.
Basically each developmental phase of childhood is meant to foster certain skills/qualities/dimensions of the person.
A dysfunctional and unstable environment is a completely different primer.
Chronic stress can also reduce IQ by up to -14 points so that is quite a significant impact. @@BigTyronie
I once read about this hypothesis for cancer that stipulates that a cell turns into a cancer cell because it can no longer rely on it's environment to supply it's needs.
So the cell will stop cooperating and become "egotistical" because it gets forced into survival mode.
I find it a really good analogy. @@BigTyronie
I agree that people at all levels of the socio-economic spectrum have their cross to bear.
The wallop to the physiological system gleaned from low status in society is a uniquely thorny cross.
Though status vs. neighbor may be a more impactful influence on wellbeing.
Your comment about the slice of bread in the basket struck a note. You could have been describing my mother. Her father broke his back when she was six. And she was bitterly poor most of her childhood. She was quite obese in old age but still perpetually afraid of getting hungry.
@12:10
“We who are liberal and progressive know that the poor are our equals in every sense except that of being equal to us.” - Lionel Trilling
We are all equal but I am better than you in every way!
@@raumograeywolf5477You have it wrong. It was an attempt at absurdity, unfortunately absurdity doesn't register in an absurd world.
there is no equality when one has a plate of food and another is going hungry.
@@lindaostrom570
There is no food when Commies enforce their “equality”
Oregon passed a law in 2019 that just went into effect this January 1 that all egg farmers have to be free range.
I wasn't even aware it had passed as a law back then, wasn't aware it was going into effect now, and all of a sudden my eggs cost $5 a dozen instead of $1.29
Democrats do not care about the poor.
Hold up though. Factory farmed eggs are garbage. It’s an exploitative industry for humans and animals… We should go back to free range. It needs to be implemented carefully and correctly though.. They shouldn’t force it in the entire state and consumers though… They should’ve found a way to make it a bit more affordable.. It’s not the idea, it’s the implementation… People in charge that aren’t qualified. It’s not necessarily just the democrats fault. Sorry you’re going through that. Every one deserves high quality affordable food. It’s BS. It could be a win win win win for everyone..
As someone who is transitioning away from the party life on a similar arc to yourself and having always been intrigued by the mechanics of life and higher thinking - thank you Chris. My weekly diet of your content is very thought provoking and often bang on the money
Entitlement is not limited to the rich or those who attend Ivy League universities - it is growing out of control in children as well. And not just those who attend private schools but also in inner city public schools- kids are defiantly proclaiming my feeling are more important than your rules and policies
there's the door. or let me call childrens services for you. i will never allow myself to be manipulated by a kid in this manner ( because i have been manipulated by kids through my affection) there are some lines though that YOU DO NOT CROSS.
Good point
Rob is a good example of how the military, even with its wokeness, can be a great stepping stone to adulthood for young men who grow up in chaos. Extreme discipline, self awareness of consequences, predictability, etc.
Don’t believe the Fox News story. The military has a few woke policies but on a day-to-day basis, wokeness is not really a topic.
Only a matter of time before this is corrupted into uselessness. Like most everything else the Progressives have ever touched.
Not to mention that signing bonus
Poverty is a continuing downward spiral. When you have to borrow money, for instance, you get bankrupting rates because you don’t have or didn’t inherit assets to borrow against. The check engine light coming on can be a life altering experience. The affluent middle class and wealthy put you down because they don’t understand this constant anxiety and fear you deal with every day. They think there’s something wrong with you and that you simply need a vacation and to practice more self care… ha ha.
Yeah if you’re broke, a traffic ticket can ruin you.
My parents began having kids at 16 and both dropped out and got GED’s, while I went to law school and became a small town attorney. As comparatively well as I have done, my classmates who had parents with graduate degrees (and beyond) were much wiser to the importance of things like participating in extracurriculars, such as Law Review and Moot Court. They also were pre-plugged into elite internships. I realized these things were critical to elite job opportunities, too late. They seemed to have known since birth.
Thanks for your anecdotes. They sound very aloof to the world that most occupy…
@@ConfusedIceberg-vd7qc If you took my comment as aloof, you missed the point.
Your story very much mirrors the experience of economist/youtuber Gary Stevenson, a poor bright kid who ended up at LSE and found himself at a huge disadvantage because he did not know he was supposed to have applied for 60 internships or «play the oboe at the Royal Albert Hall».
