Some good basic questions stirred up by Rufo and Goldberg.

April 21, 2025.

Introduction.

I was put on to an important interaction between Jonah Goldberg and Christopher Rufo by Meg Basham,

for which please see below, But as I read through it,

I found myself wanting to say a few things. But then that led to a moment when I slapped my forehead,

metaphorically, of course, and said to myself, wait, I have a vlog. Somewhere along the line,

James Lindsay entered the discussion by saying that it was all quite simple, really. All we have

to do is not be Marxist.

But Lindsay's atheism means that he is much closer to Marxism than any of the other folks he's

worried about. It boils down to this. If there is no God above the state, then the state is God.

I know that Lindsay wants to have a high view of our constitutional order, but if there is no God,

then the Constitution is just so much paper. And that, but if there is no God, then the Constitution is just so

much paper. And that means that if there is no God above the Constitution, then what Lindsay has is a

paper God. And Marx uses way more paper. But let us not get distracted as much fun as that would be.

I really want to get on to some of the issues that I think are preventing Goldberg from

hearing Rufo. The exchange conveniently linked for you. Tactics and principles. The exchange began

when Rufo responded to an essay that claimed that Rufo, that pesky conservative activist,

was actually being a communist because he was taking a page from the playbook of Antonio Gramsky.

But this really represents a fundamental confusion. In a war, both sides are fighting for

different causes, obviously. But both sides can use the same kinds of weapons, bows and arrows

and slings in ancient times, and howitzers and aircraft carriers in modern times.

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