The depth of your piece for the return to community impressed me before you even mentioned Jacobs, who also had an impact on me in college. I had not appreciated her reach into broader social issues and these are insightful: "poverty has no causes. Only prosperity has causes” and “We expect too much of new buildings, and too little of ourselves."
Have you ever read Iain McGilchrist? He starts in a very different place than you do but has similar conclusions about what the modern West, in his view, left hemisphere psychotic as a whole, needs: local community, art, body (against gnosticism), and God.
> It’s little different here in the United States. How effective was Elon Musk’s drastic effort to trim the bloat of the federal administrative state (DOGE)?
Depressingly ineffective. Like, *actively* depressing for me. DOGE, when announced, and when it first started was *literally* thirty years of daydreaming about what I'd do if I was in charge of the FedGov come true for me. And then it settled into a limp wet fart in an elevator.
*sigh*
> If there is some plausible possibility of real reform, federal judges will intervene, protests will be organized, journalists will rouse themselves.
Deport those people too. We need to stop letting the opposition weaponize our own principles against us.
The former was... oh... three-quarters in jest. But a decade ago it would have been *fully* in jest.
Covered a lot of ground on this one, James. Bravo!
Couple of points:
1. A decaying system will naturally reach a point where the smart money, instead of helping to fix the system, decides to take advantage of the decay to get theirs at the expense of the system. Not sure if this is a cited law of the universe, but it should be. That's exactly what's going on today.
2. Many Boomers, while they can't be faulted for living in a blessed time for Americans, are certainly resisting change to assist younger generations from enjoying the standard of living that they enjoyed. This is actually a part of #1 above.
i'm already a paying sub. Is there a way I can send you a onetime donation? (You need to be writing for more than minimum wage.)...I'm about two thirds of the way through this beast of a post and plan on making a couple suggestions/ comments once I'm done. Needless to say this is a challenging read, even for those of us who grew up with the printed word and see it as our preferred medium. And also it goes without saying...challenge is good.
Always impressed with how in tune the author is with the contemporary version of the entire spectrum of insanity in America. That being said; the "what" is "to do" is: administer actions regarding the Decloration of Independence clause. Dismantle the USG - ASAP. That institution has gone magnanimously rouge, stolen our money, supported domestic terrorism, and wrecked the very fabric of the USA. The reconstruction process is extremely simple: implement the DAO block chain-saw and put American citizen contributism back in the driver's seat. I'm almost believing that President DJT and Company are making some type of headway in that direction. It's extremely encouraging to know we're pulling out of Germany...
> Average real wages have stayed fairly flat while much of that wealth has been gobbled up by healthcare, as Americans continue to live shorter and sicker lives.
Average real wages have stayed fairly flat since *Nineteen Seventy One*.
The all encompassing "They" have simply become more efficient at skimming the profit in the years of increase of production since.
There is a motherload to dig into here but I'll take one point only. The family (man & woman) is the foundation of civilization. Feminism placed the family itself as a central target. And the more ideological elements of that ideology (some of whom were lesbians) were inclined to outright misandry. Is there any wonder that our sense of purpose has come reached a societal breaking point? Today we are as far as possible from: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 1 Corinthians 13:4
Good essay. I appreciate the mention of individual redemption because I think that is the foundation. I will read it again and comment more.
One note on something that is admittedly a side point in your essay: in that map of Europe about opinions on the duty to have children, Bulgaria is an outlier with 83% agreement. But Bulgaria has lost a quarter of its population since 1985 -- that's a massive loss. How much of that is due to emigration rather than a lack of natality I don't know. I think in a sense Bulgaria is like the dying small towns you mention later in the essay, except when a country depopulates it's the disappearance of a whole people, like the disappearance of the Etruscans or something.
Somewhat related: In Decline of the West (1917), Oswald Spengler predicted that Europe would hold “the sterile male and the unfruitful woman.” Children would no longer be needed because there wouldn't be a reason for their existence. Most recently Niall Ferguson observed that “Europe is depopulating itself at a rate unseen since the Black Death”.
The depth of your piece for the return to community impressed me before you even mentioned Jacobs, who also had an impact on me in college. I had not appreciated her reach into broader social issues and these are insightful: "poverty has no causes. Only prosperity has causes” and “We expect too much of new buildings, and too little of ourselves."
Another amazing essay! I read this while walking home from work. I was too excited and couldn’t wait to get home to read it.
Going to re-read it again on my long train commute to work and likely will take notes. Great work, James 👏🇺🇸
Excellent compendium.