Chris is exactly backwards on the luxury beliefs around abortion:
It is overwhelmingly the wealthier classes who vehemently push abortion onto everyone and never suffer an abortion. **Abortion is a luxury belief.**
Abortion originated with the wealthy. Peasants had dozens of kids. Scandal and family bloodlines with wealthy sought abortions to keep things proper. Income has nothing to do with secret love affairs and unexpected pregnancies
Absolutely
I have to say some of the things your where talking about how wonderful life is as a academic. And how horrible it is to be a middle class or even lower class people. You can have a satisfying life as a someone that works with their hands I could survive with out academics but could you survive without carpenters or mechanics and many other tradesmen or even laborers. Not everyone is Einstein some of us have to keep the roads rolling
Not all abuser are from the lower classes. Ask any police officer their isn’t a typical profile of a abuser. What does a abuser look like. Just like what does a serial killer look like. Also how many illegitimate children does the Kennedy and Biden families have not all baby daddies wear wife beaters some wear Brooks brothers.
It's the elitism that he's talking about. He's completely clueless.
I'd like to take a minute to remind any middle or upper class readers of this comment that the world only keeps turning because of the WORKING class.
"Elite's" have caused every problem ever in the world - farmers never declared war or committed genocides.
They have a REAL lack of class distinction and class consciousness.@@rafalrocks
@@rafalrocksi have tons of friends with good podcasts. Its your perspective thats rendering your experience.
100%. What's more, a graduate job you do on a laptop can be offshored in a heartbeat. But when you need a plumber or an electrician someone on a laptop in India is no use to you.
And in my country, Australia by the age of 40 a tradesman is wealthier than a university graduate of the same age. They were earning money instead of running up student loans. Women with degrees often marry tradesmen, as socially they are viewed as equal.
When I was young, I was walking down a road with a couple of my classmates. One said her father was VP of such a company, the other said her father was editor at a prestigious industry magazine, so I told them my father was a janitor. We came from different worlds but still studied together.
Great conversation. Thoroughly enjoyed listening. Much respect to both participants.
Chris is a great interviewer, great questions, a more refined rogan, apleasure to listen to.❤
The sun tan status symbol has been known for many decades. My dad told me about it in the 80s. Nice to see intellectuals rediscovering the wheel.
Also the "full tan" in contrast to the farmer's tan or working man's tan.
Similar thing with hands
Chris, please reach out to Thomas Sowell while we still have him.
There are about... say 100 other people I would rather see interview the legendary Thomas Sowell than Chris Williamson..
No disrespect to Chris, but I doubt he read even one of Dr.Sowell books.
At 93, Sowell is still sharp as a tack.. I do wish he would grant more interviews in his advanced age. Kind of like how Charlie Munger did many interviews over the last several years before he passed at 99
I will take Thomas Sowell being interviewed by anyone. Just as long as I can hear Thomas Sowell. There is indeed a sense of urgency given Sowell's advanced age.
@@ebonypenguin2899 I agree.. I really give the legendary Charlie Munger mad respect for granting so many interviews before he died. I think he did at least 10 to 20 interviews in 2023 alone..
The last interview Sowell did was six months ago and before that like 2 years. I truly hope he does grant more interviews in his final years.. His popularity has been surging as of late..
@@ousamaabdu794especially younger Black generation. The sort of Post, Post Civil Rights absolutists. The children who have either been the victims of the Great Society or seen the worst affects of it. And maybe were confused how their parents could still blindly support it considering the GOP was the party of Lincoln and was founded to fight Slavery and most of the worst of Jim Crow was perpetrated by Democrats, not Republicans.
@@ousamaabdu794 Would love to see Mr. Sowell ad Jordan Peterson get together at LEAST once.
Henderson's memoir was REALLY good; I recommend it in the strongest terms.
"Action is the only truth" Marcus Aurelius
Rob Henderson is the guy!
I generally agree with you, Chris, but I think you miss the point on the abortion issue. The anti-abortion crowd isn’t making an economic argument like you are making. They consider it a moral issue of taking a human life, and think a better route are birth control and adoption. Those solutions satisfy your economic argument, so the anti-abortion crowd would consider your position a straw man.
Edit: Testing for censorship.
I can't speak directly for Chris, but I do think that it was an accidental conflation, and sadly, much of the pro life movement packs contraception and pregnancy termination together, and it shouldn't be. Of course one can avoid sex, but in a loving relationship why, and hold in mind that most terminations in the UK happen in that setting, and the driver for the procedure is lacking in funds. And strangely, at the other and often sordid end of this, the surrogate industry is often terribly misogynist (check Julie Bindel) and down right cruel and one that serves the privilege class. I am sure there are exceptions in all these issues, but the norm is important to serve the needs of women and their individual physical autonomy.
