Note: Thinking about doing a mailbag show for Friday. If anyone has an interesting question, post it up here or on Gab.
President Harry S. Truman famously said is a speech at the end of his career that if it is a choice between a genuine Republican, and a Republican in Democratic clothing, the people will choose the genuine article. He was giving a pre-election pep talk to his fellow Democrats who were downcast at their prospects in 1952. His point was that if you proudly give the voters an alternative to the other option, they will at least consider what you have to say and may even vote for you.
It is interesting to note that the two parties were having a uniparty problem way back in the middle of the last century, but it is the nature of democratic systems. Like all markets, they eventually converge on one dominant market player. It is why we have one operating system maker, two mobile phone makers and so on. In the marketplace, people seek safety, which is a form of protection. As Robert Nozick noted, protection must always lead to a monopoly or something close to it.
Like consumers in a grocery store staring at rows of the same product, people will flock to novelty, even if the market prefers predictability. We are seeing this in Argentina where the voters elected what can best be described as an autistic Austin Powers character as their next president. Javier Milei won Sunday’s run-off against Peronist former Minister of Economy Sergio Massa. It was a stunning victory for a man who promises to radically change the Argentine economy.
Javier Milei is the next in line in what has become a tradition that started with Beppe Grillo a dozen years ago in Italy. He was the former television comic who formed a joke party to run for office, which quickly turned into a social phenomenon. Getting back to what Truman said, given the choice between people acting like clowns, the voters in democracies have repeatedly picked the genuine clowns. Trump, Bolsonaro, Meloni and now Milei have come to power this way.
That is not to say that these eccentric candidates have not come with a real platform and a genuine list of issues. It is that their primary appeal is their eccentricity. A more traditional presentation would have failed, even if the issues were popular, because part of the problem for voters is the dreadful sameness of the candidates. One of the ironies of “our democracy” is it produces gold-plated phonies. The least relatable people on the planet are popular political figures.
Of course, it goes deeper than just a desire for authenticity. The unspoken truth of politics for the last thirty years is the sense that something is deeply wrong, despite the relative material prosperity. One reason so many were so quick to embrace the Covid madness is the sense that we were about to get what we deserved. Mother Nature was about to balance the scales with a great plague. These eccentric candidates are something of a search for absolution by the voters.
There is also an end of time issue with many of them. Italy has been convulsed with populism since Beppe Grillo because no one is able to answer the big question that hangs over every human society. Why does it exist? Italians no longer have a reason to exist, which is why they have stopped having children. People like Grillo and now Meloni offer some hope for a purpose. Their anger and eccentricity are a little bit of light in the gathering darkness of their civilization.
This may be the case in Argentina where they have been ruled by a combination of kleptocrats and maniacs for generations. One party steals the nation’s resources on behalf of international interests in the name of fiscal discipline until the people grow weary of it and replace them with the maniacs. These are the socialists who then start printing money to buy happiness until inflation gets out of control and the banks stop lending them money or accepting pesos for debts.
This is where Argentina is now. They currently have inflation at 120%, a swelling debt crisis and a stagnant economy. In addition to being an entertaining weirdo during the campaign, Milei promised to dollarize the economy, de-unionize the private sector, cut taxes, and restore private property rights. He calls himself a libertarian, but he has not promised to give free weed and porn to children or convert to Bitcoin. Perhaps he is saving that for his second act.
This is where Milei will turn out to be like the other eccentrics that have paraded across the stage of democracies over the last decade. There is little chance he will get any of his agenda implemented. The two main parties still control all of the important institutions, so they will collude to block his initiatives. Another feature of democracy is the controlling parties are incentivized to not address genuine problems. The metastasizing social ills are the systems’ defense mechanism.
In the end, that may be the function of these eccentric populist characters that are turning up in democratic politics. They gain support mostly because they are a break from the dreary reality of the system. If voting is not going to lead to good public policy, then at least it can lead to amusing failure. If food prices rise faster than you can count pesos, then maybe having autistic Austin Powers staring back at you through the television will take your mind off things.
So far that has been the result. Beppe Grillo’s Five Star Movement accomplished nothing, other than helping the EU sidetrack genuine reform. Trump and Bolsonaro, of course, were stymied by the system. Meloni’s angry housewife act remains popular, but her administration is the same as her predecessor. What all of these eccentric characters are, in the end, is proof that there is no voting your way out of the problems of liberal democracy.
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Argentine here
I didn’t vote for Milei, and I didn’t vote for Massa either
I am just ultra jaded about democracy and too bitter for almost everything at this point (And I get more jaded the more anti-human things get).
I sneer at the retards who voted for Milei out of hopium, and I have no illusions about anything.
This is all I have to say.
Cheers
Mailbag request – please give us an understanding of what made you decide to leave the cultural and demographic richness of Lagos for parts unknown. Why now?
Question for Friday’s show: “Does Zman like anybody?”
“… the voters in democracies have repeatedly picked the genuine clowns. Trump, Bolsonaro, Meloni and now Milei have come to power this way.”
I hope Zelenski does not read this. Seems the poor bugger is feeling pretty neglected as it is.
Zelenski didn’t have the guts to make peace…Meloni has already betrayed her voters and is now advocating more immigration…..Z-man wins again!
I stopped trying to understand Argentine economy and culture decades ago. Just like trying to understand Israel and the Arabs/Muslims and the “road to peace”. Argentina went from being a outstanding first-world nation to a basket case. How? I could never understand. Then someone, maybe it was Ed Dutton, pointed out they were slowly flooded with lower IQ people. Makes sense. A crisis of competence. Explains the childish voters who swing from one extreme candidate to another. Each one is their new Messiah. Every election the same pics of cheering ecstatic idiots. I will be long cold in the grave… Read more »
MAILBAG
If a “leader” were to emerge – that is the charismatic, strong-willed person who becomes overwhelmingly popular, would he (she – not likely) come from a background of:
• Juris Doctor
• Military
• Finance/business
• Technology/science
• Activist/reformer
The results are in, and the answer is…. activist/reformer
My vote would be military. In the final analysis, Mao was right. Hopefully, more late stage Patton than Stalin.
Mailsack question: It has been said that diversity, first and perhaps foremost, is an aesthetic problem. Do you agree? Provide the reasoning behind your answer.
“Whether the black of the negro resides in the reticular membrane between the skin and scarf-skin, or in the scarf-skin itself; whether it proceeds from the colour of the blood, the colour of the bile, or from that of some other secretion, the difference is fixed in nature, and is as real as if its seat and cause were better known to us. And is this difference of no importance? Is it not the foundation of a greater or less share of beauty in the two races? Are not the fine mixtures of red and white, the expressions of every… Read more »
for Friday show –
how much of the political divide in the united states is real and how much of it is superficial? In my mind it seems less like Northern Ireland or Yugoslavia and more like internet fandoms juxtaposed into real life.
Here is ‘news’ of yet another “NEW” political great hope. A Turkish Kurd pretending to be Dutch whom the BBC labels “tough” on immigration and supposedly willing to work with Geert Wilders (a supposed anti-immigrant populist who’s a zionist). Another election, another country, another phony. But people keep falling for the latest product, because he/she/it will finally change things.