Have you ever read Iain McGilchrist? He starts in a very different place than you do but has similar conclusions about what the modern West, in his view, left hemisphere psychotic as a whole, needs: local community, art, body (against gnosticism), and God.
> It’s little different here in the United States. How effective was Elon Musk’s drastic effort to trim the bloat of the federal administrative state (DOGE)?
Depressingly ineffective. Like, *actively* depressing for me. DOGE, when announced, and when it first started was *literally* thirty years of daydreaming about what I'd do if I was in charge of the FedGov come true for me. And then it settled into a limp wet fart in an elevator.
*sigh*
> If there is some plausible possibility of real reform, federal judges will intervene, protests will be organized, journalists will rouse themselves.
Deport those people too. We need to stop letting the opposition weaponize our own principles against us.
The former was... oh... three-quarters in jest. But a decade ago it would have been *fully* in jest.
> Political violence is always an option as well.
*chuckles darkly*
"It sure is."
Covered a lot of ground on this one, James. Bravo!
Couple of points:
1. A decaying system will naturally reach a point where the smart money, instead of helping to fix the system, decides to take advantage of the decay to get theirs at the expense of the system. Not sure if this is a cited law of the universe, but it should be. That's exactly what's going on today.
2. Many Boomers, while they can't be faulted for living in a blessed time for Americans, are certainly resisting change to assist younger generations from enjoying the standard of living that they enjoyed. This is actually a part of #1 above.
i'm already a paying sub. Is there a way I can send you a onetime donation? (You need to be writing for more than minimum wage.)...I'm about two thirds of the way through this beast of a post and plan on making a couple suggestions/ comments once I'm done. Needless to say this is a challenging read, even for those of us who grew up with the printed word and see it as our preferred medium. And also it goes without saying...challenge is good.
Look for the "Founder" option in subscriptions. The minimum is $100.
Always impressed with how in tune the author is with the contemporary version of the entire spectrum of insanity in America. That being said; the "what" is "to do" is: administer actions regarding the Decloration of Independence clause. Dismantle the USG - ASAP. That institution has gone magnanimously rouge, stolen our money, supported domestic terrorism, and wrecked the very fabric of the USA. The reconstruction process is extremely simple: implement the DAO block chain-saw and put American citizen contributism back in the driver's seat. I'm almost believing that President DJT and Company are making some type of headway in that direction. It's extremely encouraging to know we're pulling out of Germany...
Best Regards,
OD
> Average real wages have stayed fairly flat while much of that wealth has been gobbled up by healthcare, as Americans continue to live shorter and sicker lives.
Average real wages have stayed fairly flat since *Nineteen Seventy One*.
The all encompassing "They" have simply become more efficient at skimming the profit in the years of increase of production since.
I am working my way through this essay, and if you like I can provide constructive feedback that may or may not be useful to you.
Simultaneously generous and offensively condescending. What an offer.
"May not" is a legitimate option. Time is not free. Maybe yours is?
There is a motherload to dig into here but I'll take one point only. The family (man & woman) is the foundation of civilization. Feminism placed the family itself as a central target. And the more ideological elements of that ideology (some of whom were lesbians) were inclined to outright misandry. Is there any wonder that our sense of purpose has come reached a societal breaking point? Today we are as far as possible from: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 1 Corinthians 13:4
Women are Miserable https://read.theunpluggedalpha.com/p/women-got-everything-they-wanted
War on Masculinity https://thefederalist.com/2026/04/30/despite-war-on-masculinity-good-men-stood-up-to-stop-latest-assassination-attempt/
https://www.notonyourteam.co.uk/p/you-may-not-be-interested-in-genes
Good essay. I appreciate the mention of individual redemption because I think that is the foundation. I will read it again and comment more.
One note on something that is admittedly a side point in your essay: in that map of Europe about opinions on the duty to have children, Bulgaria is an outlier with 83% agreement. But Bulgaria has lost a quarter of its population since 1985 -- that's a massive loss. How much of that is due to emigration rather than a lack of natality I don't know. I think in a sense Bulgaria is like the dying small towns you mention later in the essay, except when a country depopulates it's the disappearance of a whole people, like the disappearance of the Etruscans or something.
Somewhat related: In Decline of the West (1917), Oswald Spengler predicted that Europe would hold “the sterile male and the unfruitful woman.” Children would no longer be needed because there wouldn't be a reason for their existence. Most recently Niall Ferguson observed that “Europe is depopulating itself at a rate unseen since the Black Death”.