I immediately think- brain dead sheep -when I hear someone say “defund the….” Also- chivalry is NEVER, EVER patronizing. I can’t believe you just said that! It’s polite and loving and thoughtful. I can open my own door has always felt psycho lady to me! - and I’m female.
Never heard of Rob before, but wow, 1000% agree. I can "pass" but the energy drain has become more than I can bear
This guest was fantastic.
2 mil! Congratulations man. I subbed at around 50k when I believe the channel name wasn't modern wisdom yet. lol 😅 you're fkn crushing it. 💪👏👏👏👏
I worked at a very exclusive country club. Seeing what actual billionaires are like when they're completely comfortable cemented my opinion that rich people are completely unaware of the insulation their money provides. They are clueless and often careless about the implications of the decisions they make.
Er.....no. Id say they want you dead. Its beyond dislike or not caring. Id settle for indifference rather than active malevolence
I 100% believe it
If you’re talking about conservatives, then I would agree with you. Libs always seem to be trying to make it easier for poor people to get access to healthcare so they don’t die. I’m a poor white American born guy and my state (Washington) covered my visit to the ER last year. All while giving more to federal government than it takes as a state. If I lived in Texas I’d probably be homeless after that 9K bill, guess I’m lucky that the “elites” where I live care enough about their fellow Americans.
Active benevolence. (They think it's benevolence.)
Everytime I listen to Rob Henderson I can't believe how he's never used Orange is the New Black as an example of this elite portrayal of poverty and crime as a noble and justifiable endeavour
On the topic of "Monk Mode". The real problem with it is that society has told me, and women too, to get a job, get a job, get a job. The reason so many men aren't pursuing relationships is because our schools and society just tells them to study and then work while assuming that people will just somehow figure out how to form relationships. Men will work hard jobs to provide for people they have a relationship with already, we've put that cart before the horse and it has severe negative consequences for people.
Grew up poor and bounced around from family member to family member. I've always hated cops almost all my encounters with them have been negative.
Most of it was domestic disputs as a kid, I ran away once, my mom had schizophrenia.
They were the enemy. Not much changed as I got older.
Always treating people like they were guilty until proven innocent.
Treating the victims like they were criminals.
I might be considered middle class now still hate them.
There might be only a couple of bad apples but all of them are complicit in the crimes of their fellows. If they were held accountable for the bad actors then I would be more willing to support them but they won't.
So I was and will always be till something changes be in support of defund the police.
I absolutely hate authority in most cases because in most cases they're all corrupt.
I was in the Army from 17 to 22 then was in the Guard until 24. Being a college freshman qt that point in liffe is tough enough but I went to the commuter campus if a state university. Most of the kids around me did not come from money. I couldn't imagine being thrust into a place like Yale.
1:33:00 Thomas Sowell spent three books talking about how damaging certain cultures can be.
I’m mid build of an ice cream truck, people are craving comfort and joy, a lot, so that’s where I’m putting my focus.
I know someone who studied at Duke who was unusual in that he was lower middle class and homeschooled. Some interesting things I heard from someone who knew him there. He was infinitely wiser, more mature, and a better thinker than other students who had been born to luxury. (They sought him out for help academically and in life). Students who surrounded him in classes and the dorms, were dead-serious, obnoxious, and dedicated lots of time to protesting and meetings about how terrible poverty was, and were rage-filled about how little the govt was doing about it, yet they spent thousands on luxury travel, luxury expenses, and never once donated even a penny to anyone in the actual city of Duke, which had an enormous population of poor (black and white). Quite hypocritical.
This is normal today. It’s easy to outwardly want or demand someone else to do something, but not do anything themselves. This isn’t hypocritical, it’s straight up status projection.
The city Duke University is in is Durham
Great episode between you guys, as usual. I love Rob & his backstory. Very inspirational and incredibly interesting guy!
Brilliant interview, thanks guys!!
19:34 You guys missed the crucial part: the relationship between tan and class has flipped post-industrual revolution. In Feudal times, a tan would actually signify being a peasant - as the Sun was strongest during the Summer - their work season, while the noble class could afford to remain indoors year-round made a pale skin a status of power. And this pattern can be observed in other cultural spheres; from Sub-Saharan Africa to the Arab World, Persia, India and the Far-East.