I don’t care what label anyone supposedly carries – populist, anti-immigrant, libertarian, etc. Until I see unabashed pro-White separatist advocacy, I’m not buying what they’re selling. And I’m continually amazed by how many – here and elsewhere – do.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67399766
Agreed Javier got elected on theatre.
But he won (by a lot), and the other guy didn’t.
And more professionally, he’s an economist who doesn’t like government meddling in business, and says flat out that woke is poison.
At this point I am fully convinced that the elites install guys like Milei just to provide some temporary distraction and to get some cynical people back to voting. The one thing they want from us – the only thing, maybe – is to vote, because it is their way of manufacturing consent. Nothing ever changes though. Look at Italy, people voted for that woman to cut back on immigration and she’s opened the floodgates. In Britain, after Brexit, immigration is higher than ever with no signs of slowing down, except it’s coming from the global south instead of Eastern… Read more »
Mycale: ” . . . you can’t fix the system by participating in the system.” Preach. It doesn’t matter if you put ‘parents’ on the school board or economic reformers in charge of the budget. It’s all theater. They’re all liars. The system co-opts everyone. The problem is democracy and voting itself, all based on the assumptions of equality and representation. Aliens oughtn’t be represented. Nor stronk women with face tackle. Nor the sexually degenerate. Stop rearranging the pieces. Either risk it all by tipping over the board, or personally secede from the filth that is modern ‘society’ and work… Read more »
Here’s something for the mailbag: So lately the left outside of the Democrat establishment has been pretty vehemently anti-Israel over the Gaza invasion. This seems like an opportunity to for us to actually accomplish something for a change, namely diminishing Jewish power by taking away their control over the lefty golem. Most people only want to go along with the ideology that will get them laid at a house party, and our problem has always been existing as the designated bad guys so getting at least something we want pushed by the left would be a win. I guess the… Read more »
Every people have their myths and legends, Jews among them. The issue is that a politically powerful group of them believe it as fact. Given the vicious self entitlement in their myths, this is bad. What is calamitous is that they demand that the rest of the world go along with their bullshit. Every word they utter is a lie (remember that?) they are the people of the lie : the Bronze Age Death cult was founded by Jacob, the Father of Israel, who as we know, was a liar, a thief, a fraud. How else do you explain the… Read more »
oops sorry double post
Here’s something for the mailbag: So lately the left outside of the Democrat establishment has been pretty vehemently anti-Israel over the Gaza invasion. This seems like an opportunity to for us to actually accomplish something for a change, namely diminishing Jewish power by taking away their control over the lefty golem. Most people only want to go along with the ideology that will get them laid at a house party, and our problem has always been existing as the designated bad guys so getting at least something we want pushed by the left would be a win. I guess the… Read more »
Mailbag: Previous generations of racially aware, ethnically sensitive White Americans ignored the duty of maintaining their dominance and instead prioritized everything from Prohibition to landing on the Moon. If a core dissident belief is that people more or less “are what they are”, can we hope for different behavior from White Americans in the future?
Excellent question. It reminds me of when I asked a friend who knows his Spengler really well, if being conscious of the life cycle of a civilization can allow the civilization to avoid its death. He smiled grimly. “Spengler says no.” If there is a solution, it seems to me it must involve: • whites being persecuted enough that they come to see each other as necessary brothers against the other racial tribes who will probably never see beyond race • some kind of religious awakening or some combination of the two. Finally, I would add that previous racially aware… Read more »
It’s certainly true that whites have been a crusading race at least as far back as the crusades. Were they one before that? It’s hard to get the sense that they were. It seems to be connected more with christianity than with anything about the biological nature of whites.
Depends on how you define “crusade”. The Vikings went on many little “crusades”, if you want to think of piracy that way. And why not? Battle was their religion. And come to think of it, a lot of the crusaders were landless second sons, restless and hungry. The Holy Land beckoned and they carved out kingdoms.
If you think of any kind of expansion into space, whether that space is empty or sparsely occupied or crowded, as a crusade, then yes, we are the crusaders par excellence.
I think there’s a clear distinction between crusading and plundering, even if some of the latter went on in what are called The Crusades. Crusading, whether to “liberate” the “holy land,” to free slaves, or to prohibit alcohol, or to make the world safe for sexual degenerates, is imbued with some sense (however true or false) of a higher purpose. Plundering has no such aspirations or illusions.
“…aot of the crusaders were landless second sons, restless and hungry. The Holy Land beckoned and they carved out kingdoms.”
A lot of them were kings in their own right, actually, and many of them beggared themselves crusading in Outremer.
Question: What type of cats do you have? I remember you posting that you have something called jungle cats, or some equivalent, but what are they? I know you have the old one with two new ones, but I have been curious about what they are, as the term seems to be a generic one. How big/ heavy are they? Just my curiosity of visualizing when listening.
Bonus question: On your podcasts, particularly the Sunday ones, you, once or twice a show, have a low frequency boom. Is that you hitting the mic by accident?
I think you misread Z. He mentioned jungle “bunnies,” not cats. They are an unavoidable hazard in Lagos.
No – pretty sure he was talking about a creature that is only semi-feral. 🙂
His Cats live with him, he lives amongst jungle bunnies.
Hope this helps…
For the mailsack: Do you support, by whatever means, the establishment of a purposefully white nation-state? If not, what is your ideal polity, and how would you bring it to pass?
No, because it’s impossible in the real world.
Not voting your way out was cemented at least as far back as FDR. Maybe folks could have voted their way out with Huey Long, had he lived, but after that it was too late. Or maybe his death is evidence that it was already too late. The Permanent State was firmly in place. From that point, national politics became a contest not between who could control it, but between who it would tolerate. As Mark Knopfler sang, “The Man’s too big, The Man’s too strong.” It’s really been an incredible run, when you think about it, that it took… Read more »
Speaking of Huey – just viewed an old movie (circa 1950) All The Presidents Men. Loosely based on his life, and interesting to note the Hollywood take on politics then (as well as parallels to now).
Just in case other people might want to watch it, it’s All the King’s Men. Excellent book as well. All the President’s Men is an propaganda film for the empire, about Watergate.
I wonder how many self righteous idiots intent on speaking truth to power were inspired just by that movie alone to become “journalists.”
mycale – thanks the correction
Based on the book written by Robert Penn Warren. The book is better than the movie.
Also don’t forget the great T Harry Williams biography, which was a major inspiration for the Randy Newman album “Good Old Boys” and the terrific “Kingfish” song.
