Markets & Society Podcast

It’s our latest – and last! – episode on Curtis Yarvin, aka mencius moldbug, a key intellectual presence behind the Trump administration courtesy of his blog-slash-book, Unqualified Reservations. In previous episodes we snarked our way through some of Yarvin’s epistemological concerns around things like history, economics, and race. In this discussion, we turn to his prescriptive vision for the future state and how to get there, touching along the way his interdiction against lynchings, his call-out to Confucius, and why El Salvador may be the first state to align itself with Yarvin’s corporate model. Join us as we bid adieu to the powerhouse thinker who furnishes the rental unit inside J.D. Vance’s head.Get in touch with us by email at rolfandreed@proton.me, or follow us on Rolf’s substack “Under the Aqueduct” or at Reed’s Bluesky. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rolfstromolsen.substack.com

In this episode of While our Students Are Sleeping, Rolf and Reed continue their exploration of the thought of Curtis Yarvin aka "moldbug," the political thinker for the modern techbrocracy. We look at his interpretation of several major historical events, as outlined in his blog-turned-book Unqualified Reservations: the American Revolution, the US Civil War, and World Wars I & II. If you think you know a thing or two about history, think again! Get in touch with us! Email us (rolfandreed@proton.me) or check out Rolf's substack (https://rolfstromolsen.substack.com/) and Reed's Bluesky (@reedvanschenck.bsky.social) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rolfstromolsen.substack.com

This third episode of our new podcast continues our exploration of the thought of Carl Schmitt (1888–1985), the notorious German jurist and political theorist of the Nazi regime.We discuss Carl Schmitt’s 1932 treatise The Concept of the Political and suggest that his definition of politics – as the existential distinction between “Friend and Enemy” – is highly relevant to the volatile polarization of modern Western politics. We examine how Schmitt criticized liberal democracy for trying to replace decisive sovereign power with endless parliamentary debate and economic administration, a process he viewed as “depoliticizing” and ultimately weak because it ignores the reality of conflict. We also apply this lens to current events, including the rise of right-wing populism and the recent “healthcare assassin” case to explore whether liberal democratic societies are reverting to a “Schmittian” state where political groups are once again defining themselves by who they are willing to fight and negate rather than with who they can find political compromise. You can get in touch with us at rolfandreed@proton.meº This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rolfstromolsen.substack.com

My colleague, Prof. Reed van Schenk, and I have started a podcast! Our plan is to offer an in-depth exploration of various thinkers whose work we see as relevant to our current political climate. This inaugural episode launches our exploration into Carl Schmitt (1888–1985), the notorious German jurist and political theorist whose unrepentant support of the Nazi regime casts a long shadow. Despite his pedigree, Schmitt’s work remains highly relevant as one of the most decisive intellectual challenges to the legitimacy of modern liberal democracies.Join Reed and I as we explore Schmitt’s early, influential text, “Roman Catholicism and Political Form.” In this work, Schmitt sets out his case for the Catholic Church as the ideal template for political legitimacy. We consider his argument that the Church, due to its inherent capacity for definitive and authoritative form, provides the necessary structure and basis for a universal, stable, normative political order. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rolfstromolsen.substack.com