Pretty much all status signals, especially for women, are indicators of NOT having to work. Long fingernails etc. In my case, I do not wear a tie anymore.
Just like being fat signified royalty. Whilst everyone was starving you were feeding your face :P
@@stevrgrsYeah, pretty much!
Since I have been aware in my work, a society that fascinates itself with depravity and violence, is going to get more of it!
I am enjoying your defund the police conservation. One of my sons did retire from a police force in a beautiful city, due to this ignorance of liberals. However his wife made a wonderful salary, and me and his dad have upper class incomes, and university graduates. So he is living a amazing retirement at 50 years old. We still believe in the police, and support them.
Yeah law enforcement is a solid way to enter the middle class, especially in larger cities. Probably because of their unions
Reading Erich Fromm The Art of Being while listening to this. I thought I was weird for reading this and putting it down and reading two other books along the same lines and then your guest talked about "peculiar" reading approaches. Definitely pursuing this episode later and taking notes. All the best!
What is poverty? Digging through the couch cushions hoping to find enough change for school lunch. Eating a mayo sandwich with 1 folded piece of bread
Ain't nothing like a mayo sandwich 😂 start running out of ANY liquid, add water. Honestly I feel like I would be much less of who I am today if it weren't for those times. Sounds cliché, but it builds character
Or the good 'ol jam sandwich if the bread is about to go too moldy to continue scraping it off. Jam a slice between two others, dry if Mayo is already gone until payday.
Thanks for your clever statements and superior choice of guests!
So Great to hear Rags to riches stories,
So eloquent ❤
I am a martial arts expert and I would not lift a finger to help a stranger. I'll protect people in my family, but the rest of you ladies are on your own.
Such a great calm conversation! New to your channel and so happy to find you! Stay the course……
After growing up in a conservative, white, racist, sexist, ultra-Christian working-class "ghetto" (a company town, in other words), I was surprised to find that my college peers from fancier neighborhoods were just as rigid, scared, stupid, irrational, prejudiced, and reactionary as my people only trending the opposite direction politically. The word didn't exist at the time, but I felt like I went from one culture obsessed with virtue signaling to another. It was disappointing and of course, I didn't speak the more monied language of virtue signaling and suffered for it. There weren't sorting hats in college but the dean and faculty were preoccupied with finding students who could add power and prestige to themselves (this was a state school in the USA). I was there to learn, which didn't work out.
The hire and acquire class doesnt think. Theyve been to institutions that teach them they are better than others.
They are a problem because someone else gets stuck with fixing theirs!
Rob is insanely smart. I follow him on Twitter and he clearly reads like 4 books a week. I’m excited to see what book he writes next.
Just came back to say I bought and read the book Troubled. Eye opening.
Been doing some great interviews lately Chris you deserve the success. Even the Piers interview was good you more than held your own.
That whole luxury beliefs things is on point tho. People just need to stop standing up for things they know nothing about
I have to know this guy's secret. He said he barely graduated high school but got into Yale. I had a 4.0, also went into the military, and still got denied by half the schools I applied for, let alone an Ivy school.
That title and thumbnail hooked me right in 😅
Loss of religion is a huge mechanicnism for the loss of family.
Yep. Religion has been a staple of societies for thousands of years. It has bonded communities and families. If religion is thrown out, then what is the equivalent replacement? There isn’t one.
I like religion for the ethics, but when the bs of a man with a beard in the sky,a man walking on water, resurection of a dead man step in, i turn away. I cant capture that people actually believe this, even the fact when you die you go to a heaven. Come on. I still think religion is a form of opression, youre being opressed but get the good life after you die? 😂
@@josephbrown9685 agreed
Excellent interview
51:34 is why I like Eren Jaeger. He was disciplined and did what he had to despite his feelings.
Chris, would you consider bringing Charles Murray on? Coming apart is a book written over a decade ago where he touches a lot on luxury beliefs in practice
Status is as human as breathing air. It will never change. Never. And don't worry about Ivy League schools losing their status. As long as alumni preferentially hire their graduates, they'll be fine.
You have to be kind of insane to truly not care about status
Great conversation. Luxury beliefs. God help us!!
Re: ~ 21:50 consequences, specifically, 23:30 homicide rates at early '90s levels.
Happened to take martial arts instruction from a Minneapolis man as a kid in the late 80s. He would say his degree was in social psych. He stated something like this to a few of us: social psychologists are predicting the 90s are going to be rough ... the way you raise children is to tell them you're a good person and you do things like this and you don’t do things like that because it's what good persons are like. Black kids were being told instead it doesn’t matter cuz they're going to screw you anyway. That last part he said with some emphasis, seemingly saying they were being told that --well-- really *hard*.