“Clown,” like “comedian” and many other public roles, are forms of acting. Politician might well be consider as acting. Trump, Milei, and others are well received by members of the constituency which chooses, and this is what we can see when we aren’t distracted by grease paint. The Jewish Telegraph Agency gushes over him: Milei’s passionate love of Judaism and Israel has been one of the several unexpected qualities that Argentines and political analysts have become accustomed to during his rapid rise over the past year. He demonstrates his passion for Judaism at rallies and public events, often walking out… Read more »
Many theories abound on this phenomenon. I’m of the Occam’s Razor camp on it. The simplest explanation is the most likely. He is aware who the controllers of the world are. May as well bend the knee publicly particularly if you are an eccentric outsider if you want to even get on the dance card. Doubly so, if you want to win. I’ve also heard it is part of his minstrel act, not to be taken too seriously. It is 1488D chess and he is actually a master gaslighter who will position himself with the tribe only to later pull… Read more »
George Wallace’s observation in 1968 that there wasn’t a dime’s worth of difference between the two parties now seems remarkably prescient.
with inflation and devaluation of money – that dimes’ difference down to about a penny’s worth nowadays
To the Z man and all other commentators: drop this autistic stuff. Autism is a disease. Milei is anything but from what I have seen. He is gregarious and engaging (anti-autistic if anything). His problem is that his libertarian philosophy is a pipe dream and his program could only be pushed through in a dictatorship. Liberal democracy is unreformable. Let us hope it is not also indestructible.
Hwell actually autism is not a disease, it’s a birth defect
I’m not sure if disease is the right term, Autism is a condition, it occurs on a spectrum, a large number of great men/scientists were clearly Atustic, its just the condition had yet to be described at the time. Newton, Tesla, Maxwell ……
Musk seems to have a touch of Autism, I think he admits it too. But then again if you think you have Autism, maybe you don’t
The first diagnoses of autism were in the 1940s by a child psychologist named Kanner (it was once known as Kanner’s autism). He was the pre-eminent American child psychologist of the time and recognized autism as a new phenomenon. The attempt to associate prominent figures of the past with autism is part of a psy-op to minimize the severity of autism and to obscure the meteoric rise in diagnoses in the last thirty years or so. Along with this is the attempt to characterize autism as a genetic condition, as though genes could explain a greater than hundredfold incidence in… Read more »
I’m still hoping to find that autistic savant that can provide me with investing tips—
“autism” is what they call childhood vaccine dammage.
when I was in school in the 60’s and 70’s it did not exist. It;s not that it was undiagnosed , ther were no boys with that particular set of symptoms .
Correct. Dr.Robert Naviaux at UCSD believes the condition is caused by the cell danger response, induced by a toxic insult to the brain. The CDR prevents proper cell communication.He is cagey about exactly what that insult is but cites the administration of multiple vaccines at once as a risk factor (administration of multiple vaccines at once is a routine practice).
Read all about it:
http://naviauxlab.ucsd.edu/science-item/autism-research/
Its a witty neologism and a meme more than anything. You sound like a Human Resources Manager Wine Aunt, lighten up Francis…
THIS IS NOT SPAM
https://youtu.be/qdbfJeI1Y1I?si=8MV847WY_s_H_AUP
“People like Grillo and now Meloni offer some hope for a purpose.”
A completely fake and gay false hope. Vox Day made a post just yesterday with the following quote:
“Italy’s Meloni is now pushing for more immigration after running her election campaign on stopping immigration.”
The Argentine clown has proclaimed his love for Israel and open borders.
Under all the clown makeup lies a bunch of demonic satanists who are just as hell bent on destroying nations as their “mainstream” counterparts.
I’m afraid you’re right on that one, Tars.
It’s because no one who is actually based is going to want to go into politics. Imagine having to work around all those slimy compulsive liar sex perverts all day long. And the greasy little shits trying to climb the ladder working for you, remember those dorks in college that did their little United Nations D&D? The college kids that were already wearing suits and speaking to you with insincere friendliness? Those are the kids that go into politics.
For Friday Mailbag Show: You mentioned on a recent “Power Hour” that BLM and Antifa were “run from the Obama White House.” I never heard that before. Can you talk some more about that?
Thank you.
Z is correct about that . they are fed led and trained .
Let’s not forget Zelenskyy, who was an actual, professional clown but is now being upheld as a paragon of democracy. Yet he is very much a frontman for The System, which indicates that the wire-pullers know damn well they can bamboozle the rubes with a clown when it suits their interests. Plato understood 2,500 years ago that the hoi polloi would always support the guy who could put on the best show in the Assembly. When you get right down to it, we have had a fair number of professional clowns in our politics who were endorsed by the Establishment… Read more »
Jesse Ventura, too.
The main reason why Ukrainians voted for Zelensky (besides the heavy advertising campaign on TV), was that he promised to end the war in Donbas and to come to some sort of an agreement with Russia. Once in power, he did the opposite and it appears that everybody forgot his promises.
Thoughts for Friday–in a perfect world, no one could stand for public office until/unless they could demonstrate they had successfully run a business (without major government assistance) for at least 5 years. This would eliminate much of the “straight from college to politics” teatsuckers. And age limitations would be another biggie, everyone out at age 62. Also, after 8 years of any kind of public service, whether elected OR appointed, they could not remain in public service ever again so it would behoove them to act quickly on issues so as to leave a “lasting legacy”. Then the only 30… Read more »
In a white society where women couldn’t vote, something like that would probably work pretty well. Until some opportunistic office holders decided to change it. Standing for public office at all is part of the problem.
Yes, it’s tempting and fun to try to construct the perfect constitution that will anticipate all future problems and solve them before they arise. Our founders made an excellent attempt. But ultimately, the success of a nation comes down to the people.
It’s like that old jab at gold bugs, “If you believe that the financial system is so corrupt that only a gold standard can fix it, then that very corruption will make reform impossible.”
I think searching for the perfect constitution is a misdiagnosis; the problem is cultural and going even further upstream to becoming biological.
“They currently have inflation at 120%, a swelling debt crisis and a stagnant economy.” There have been periods when inflation has been in the thousands of percent and even in the ten thousands of percent. The debit crisis is another mainstay of the Argentinian economy, as well as a faltering economy. If you look at the history, things were hunky-dory until 1914. Argentina was and has been an exporter of agricultural and meat products. Until 1914 it was an advanced society, with a per capital income twice that of Italy and Spain. And hence it attracted migrants from these countries.… Read more »
I think our fundamental problems are cultural not economic. And Argentina seems like a busted flush of a country. Major food producers, reasonably high IQ/western population, amble land, not exactly crowded. This should have been a success story. Instead it’s the macro version of a bum that used to be successful. Cultural idiocy must be why they went down the drain.
But one small economic idea, which is not original; except when in a declared state of war, no deficit spending, period. Culture and fiscal discipline are related, both on macro and micro levels
“no deficit spending, period”
If you are an Argentinian, you know that there’s tremendous pressure for deficit financing. The trade unions are powerful and vociferous in their demands. Other sectors of society are also vociferous. Street protests are common. You probably remember 2000, when five presidents changed in four weeks — because of street demos.
My knowledge of Argentinian history is not so great — maybe when the generals were in power in the ’70s and early ’80s, with their reign of terror, there was not much protesting?
Which is probably why this cannot be resolved within liberal democracy
“I think our fundamental problems are cultural not economic.”
Would you elaborate on why you feel this way? I don’t disagree that we have massive cultural problems that are probably more important to us than the economic problems. However, the way I see it, the US has massive economic problems that are probably at least partially responsible for the cultural problems.
