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The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Daily: The Bored Middle Class that's Destroying Democracy from Within

The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Podmasters

News, Government, Politics, Society & Culture

4.61K Ratings

🗓️ 24 October 2021

⏱️ 29 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

t’s often said that the crisis in Western democracy is caused by those left-behind, but is the greatest threat to security actually a bored middle-class? University Professor and author of Our Own Worst Enemy Tom Nichols talks to Arthur Snell about why unchecked narcissism is to blame for rising illiberalism, which factors are accelerating our democratic demise, and why building coalitions is our only way out.  “We’ve become used to being hyper-connected to each other, which turns out to be a pretty bad thing for maintaining democracy.” “The people who vote for populists are overwhelmingly white, middle-class and well-off.” “In the US anti-immigration feeling is sky-high in areas where there are no immigrants, it’s driven by television.” “We now have millions of people who have become so detached from reality that it’s impossible to have a rational conversation with them.” Presented by Arthur Snell. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

My name is Stan. I'm at. Nice to meet you. So you took up photography where? I've always loved

0:05.5

photography but I turn it into earning a living at 60. I enrolled on a day course.

0:11.8

Well college. I loved going to college. It's good you can retry. I'm enrolled on the day course. But college?

0:13.0

I loved going to college.

0:14.0

It's good you can retrain and do something.

0:16.0

Yeah, yeah.

0:17.0

Let's talk about working, learning, saving and making the most of living longer.

0:22.0

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0:28.0

Search Phoenix Group living longer.

0:30.0

Pets brings so much joy.

0:32.0

From those happy greetings at the door to the warm cuddles on the sofa

0:36.7

so give a little love back with dental life from Purina a range of delicious chues made for dogs and tasty snacks for cats that help clean and support your pets, teeth and gums, essential for their overall well-being and a happy, healthy life. They give you plenty of smiles so

0:55.3

look after theirs with dental life. Pick up dental life in the pet food aisle. Hello and welcome to the bunker. I'm Arthur Snell. We often hear about the current crisis in Western politics is caused by people

1:16.6

who have little to hope for, left behind economically and culturally. The worker in a post-industrial rust belt seeing their job move offshore to China,

1:26.7

the millennial who knows they'll never be able to afford to buy a house in the town they were born in.

1:32.2

But what if the reason for our current Malays were simpler

1:36.0

but also more profound? Might it be down to a lack of virtue among our citizens, a crisis of

1:42.2

narcissism.

1:43.0

Tom Nichols, an author and academic at the US Naval War College,

1:48.0

has noticed that the people tearing apart liberal democracy

1:52.0

are mostly white, middle class and comfortable.

1:55.6

Is the greatest threat to Western security a bored middle class, not the desperate left

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