That still captures something ongoing/still relevant. Especially if you're still in a major US inner-city. E.g. there are young people (usually the predictable bunch) who have trouble hearing 'no' on the street.
The root that they are tapdancing around in this discussion is rampant narcissism throughout our society. This is just a discussion about hypocrisy and narcissism.
1:02:42 think of it this way. Ppl werent having sex as often so the failure risk wasn't so high, or if it was, you were married. Now ppl have more "protected sex", but that still has a failure % that is increased with each incident of intercourse. The failure rate is magnified by the higher incident rates
Monk mode is a terrible idea for young men. The relationships that are forged in youth, in school and college, are nigh unto impossible to find again in the real world. Burning those bridges and networks down is not reversible. Most people take these connections for granted and have no idea how much they owe to them. Far too many young men are passing through this golden era of opportunities in their life without forming connections, thinking they can do it later. Or that they don't need them. Or its too hard. No it isn't. Its EASY during school years. Meanwhile, there they are sitting in their rooms on the internet letting it all pass by. A young man should not need to be his best to enter the game; he should be surrounded by brothers helping him reach his goals.
It's not because of men though. Society just tells everyone to study, study, study and then work, work, work to get a high paying job. Why are we blaming young men when they're just doing what they were told to?
This isn't something society can just assume will work itself out, because it isn't. We need to change our message to kids.
I wish this wasn’t true but it basically is. One exception is (organized) religion. Very straightforward way to thrust yourself into a community
but yeah, I very much regret being overly studious in college at the expense of networking.
47:50 "From '17 to '25[...]"
That's the first time I'm hearing someone using 2010s and 2020s years in double digits. And it's the first time I'm hearing the prophetic perfect tense spontaneously in a contemporary setting.
Considering that it's not yet 2025 and Rob is already out of the military, I'm pretty sure it's safe to assume that he meant between the *ages* of 17 to 25.
@@moonlightray8493 Right. That's a lot more likely actually.
I love your conversations with Rob
Regarding the phrase 'defund the police", anyone who says such a thing, to me, looks UNeducated, naive and foolish.
Amazing interview Chris! "The luxury of beliefs" isn't that another word for modern communists/the woke?
I propose further cathegorisation.
Regular tier elites - career politcians, CEO's / management
Top tier elites - owners, trust fund babies / families with their own foundations
By this definition, an anti-abortion stance or anti-workforce-wife stance is a "luxury belief" because those who hold these beliefs are sheltered from their consequences (by way of not incuring costs or simply being wealthy).
When did Rob lose his left arm? 🙃
😂😂😂
When he lost his mamma
Mr Williams, 30 min in, you state that wealthy women want to remove easy access to abortion, thus creating a problem for poor women, who need access to birth control.
A number of things are wrong with that assessment:
1 - Wealthy women are the chief proponents of Abortion on Demand. They have no intention of using that option themselves, but they're mighty keen on poor people taking themselves, and their children out via Abortion. They're all for that.
2 - Abortion is Not Birth Control. It's a medical procedure to end the life of a living child. Birth control IS widely available, and abstinence is Free, so no one HAS to get pregnant. It's a choice - just like eating too much junk food will make you fat, and if you opt to eat it, don't be surprised if you get fat. Having Sex will get you pregnant, so if you opt to have sex, don't be surprised if you get pregnant. HAVE A PLAN.
3 - The people who Do want to restrict Abortions are not requiring that women go to the back alley, as the Abortion Clinic propagandists insist, but merely ask that any woman who wants to abort her child - make up her mind in a timely manner. Ie, three months in, is plenty of time to realize you're pregnant, and decide if you want to keep the baby or not. Why must anyone wait until the child is being born, to decide they've changed their mind, and want to murder it? That's just inhumane, and anyone who supports late term abortions either does not know what that entails, or is sick. Look into that, if you think I'm wrong, but be prepared to be sickened by what you find.
Mr Williams, I suggest you look into such things for yourself, and think it through, before you make such wide ranging statements, which are demonstrably false. All these issues you're discussing are coming from one side of the political spectrum. From Defund the Police, to Antifa, BLM, College Corruption, Medical Corruption, Media Corruption, Political Corruption, & Race hatred - it's always the same people. College Educated Democrats, and their minions.