Our main exports are variations of clown masks in the form of music, movies and software along with machinery. We’re running trillion Dollar (945B)yearly trade deficits.
What I mean is, the culture produces the politics. Culture today promotes greed, legal loophole gaming, short-term gratification. In short total frivolity. This is strikingly reminiscent of Rome, golden age Arabia, ancient China, ancient India, before they nosedived and we’re overrun by foreigners.
Frivolity produces nihilism and cynicism. The main purpose of a culture is to produce meaning. We must get back to a culture that can deliver that. That is far more important than being able to produce artillery shells and microchips again
I’d agree. There are various studies that show that once a country’s debt to GDP exceeds 100%, things tend to go very badly. Certainly, once you get to 120% or higher. But I believe that the economists had it backward. It’s not the debt that destroys the society; it’s the society that got the debt to 100% or above that destroys society. Sure, having debt to GDP above 100% is going to cause problems for a society, but something is wrong with your leaders and society in general that gets the debt above 100% in the first place – outside… Read more »
Exactly how I see it. Outside major war, it is a symptom when a country can’t live within it’s means
“According to the latest version of Lynn and Becker’s dataset, Argentina has an average IQ of 87 – roughly the same as Mexico, Uruguay, Turkey and Tajikistan.”
Fuck you, Argentina is not white country
It’s filled with mongrel that crossbreed with Mayans
Argentina’s problems arise from Argentina’s incorrigibly childlike people (mostly European and papist). Since the people with diarrheamouth won’t let theirselves be corrected, the solution is obvious. The children of Europe must be crushed throughout Argentina, and their precious Jew must be driven into the sea—or put down on the land with his inferiors. In fact, why don’t we just admit that this is much of the solution needed for ALL of América, from the Arctic to Isla Hornos? 531 years of Abrahamic cryptosecularism and Western despotism is 531 too many. That dirty, rotten stuff needs to go.
I’ll bet you were even holding your keyboard sideways for that too.
Yes little shit brown goblina mestizos were really living the dream prior to the arrival of the White man. Human sacrifice and subsistence living are great! You people are fucking delusional in your hatred, I very much hope you get exactly what you wish for & deserve.
What should also be mentioned is that Argentina toward the end of the 19th century instituted a “population replacement program” through immigration the like of which we so decry here today. Except at that time it was from European nations. The strongman at the time had little use for a primarily Indio population. It worked and made Argentina *the* standout country of South America. The USA is now going to be proof that such replacement can be good—or bad—depending on the quality of the immigrants encouraged. We will demonstrate the reverse of the Argentinean “experiment”—how a primarily European population can… Read more »
The problem is they got their immigrant working class populations from Naples + Italian points further South as well as Spanish Galicia — i.e. the human dregs of Western Europe. Peoples who were despised in their own countries of origin.
Argentina was always pretty White — not polite to ask what happened to the original inhabitants roaming the Pampas. Apparently now there is massive illegal immigration of Browns from neighbouring counties — encouraged by the Argie Left because never hurts to have more client voters.
Either way, poor human stock –> poor outcomes.
Mailbag Question:
As the technocracy becomes more and more entrenched, to the point where we will see CBDC’s, AI driven policy decisions (with expected disastrous results), and drones taking over boots on the ground both domestically and internationally, are we going to see an age of technocratic repression before the competency crisis takes it all down, or will the crisis hit before they have a chance to get off the ground at all?
I still think that Europe is going to be the leading indicator of what comes next after the collapse. One of their weaker economies will fall first and start a domino effect that results in serious and widespread social unrest. And we will be able to learn a lot based on how things evolve there when it happens. But South America could beat them to the punch and Argentina is a likely candidate to get the ball rolling if that pans out. Triple digit inflation leads to endless social stress which eventually must be released. Massive street protests are the… Read more »
Europe are colonies of GAE and it’s subdivision the EU. Hungary is a place to watch to see what happens if a third tier colony tries even a little sovereignty. GAE has a thousand different tools to fence off the reservation.
Rebellion will not start in Europe until GAE and the EU are much weaker.
What is interesting is how we have allowed our soi-disant elites to define the important concepts of our society; two examples:
1. Democracy, rule by the people, has been reduced to the ritual of voting whereas it should be a system of distributed decision making.
2. A long the same lines, free market capitalism has come to mean markets controlled by a few, favoured, actors, whereas it ought to mean lots of buyers and sellers together with the ruthless suppression of monopoly
The European blogger Kynosarges has a similar argument in 2019 where he castigated the short-sightedness of right wing populism, which he believes has six major deficiencies: 1. Right-wing populists have no awareness of the depth of the [societal] problem and the necessity of a massive social transformation. 2. Right-wing populists consider metapolitics irrelevant. They view our plight as strictly a matter of state policy, therefore solvable by the legislative and executive branches (which is understandable given point 1). 3. Right-wing populists do not command parliamentary majorities or sole governments – neither in the past nor in the present, nor likely… Read more »
Thanks for that excerpt. The analysis is excellent and I’ll read all of it now.
“No Western constitution has a decidedly identitarian foundation, nor is there any trend in that direction.”
In LineInTheSand’s Republic, the constitution would be short and the most important sentences would be: the highest goal of this government is to promote the flourishing of the white people within its lands. No law can be made, or government action taken, which contradicts this highest goal.
In Kozelskiistan that statement would be otiose because there would be nothing but white people.
We’ve seen that white people are often their own worst enemy.
There is nothing fair in this world/
There is nothing safe in this world/
And there’s nothing sure in this world/
And there’s nothing pure in this world.
Still, I’d rather take my chances with a lily white populace than with a diverse one.
Excellent starting point. Now we need to build a creed around that idea. Bring a faith to a holy war….
Did the people of El Salvador vote themselves out of the problems of liberal democracy? Bukele seems to be correcting many of the problems that plagued that country. He is wildly popular so he would probably be reelected even if his governing style is somewhat authoritarian.
Maybe we need to elect an authoritarian who wants to improve his country and not loot it? Singapore and South Korea seemed to follow this path.
Just musing on my part as I do not know the intricacies of El Salvador’s politics.
It may be worth noting that South Korea has the lowest birthrate in the world with Singapore following very closely.
Singapore and South Korea are prototype globohomo societies, tests for what to do to the rest of us. Singapore is a refinement of Brazil, of (you could call it) libertarian apartheid, with a small free consumer class and a repressed servant mass that barely touch, roughly on the “fifteen minute” model that England is implementing. South Korea is super-America, operating on no principle but anti-masculinity, with everything that’s not female or gay being “phased out” (especially reproduction). It’s easy to mistake them for high-function/high-trust societies because they’re full of well-behaved East Asians. What they’re doing is dying politely.
For the mailbag: “You cannot reform an illegitimate system by participating in it.” – quoting myself here. Discuss. Are these clown candidates actually the voters demonstrating that they are increasingly aware not only that the current system is broken, but that it is fundamentally illegitimate? So they send candidates who are illegitimate in the eyes of the ruling class to the Capitol to create chaos. Trump’s policies were stymied, but his real purpose (I think you called him “the mule” years ago) was to disrupt the system and illustrate the core illegitimacy of our current system. Within 6 months of… Read more »
As I’m not the first to note, South Africa is a great argument against accelerationism. In the face of failure and collapse after 30 years of one party ANC rule, they are clinging to the rainbow as hard as ever.
