Social Atomization

"Is technology driving a wedge between our individual interests and our collective interests?" —Robert Putnam Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction: American exceptionalism 2:08 Declining civic engagement in the twentieth century 3:22 The theory of social capital 5:02 Reasons for the decline 7:03 Conclusion: Technology erodes social capital References: - Alexis de Tocqueville: Democracy in America - Robert Putnam: Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community - Robert Putnam: Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital Image: Early Sunday Morning by Edward Hopper

"A rising tide can indeed lift a variety of boats, but in a culture of social isolates, atomized by social and economic upheaval and separated by vast inequalities, it can also cause millions to drown." —John Cacioppo Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction: The epidemiologic transition 2:12 The three fastest-rising causes of death 3:57 Economic inequality and rent-seeking 6:07 The opioid crisis 7:43 Conclusion: Social dislocation References: - Anne Case and Angus Deaton: Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism - Thomas Piketty: Capital in the Twenty-First Century - Gabor Maté: In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction Image: Illusions of Reality by Mark Henson

"Narcissism is the fast food of the soul. It tastes great in the short term, has negative, even dire, consequences in the long run, and yet continues to have widespread appeal." —The Narcissism Epidemic Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction: Individualism vs Collectivism 0:53 WEIRD WASPs 2:50 The Protestant ethic 4:50 1960s counterculture 6:10 1970s "Me" Decade 9:19 1980s Yuppies 10:36 Conclusion: Interdependence References: - Geert Hofstede: Cultural dimensions - Joseph Henrich: The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous - Max Weber: The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism - Jean Twenge and W. Keith Campbell: The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement - Tom Wolfe: The "Me" Decade and the Third Great Awakening - Christopher Lasch: The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations Image: Sharing the Wealth by Mark Henson

"The men who can manage men manage the men who can manage only things, and the men who can manage money manage all." —Will Durant Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction: Class struggle 0:50 Surplus product 1:47 Ancient mode of production 2:49 Feudalism 3:58 Capitalism 6:49 Managerialism 10:17 Conclusion: "Who, Whom?" References: - Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels: The Communist Manifesto - James Burnham: The Managerial Revolution: What is Happening in the World - Samuel T. Francis: Leviathan and Its Enemies Image: False Profits by Mear One

"The U.S. has embraced a novel question: what happens when the men who built the complex systems our society relies on cease contributing and are replaced by people who were chosen for reasons other than competency?" —Harold Robertson Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction: Hanlon’s razor 1:38 Complex systems 3:28 Government incompetence 4:58 Diversity in the workplace 7:57 Culture is downstream from law 10:28 Conclusion: Make America Competent Again References: - Harold Robertson: Complex Systems Won’t Survive the Competence Crisis - Christopher Caldwell: The Age of Entitlement: America Since the Sixties - Richard Hanania: The Origins of Woke: Civil Rights Law, Corporate America, and the Triumph of Identity Politics Image: Blindside by Michael Kerbow