It's time to stop trying to lay their insanity at the feet of anyone but themselves. Democrats brought you the hell we're all living with now, and it's time to stop them - Again, as this is Not their first time trying to take down this country from within.
An important realization is that all superiority complexes are just a different expression of an inferiority complex. All elites are insecure if they seek be elite for its own sake. This of course is not the same thing as wanting to excel. In fact, people who want to excel may often not have degrees, because their desire for knowledge and time to execute is so great that the patience to acquire a largely spoon-fed degree is a trait they aren't willing to muster.
So you're telling me bro was literally the most disadvantaged person on campus?
Legit. The case and the point.
This discusion puts an unique spin on Harry Callaghans: "A man'e got to know his limitations!"
This guy gets it.
2015 wasn't early. It was well underway
That’s when the dam broke I think. Arguably the reason why Trump got elected the following year
1:43:34 - if you look at an orchestral part from an actual working professional orchestra, you will find the notes that have accumulated through many performances. Curating these is an art practiced by librarians trained in just how and when to save, erase, and edit these notes, which are tailored to the players performing that specific part.
1:05, discussion of being really poor as a child/young adult, & how that affects a person later in life, when they have more money. I was born into poverty, & was quite poor as a young adult. I found it normal, because I didn't know any other way, but completely freeing, all through my later life. I knew I could live without all the money, so I was never terrified of losing it. I also didn't care what the neighbors thought of my less expensive cars or clothes, so I was able to save all that money they were blowing on keeping up appearances.
Does having enough money = a better life? Sure. Of course! Having enough money means you can buy daily needs items without worrying about where the money will come from - as opposed to crying over a minor discrepancy in your bank statement from what you thought you had, forcing you to go over the records for an hour, trying to find that money. Or keeping a running tally in your head on your grocery cart as you shop, so you can be sure the bill will not exceed the money you have in your pocket to pay for it. (I prided myself on never being more than a buck or two off the actual checkout price).
But more important than being able to buy things more easily, is the peace of mind of knowing that you can lose that money, & still survive. People who are raised in financial comfort have no idea what it's like to be poor, & can't fathom how they'd survive it, so they're terrified of losing their money. For many, that's a valid fear, because they're fairly useless, outside their offices. Poor people are forced to be creative, & figure out how to make do with a lot less, so they tend to be resourceful, & good at building/fixing things, & making dual use of things.
Rich people simply throw out anything that's not like new, while poor people are delighted to take that off their hands. I fear for my grandchildren - if they ever find themselves without money. They're being raised in great comfort, & will likely never need to be resourceful, but I can't say I think that's a 100% good thing. Being able to simply ask, & be given whatever you want is not a good way for children to become self sufficient. Being told 'No, we can't afford that' is a benefit to kids. It forces them to find a way on their own, or at least prompt them to go out & get their own money, so they can afford the things they want. Added bonus - they'll appreciate it a lot more, if they had to work for it.
Luckily - I was poor in a rural area, not the city, so my experiences were not the same as your guest, but I assume city dwellers must also be resourceful, to survive poverty in the city. He seems like a resourceful young man, & I'm happy he's doing well. I also agree with him that joining the Military has saved many a young man, by getting them out of the house, teaching them some discipline & a skill, when they're still young enough to benefit from it. Not sure that's still true today, but it certainly was in the past 30-40 yrs. I'd urge caution now, but my sons were encouraged to join 20 yrs ago, & one did. It paid off for him.
My history podcast reconstructs the Great Depression. It took almost a year for people to realize things were not going to reverse, and the worst still hadn't happened yet. Things kept getting worser every year with 1933 being one of the darkest times. It would take decades to recover to pre-Crash times. Ironically, I tell the stories through the lives of a set of heirs & heiresses. First b/c they were the first media celebrities, stripped from anonymity and obsessions due to their wealth gave more documented accounts that could connect and compare effectively. But overall, out of the 5 main fortunes much misery came about, and 3 will have cases of elder abuse by the end of their lives.
Forget getting fired from the job -forget even being considered. If you want to work as an academic at a university in California for example you have to, and this is fucking 2024, show a digital Covid “vaccine” proof and include an explicit diversity equity inclusion statement as to how you have actively in the last year worked to further diversity, equity, and inclusion. That’s just the application. If you don’t do those things you don’t even get looked at. So the people this guy is talking about that had a hard time keeping their jobs already were willing to bow down to this tyranny of thought police and lie to them to try to just get a position. I can’t do it. I fucking won’t do it. That’s why I had to move to a state that made that shit illegal a.k.a. Texas.