Agreed, and what comes next always may be worse, but wasn’t SA initially propped up by Britain and America and now by China/BRICS? Which is to say, accelerationism will not work if there is a backstop for the lunacy.
Everything must be weighed against the alternative. Acceleration no different. Since collapse is inevitable for real change to occur, then the faster, the better. That SA suffers to this day as its collapse is prolonged is not an argument against acceleration—not if you believe in inevitable collapse. SA is simply an example of how long collapse can take in a first world Western country. It is an interesting experiment in testing the limits of “Smart Fraction” theory in the meantime.
It’s an interesting comparison given that we live in a country that, like the SA Apartheid government, is ruled by a minority population that lacks popular legitimacy. We have a strange inverse of SA. Instead of being banished to tribal lands, the tribes are bussed INTO communities for the express purpose of breaking up those communities. Various HUD programs moved blacks out of the inner cities and into white suburbs…driving whites to the exurbs as crime waves followed. Blacks have not been spared as Latin Americans are dropped off in black neighborhoods where they are cratering whatever is left of… Read more »
All good point. It also raises something for the mail bag:
Is the GAE ruling by brute force at this point? It certainly appears so with the indictment and trial of Trump and open disregard for the Rule of Law. Mao’s axiom that all power comes from the barrel of a gun seems to have been adopted openly but it would be nice to hear Z’s musings on it.
Brute mediocrity. The only people that care about Donald John are the media and political classes. Maybe a bunch in academia as well. This sounds like a lot, but nobody likes journalists, politicians, and academics are highly suspect. This is just a Latin American soap opera being staged by and for the 60% who are smart enough to read and understand Harry Potter but lack critical and lateral thinking skills. The reason why it happens is because 60% is a lot of people.
I really like “brute mediocrity.”
Not until they throw him in jail. Right now they’re warning each other against doing this, because they fear a wave of political assassinations. Our shared fragility is how exposed everyone is to their neighbors. I think with COVID they found they couple shove people around a lot further than they realized. But that only lasted about 10-12 months and then people started disobeying which is bad. By the end, the FAA was literally the only government office sort of holding the whole power grab together via mask mandates. They were able to hold people hostage for a total of… Read more »
ZMAN “no one is able to answer the big question that hangs over every human society. Why does it exist? Italians no longer have a reason to exist, which is why they have stopped having children. ”
That’s it! Well said.
That is exactly the big question.
And one that each of us really needs to ask ourselves, and keep asking ourselves until we have an answer that – over time, and under stress – remains solid.
Mailbag Q:
Any chance in the not too distant future of a Zman secret handshake meeting now that you’ve escaped Lagos?
As long as we’re posing questions for Z Man’s next podcast, I’ll offer one. “…proof that there is no voting your way out of the problems of liberal democracy.” Over the years, you’ve made a strong case against liberal democracy. However, even though I am a fairly consistent reader and listener, I don’t have a sense of what systems that you may prefer as possible replacements. If I were to guess, I would say that you are waiting for the great white awakening, which we hope has more ontological substance than the great pumpkin, and then that after that, you… Read more »
There may be no voting our way out of this, but the elections of people like Trump and Milei are a good sign. As Apex Predator was pointing out yesterday, the Milei’s victory isn’t really about Milei. It’s about the people being willing to break away from system and vote for an outsider. Sure, you could argue that he’s not really an outsider and maybe that’s true. But the point is that the people think that he’s an outsider. Same with Trump. It’s a sign of progress, a sign that the people are rejecting the system and, more importantly, the… Read more »
“Regime awareness” goes mainstream as protest candidates are railroaded or exposed as fakes. Which is a necessary waypoint
I had no idea where this was going until you mentioned Argentina amd then I started laughing. “Autistic Austin Powers” lol
Mailbag question; if elections are not a viable option for genuine reform, what alternative attempts to end the current regime should the DR pursue?
It will require a revolution and a means of dispersing power away from the megacities. The Federal Reserve system must go away. A strictly limited franchise must be put in place: only white males of means and IQ should be allowed to vote. Can this be achieved nationally? NO. The country must be broken up into autonomous regions with the power of veto over any federal legislation they do not like. If the regional powers cannot regain a sense of ethnic identity, then they will sink into a cesspool of diversity from which it will be impossible to escape. May… Read more »
I think you’re right and that suggests we should focus on surviving chaos (“prepping”) and on subverting the already shrinking legitimacy of clownocracy
Yes, the vision of Harold Covington.
arthur bryant: As dated as the Covington books are (no facial recognition cameras and smartphones and invasive tech everywhere), I still find myself referring back to them because they contain so many excellent ideas.
A clearly-defined White nation and government. Prohibition and punishment of degeneracy. No importing others to do requisite manual labor. A sense of loyalty to society. Lower level civic autonomy, with an overarching authoritarian state.
I would put more controls on women (in politics and society in general) than Covington proposes, but the books are still an excellent starting point and blueprint.
People are slowly coming around to that idea because all other options are being taken off the table for them…At the very basic level White People will have to Tribe Up or they will cease to exist… Maybe that’s a Topic Z could address and that is why Tribe is important when society breaks down…
Yep, the first time that I saw a picture of Melei, I thought of Austin Powers. Odd choice to pattern your wardrobe after, but, hey, it’s different.
I’ve known people from Argentina but never been there. Now I imagia place with 70s fashion. I guess that’s an improvement from what passes for stylish here
I’m going to laugh if Melei shows up at his inauguration wearing a psychedelic Nehru jacket.
Krusty, this is your time…
Had to buy some hull paint for my boat. Prices are up 50% over last year.
Can’t resist the old joke:
“The day I bought my boat was the second happiest day of my life.”
“What was the happiest day of your life?”
“The day I sold my boat.”
Break out another thousand.
Totally off-topic but did you hear the joke about the guy who left a piano accordion on the back seat of his unlocked car in downtown SF? When he came back later there were two piano accordions on the back seat of his now locked car.
Zman, happy to see you’ve come back strong after your brief illness.
(I’m feeling miserable myself these last couple of days, so I’m taking inspiration from your example.)
A pleasant Thanksgiving to you and your commenters.
Question: Has any right-wing leader in the last 100 years accomplished anything without an Army behind him/her?
Maybe only Reagan (although he screwed up immigration bigtime) and Thatcher (ditto). Orban has slowed the descent of Hungary. I cannot think of anyone else. All the others were strongmen types (Franco, Pinochet, De Gaulle)
What do you all think?
Through his vice-president, Milei has significant military support. I live (20 yrs) in the country, am bilingual and do lots of research. I participated in the campaign and have agreed to work with a committee designed to form coalitions with local, “county” and provincial parties, this from a guy who’s never much bothered with politics. I’m a long way from throwing in the towel on Milei, more so on the platform. I’m also a long way from being alone on this.
