Ross Douthat on Decadence and Dynamism
Conversations with Tyler
Conversations with Tyler
4.8 • 2.6K Ratings
🗓️ 25 March 2020
⏱️ 67 minutes
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Summary
For Ross Douthat, decadence isn't necessarily a moral judgement, but a technical label for a state that societies tend to enter—and 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's no coincidence that Michel Houellebecq comes from France, his predictions for the future trajectory of American decadence – and what could throw us off of it, the question of men's role in modernity, why he feels Christianity must embrace a kind of futurist optimism, what he sees as the influence of the "Thielian ethos" on conservatism, the plausibility of ghosts and alien UFOs, and more.
Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.
Recorded February 25th, 2020
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Conversations with Tyler is produced by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, |
| 0:08.4 | bridging the gap between academic ideas and real-world problems. |
| 0:12.6 | Learn more at mercatis.org. |
| 0:15.2 | And for more conversations, including videos, transcripts, and upcoming dates, visit |
| 0:20.4 | ConversationsWithT Tyler.com. |
| 0:27.8 | Hello and welcome to ConversationsWithT Tyler. |
| 0:30.4 | I'm here once again with Ross Douthet, and Ross has a new book out, which I'm a big, big |
| 0:35.4 | fan of, called The Decadent Society, how we became the victims of our own success. |
| 0:40.9 | Ross, welcome. |
| 0:41.9 | Thank you for having me back, Tyler. |
| 0:43.6 | It's an honor. |
| 0:44.6 | A very simple question about decadence. |
| 0:47.9 | I read in the New York Times this morning, which is late February, quote, in the past several |
| 0:53.2 | years, Kanye West has announced so many plans that he wants to start a church, that he |
| 0:58.2 | plans to run for president, that he will invent a method for auto-correcting emoticons, |
| 1:03.6 | that he aims to redesign the standard American home, that he might legally change his name |
| 1:08.0 | to, quote, Christian genius billionaire Kanye West for a year. |
| 1:12.4 | Is Kanye decadent? |
| 1:13.4 | No. |
| 1:14.4 | Why not? |
| 1:15.4 | Kanye is not decadent because decadence involves drift, repetition, and stalemate, and |
| 1:23.0 | Kanye's public persona is defined by creativity, conversion, and reinvention. |
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