Podcasts Education Self-Improvement Conversations with Tyler Ross Douthat on Decadence and Dynamism

Ross Douthat on Decadence and Dynamism

Published: March 25, 2020, noon

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For Ross Douthat, decadence isn\\u2019t necessarily a moral judgement, but a technical label for a state that societies tend to enter\\u2014and one that is perhaps much more normal than the dynamism Americans have come to take for granted. In his new book, he outlines the cultural, economic, political, and demographic trends that threaten to leave us to wallow in a state of civilizational stagnation for years to come, and fuel further discontent and derangement with it.

On his second appearance on Conversations with Tyler, Ross joined Tyler to discuss why he sees Kanye as a force for anti-decadence, the innovative antiquarianism of the late Sir Roger Scruton, the mediocrity of modern architecture, why it\\u2019s no coincidence that Michel Houellebecq comes from France, his predictions for the future trajectory of American decadence \\u2013 and what could throw us off of it, the question of men\\u2019s role in modernity, why he feels Christianity must embrace a kind of futurist optimism, what he sees as the influence of the \\u201cThielian ethos\\u201d on conservatism, the plausibility of ghosts and alien UFOs, and more.

Read a\\xa0full transcript enhanced with helpful links.

Recorded February 25th, 2020

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