The hard power of military backing is rather unique for an outsider. Up here, starting with Obama and likely before, the military was denuded of anyone suspected of dissidence.
In the end Mao is still right, all power flows through the barrel of a gun Libertarian Austin Powers may have all kinds of ideas he wants to implement. But the only way to make progress in Argentina is to stop borrowing money and run a balanced budget, if he even tries that, my bet is the left will try to shut the place down with strikes and protests Salazar in Portugal should be the model to copy, a degenerate Libertarian would hate Salizar Most Libertarians in the US are Goldbugs, Argentina is so bad they see the $ as… Read more »
(((They))) Live: ” But the only way to make progress in Argentina is to stop borrowing money and run a balanced budget . . .”
Never let reaganism die, eh?
What Argentina needs is a coherent national identity, a homogeneous populace, and heavily controlled borders. Then one can attempt to implement a culture of meritocracy and/or fiscal restraint.
The foundation of it all is human capital. Without that understanding and basis, you end up with XINO and policy wonks.
Exactly no one wants to talk about the root of the disease they always want to talk about the symptoms and how to treat them which keeps the society they live in within a constant state of sickness…I wonder if it’s because it will keep them up at night if they do…
In Re Human Capital:
At best Buenos Aires was never going to be more than Naples with grass-fed beef and the Bandoneon.
Now they should be so lucky.
Doesn’t look to me as though it was too bad.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1726721169116819926.html
@3g4me: Neither was the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies looking too shabby. Ask any Italian from points further North of Rome about Naples today and he’ll just mutter ‘Africa’… and he’s not even talking about the illegal immigrants :). Things were great in Argentina until they weren’t. They were a people who could only flourish and build during a resources boom (Other People invented refrigerated shipping for their beef or would never have been any boom time ). First hint of the cold winds of austerity and they fell apart. Compare and contrast with the more Teutonic bits of Southern… Read more »
My mailbag question: Dissident politics is more or less the project of reversing all the claims of The Enlightenment: men are not equal, democracy is a scam, women do not have a place in politics, hierarchies should be supported not destroyed, etc. Wouldn’t this extend to the idea of freedom of religion? Obviously, a society that refuses to establish a church will find its enemies establishing one for it. You only need to look at the American experience or, for the more historically inclined, have a look at the early years of Maryland. So, if a person who insists all… Read more »
This is a good topic.
And I agree, freedom of religion is destructive and its ultimate purpose is subversion.
Yes, you’re exactly right. The idea of free religion (and its close corollary, free speech) are not traditional values and are in fact the fundamental wellspring of all the other Enlightenment problems you mentioned. You’ve pretty much put your finger on that part. A Church which claims to be the repository of a unique revelation concerning the salvation of mankind, but which doesn’t act like it (by, say, taking the greatest care about doctrinal purity, insisting on the traditional rites, condemning heresy, and punishing heretics if they are obstinate) is no Church at all. People will pick up on that… Read more »
We have a replacement “church” and its dogma is brutally enforced. Your point is taken in that the void will be filled.
One point not mentioned is the government’s support of religion via the churches (tax exempt status, grants, parochial schools, etc.). The churches have been emboldened to step into the public sector and politics. Since there is no national religion, or church, we have a pretty messy unification problem. But even if there were a national religion or church, what of it if others were still inclined to be more political organizations rather than spiritual. UK has a national Church and they are little better off as I see it. One wonders what would happen if more churches took the “…render… Read more »
I know this is your secondary rather than primary point, but, as has been noted by some big-brain or other, tolerance is the virtue of a dying civilization.
Not only will there be very little freedom of religion, there will be very little free speech. Or, more to the point, Leftist speech will be forbidden and its authors punished severely. As we now know, Leftism is the death watch beetle in any society. It must be crushed before it has an opportunity to infest.
Curse you Zman! You keep dashing my hopes that we will somehow vote our way out of this. Seriously, any way you study it it most certainly appears we’re not voting our way out of this. I think most people understand this intuitively but they keep voting anyway for the same reason they root for their favorite sports teams.
Tom K: Laziness, normalcy bias, fear of change, comfort above all.
Truth right there Sister…It boggles my mind that even in the face of genocide White People still won’t act in unity to prevent it… Looking at South Africa you can see what’s in store for us and yet no one wants to Build an Orania…
If you deign to run for office, you are part of the problem. I don’t care how loveable you are with piercing blue eyes, like Milei. These people may be decent, but they are decently deranged. Even a small company (such as the one I work at) won’t abide an aggressive newbie full of piss and vinegar, much MUCH less a sovereign government controlling millions of people and billions of dollars. We need a Caesar…maybe not a military Caesar, but a Caesar of the boardroom. Someone who looks good, can sell ideas, get along with people, inspire confidence, which leads… Read more »
“We need a Caesar…maybe not a military Caesar…”
A Caesar without an army is no Caesar at all. You are imagining things that are impossible. Caesar could do what he did because he had eleven legions behind him.
We on our side must — absolutely must — come to understand that no man, no program, no platform, no clever idea, can possibly succeed without force.
The other side sees this clearly — as did Napoleon, Lenin, Sulla, Washington, Cromwell and all such men. Why can’t we? Have we really become too delicate to understand the demands of History?
“A Caesar without an army is no Caesar at all.”
This x1000. When differences cannot be bridged with compromise, it always comes down to the killing. The institutional left all over the West has abandoned the cause of defense of the working class against oligarchy and take up the cause of facilitating the genocide of their own peoples. There is no compromise possible here.
Well, the Left did not come to absolute power by force…nor did liberal democracy for that matter. It came because a few confident guys persuaded moneyed interests and other influencers, then BIG moneyed interests, and then comes the political, financial, and military systems. Other civilizations are powered by big men who kill. Our Western civilization is currently run by managerial types who love narratives and abstract concepts. I wonder if we don’t need Caesar’s army as much as we need Caesar’s graph charts. Not exactly Bronze Age, but maybe this is the key to the same bloodless revolution that the… Read more »
Which is why JC did not cross the Rubicon alone!
Amen Brother and I would have to say Yes to the question you asked…
That’s the wrong way to look at our situation. Forget the big, dramatic event. We need to a million little events to slowly create our own communities that slowly gain more and more autonomy. Boring but far more likely than a Caesar.
“We need to a million little events to slowly create our own communities that slowly gain more and more autonomy.”
Such communities are being demolished by a rapacious ruling class right before your eyes. Your fantasy about “autonomy” runs directly counter to the absolute demands of the State. What do intend to do about it?
My last sentence perfectly describes your attitude.
You play the hand that you’re dealt. At the moment, we truly are dissidents. The state has the power and there’s no chance that we can confront that power with a force of our own. The best that we can do for now is try and build local communities (very quietly) and wait for the system to slowly break down, which it is doing. Now, if we were a more cohesive group with people willing to die or go to jail for the cause, sure, we could cripple TPTB. The Irish Troubles come to mind. Our rulers absolutely can deliver… Read more »
“The state has the power and there’s no chance that we can confront that power with a force of our own.”
Then what of the Vietcong? Of the Taliban?
