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Pour a double for this weeks 3WHH, as Lucretia and Steve host Michael Anton to talk about his extraordinary new article, "The Art of Spiritual War, Or, How to (Posthumously) Conquer the World from Your Desk." The author of the famous (or infamous) "Flight 93 Election" article in 2016 covers an amazing amount of ground in a short space, which includes rehabilitating Machiavelli in a certain way, and then asking the big question: What would Machiavelli, rightly understood, do today?
Michael thinks there are some parallels to be drawn between Machiavelli's time—rampant with corruption and failed institutions—and our own. Beginning with the premise that things today are even worse than they look, Anton thinks mere reform won't do—that a real break with the wokerati and our endless constitutional decay requires Machiavellian boldness. As Anton counsels at the end:
"Machiavelli thought BIG. His aim was nothing less than to reorder the world . He was not merely trying something no one ever had, but something no one would believe possible."
And if you bear all the way to the end, you can catch a preview of Michael's possible updating of Plato, called The Woke Republic, in which "Wokerates" takes on the sophists and calculators in ironic defense of freedom.
Hosted by Steve Hayward, with guests "Lucretia" and MAMichael Anton
Discussion (3)
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Excellent discussion! One of your best.
Regarding the Left’s acceptance of “science,” remember, they think academic papers = science, just as they think a Ph.D. In Education has meaning.
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"Patrick Stewart ruined Star Trek". So true, Steven. Always a mistake to give an actor any creative control. I look forward to that episode.
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I knew George Anastaplo. Steve, you’re no George Anastaplo. j/k He spoke frequently at the U of Chicago’s Basic Program weekends.
I once dated a woman I met at UC’s Basic Program. She thought so highly of Machiavelli that I got nervous about her.