The system is indeed slowly breaking down, but like a wounded animal, it is here that it is most dangerous
I was thinking of the “Irish Troubles” as well. A few hundred Provos kept the British Army occupied for thirty years. Such an outcome is certainly possible. As is Spain 1936 – 1939. Or, as in a Matt Bracken nightmare, “Bosnia x Rwanda”.
The Vietcong and Taliban had men willing to die for their cause. We don’t. The Vietcong also had outside help. But, yes, I agree that our system and rulers are in a very weak position. It’s why they’re always hysterical. They have no real support. The various law enforcement and military personnel are beginning to realize that they aren’t beloved by the rulers, but they have nice jobs and nice pensions. They don’t want to lose that. But the competent members of those organizations don’t have real loyalty to the system. It’s just about the money. But a pension doesn’t… Read more »
@Mike Austin:
Always good to see a comment from you. I take it the peccaries found you indigestible.
Do you follow Founding Questions? I reckon site owner Severian would jump at offer of a guest article on Central American realities.
Central power is becoming more decrepit and illigitimate with each passing day. In less than half a century, it will be too weak to project force to the hinterlands of AINO let alone the GAE. It is then that we secede, and we won’t need 11 legions to do it. Of course, many of us will be dead before that happens. Not very satisfying perhaps, but them’s the breaks.
Dear Zaphod: I just returned from three months of solo backpacking and hiking in Guatemala. I was waiting in the jungles of Peten for those damn peccaries. They never showed, the cowards. As for “Founding Questions”: I know nothing about it. I do, however know, that after living for fifteen years south of the Rio Grande and spending my time looking for lost cities, gold mines and hidden pyramids, and being being chased by Latin American militaries and Indigenous tribes, I have learned a few things about how things really are on the ground in Central and South America. Most… Read more »
@MikeAustin:
All the best for your non-jungly Third Act. When Marvel grows up a little you still have the High Plains Drifter type thing to enjoy. No small thing.
You might enjoy the tone and comments at Founding Questions. Guest posts from domain experts are welcomed and popular. Worth googling. You’ll know you’ve found the right place when you see the fine and tasteful escutcheon he’s got parked as the site header.
(I no longer comment at AD — the Usual Suspect demi-relict of G liketh me not. A puzzlement!)
Right, but I think that is happening on a very small scale with the ongoing dissolution and fragmentation. Covid came to an “end” because governors and mayors were straying off the plantation. That’s hardly a precise analogy but bolsters your point.
The IRA had state backing(US) and didn’t tie up much of the British army. The RUC was the main manpower weapon wielded by the British intelligence agencies. The IRA were treated with kid gloves because of US support and the British elite couldn’t give a fig about Northern Ireland.The IRA also became a creature of the Left so had all kinds of gobal support and the usual Leftist ability to break all the rules and suffer no consequences. Using the IRA as a model: get a foreign power’s support and operate in a part of the country the elite is… Read more »
Calling Don Draper–
> We need a Caesar… As many have noted, a Caesar is not possible without legions supporting him. That is simply not possible in the modern world. The best we could hope for would be a Putin. A patriot from within the system who’s deep understanding of how the system operates allows him to both advance his agenda and neutralize his opposition. Someone with a *long* memory, diplomatic and patient but ruthless. Who always rewards his loyal allies and finds a way to not just punish, but utterly destroy his enemies. Scanning the list of clowns, diversity hires, and dual-citizens… Read more »
Our Caesar is a dude who no one’s heard of. He may only be 4 years old now. Or yet to be born. He will take advantage of the situation: if the GAE is still functioning, he will take advantage of a dissident or non-aligned faction, curry favor with them and other skeptics, and win them over with his alpha-male qualities, and most importantly will lift the fortunes and fame of those around him. People will want a piece of his action. He will throw a giant spotlight on the System, not unlike what Trump did. The media will try… Read more »
Precisely. He’ll rise through the system, perhaps just one office, the Presidency, and then work like hell to retain that office/power. This of course can only be done via the destruction of the old process/system. That destruction might be “rule based” or via violence. That will be the way our “democracy” dies/restructures and a new political system arises to take its place. There are ample precedents. Folk hate to use the Weimar Republic, but it seems reasonable here. Mustache man held one office, Chancellor. He worked like hell to change the elected legislature to his party and when Hindenburg died,… Read more »
That man? Gavin Newsome.
What sort of person seeks office in a “democracy”? A person so crazed by the desire for power that she will say and do anything to attain it, and even more to retain it. No person who gets elected, should.
Unlike Trump and other phonies, there seems to now be a large number of predictions that Milei will obviously fail to accomplish much of anything.
Perhaps some part of the right is finally learning.
Then there is also another contingent on X-twitter that is very upset with these predictions of failure, so there are still many who refuse to learn.
“Unlike Trump”
What I meant to say here is that unlike right after Trumps victory, there I are more people who see are seeing through the act and not giving in to unjustified enthusiasm.
Sorry, I should have proofread before hitting the post button.
Baconbits: Everyone wants a leader and a hero to call his own. Pick your favorite policy wonk/online celebrity or politician – every Jordan Peterson and Ben Shapiro and Thomas Sowell and , God help us, something called Vivek. For whatever reason, people persist in pinning their hopes on someone like Milei – or Meloni – or even the AfD – and think someone else will solve all their problems.
This time, they say, we’ve found the right man. This time, they say, things will work out differently. This time . . .
We all are waiting for “Superman”. However, why not? Yes, it’s as probable as hitting the lottery, but yet I still play. What does one individual do against the system that can arguably effect change? Not much. We do what we can in whatever ways we can, but short of that we must hope for Superman to arrive.
Question for your Friday show: What is your answer to the low birthrate problem plaguing whites? My answer: Return to the Catholic faith all our ancestors once believed in: not only no abortion, but no contraception and no divorce. Granted the current leadership, beginning with Pope F, is failing badly, even pushing heresy. But when when I got to traditional, Latin Mass parishes, I see many children. It’s true some Evangelical Protestants have large families. But Protestantism always splits into factions, such as those currently hoping the Israel-Hamas War brings on the End Times. Mormonism has large families, but is… Read more »
Are the Catholic laity totally impotent? Or just unconcerned or uninformed or just stupid? They/you *can* take action; there’s no need to wait for a restorationist pope or for anything or anybody else to “do something.” There was, after all, Archbishop Lefebvre, and there is Vigano in Italy and (former) Bishop Strickland and Taylor Marshall in Texas and plenty of others. Get to it! Ignore or defy Francis. The Pachamama Alliance has done it with remarkable results. Cut off the money except to those parishes and dioceses . and organizations that are contending for what is right. Whatever. But waiting… Read more »
It’s going to be weird in a couple generations when the majority of Catholics still going to Church will completely ignore the Vatican, and they will have an underground legion of Bishops to ordain priests the Vatican doesn’t like.
For those who say the Pope has dictatorial powers, lol, lmao. Only on paper. It’s always been that way.
If Taylor Swift got married and had a few kids that would probably solve the low birthrate problem for whites.
Isn’t her whole career built on giving voice to the emotional travails of the scorned roastie? Seems like she would lose some authenticity. Not that this ever bothered Springsteen.
Until he got *really* famous, Springsteen had some capacity to transcend solipsism—just a little, just enough to write a couple lines per song that strongly echoed the thoughts of normal men (or normal-man literary characters).
Swift’s popular songs are bitchy celebrity social media posts and, increasingly, “regime messaging,” because to her *and her audience* nothing else is worth communicating—or, really, imaginable.
Springsteen was Reagan, Swift is Obama.
The future has no songs in it.
There is no such thing as a “Pope Francis”. This degenerate beast is as much a pope as Biden is a president. Bergoglio is an anti-Pope.
The last Pope was Benedict XVI. The Holy See is vacant.
Catholicism has informal factions. Do you think French Catholicism is the same as that of Spain?
Many of the cultural pathologies people like you try to attribute to Protestantism first manifested in France.
A more amusing analogy would be to point to Catholic congregations in Africa. The things we do to put “butts in pews”. 😉
“We are seeing this in Argentina where the voters elected what can best be described as an autistic Austin Powers character as their next president.” I have visited Argentina several times and noticed that someone looking like Milei is not that exotic there. The country has a retro-vibe, not only because it has been in decline for a long time, but there is something about the local culture that comes off as a mix of the 70’s, 80’s and current year. I kind of liked it, actually. Now, Milei is weird in the sense that he claims to be an… Read more »
I have never been and I know no one who has been there. It is one of those places that does not turn up in a lot of travel sites for some reason. Tons of Americans go to Brazil and Mexico. The thought a country in leisure suits and sideburns is amusing.
I think there may be tens of thousands of American expats in Buenos Aires, or at least they used to be there.
The first time I went there, in 2007, was when I read Doug Casey’s words: “This place is going to boom, I can feel it!” But after I met some local business people, I realized that Argentina is a country of infinitely unfulfilled potential… forever. I still loved the vibe though. It reminded me of old Italian or French movies.
Interesting. I must confess that whenever i think about new places to see, i never think about Argentina. Their seasons are backwards, so is our winter the best time to visit?
Yes, if you like hot and humid weather. I always went between December to March and it was great. December may be better, because there are not that many mosquitos yet.
If you want to go to Buenos Aires, going in January/February also has the added advantage of less people and relative calmness, because many locals are away on their vacations.
Buenos Aires doesn’t get that cold even in July — a sweater and light jacket is enough. Maybe some heating in the evenings. Further south it must be getting colder. In January and February it can get hot and you would want some air-conditioning.
I have never heard of an Argentinian restaurant. I’m guessing the cuisine is as unremarkable as the sights.
Plenty of Argentine restaurants exist, but the cuisine may seem plain to someone who is used to the usual American multi-culti experience.
As for “unremarkable” sights – Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside of the Himalayas is located in Argentina, the Iguazu falls, the largest waterfall system in the world, are located in Argentina; the lake district around Bariloche is amazing, the vineyards in Mendoza are some of the best in the world, etc. etc.
“I realized that Argentina is a country of infinitely unfulfilled potential… forever”.
Nothing is forever. Yeah, I’ve been waiting 20 years for that to change. I’ve got a son, his wife and my three grandchildren living 60 yards away. He’s an engineer with a water-well drilling business which is going well (no pun intended) but if Milei’s gov. can institute the promised reforms, the business can begin to realize its full potential and the kid’ll be able to hire someone to peel my grapes.
I posed a late question to you yesterday that got lost in the shuffle: has Milei taken a position on migration? I shudder at the thought as he is a libertarian. I know migration has been a problem there for a long time, and most likely ethnic Europeans are a minority or close to it at this point.
According to the NYT: “he has said that as long as the state doesn’t have to pay for it, he could support drug legalization, open immigration, sex work, transgender rights, same-sex marriage and selling organs.”
…and after he got elected, he celebrated by waving the flag of Israel. I am sure he will be great for Argentina.
I lived and worked in Buenos Aires for ten years (1993 – 2003). Some observations: 1. The Argentines positively, absolutely hate blacks. Not a criticism mind you. 2. The ruling classes of Argentina are the most loathsome I have ever encountered. Their children are worse. 3. Argentine women are some of the most stunningly beautiful one could imagine. Only Israelis and Venezuelans can compete. 4. Backpacking in Argentina is superb, second only to that in Peru. 5. There is no food in Argentina save for beef. It is the finest on earth. The wines are drinkable. 6. If your skin… Read more »
You think Jewish women are beautiful?
I would put Persian women among the most beautiful.
Another thing about Argentina is that it is one of the biggest places for psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Tons of therapists and patients, maybe the most outside of NYC. I don’t know if the original Freudian model is dominant or whether as in the US that’s largely been supplanted by modified versions.
The climate in the non-mountainous regions is roughly similar to that of the southeast US.
It’s one of my favorite countries to visit and a lot safer than Brazil although I advise leaving your bling back home — you’ll have a gun in your face within a few minutes if you wear a Rolex in Buenos Aries for example as happened to a MARSOC colonel friend. The culture is European combined with S. American pizzaz. Price is right. The rural areas and Patagonia provide gorgeous views. I highly recommend a visit if you employ smart travel practices. (They like the U.S.)
I was once escorted by the police from the non-touristy parts of La Boca. Like a stupid tourist 🙂
Other than that, it felt relatively safe, even around the villas miserias, though I did hear some horror stories.
I looked up its demographics, and as of 2020 was still 85% white, only 0.4% black, and 11% mestizo. A couple percent asian as well.
Sounds like a paradise compared to the USA.
Is the crime mostly generated by that mestizo contingent?
TBH, I am not sure about their crime stats.
I did notice a complete absence of blacks.
When I asked a local about it, he said “We used to have them, but they have mysteriously disappeared”.
Hun, that mysterious disappearance you speak of … could you look into that a little more? Just curious …
“Is the crime mostly generated by that mestizo contingent?”
Depends on the kind of crime you mean. Most crime is committed by gov’t officials.
Bolivians and Paraguayans are flooding into Argentina, and they are not white. It’s become as real problem:
https://migration.ucdavis.edu/mn/more.php?id=1063
Yes, but there are more of them than the statistic cited represents.
Lucius Sulla: That 85% “White” is, in reality, anywhere from 55-85% White itself. Increasingly fewer people there of entirely European ancestry. Whiteness in Latin America remains aspirational and fluid.
There is still something of a Catholic undercurrent in Argentina as well. You can see this when you stop at a roadside cafe/gas station and inside there will be yards of curios that are all various crucifixes and representations of the Virgin Mary. In the countryside, there are lots of fairly friendly stray dogs around. The beef and wine are excellent, as others have also reported. In Argentina, it is extremely difficult to find anywhere that takes credit cards, other than the typical US fast food franchises (Burger King, etc.). Trying to get a local SIM for my cell was… Read more »
I once bought blue rate pesos in a backroom of a shoe store in Mendoza. It was an adventure.
Be sure to save a chunk of those pesos for the “leaving the country tax” the regime hits you with before they let you on your flight.