I’m once again finding some of my so-far two-dimensional concepts, particularly as they relate to civic life, further developed by this podcast. Not for the first time, the third dimension here is economics. I love Daniel’s point, for instance, that Bowling Alone (our country’s lack of civic association) is only the tip of the iceberg. People join associations for reasons approaching mutual aid. It’s not a choice between individualized needs and civic life; we don’t get more efficient at addressing the former to make time for the latter. We become more community oriented every which way.
I’m looking forward to reading the chapter Daniel describes in his forthcoming book involving disparate critiques from the 1960s, including Mumford, Jacobs, and Carmichael. It was enlightening to hear how Carmichael and other Black power thinkers advocated for solutions that were beyond the “Milton Friedman” rising-tide approach of Jane Jacobs’s diversity.
I was also fascinated by the idea that what united the various solutions advanced in the former Eastern Bloc—e.g., cooperatives, parallel poleis—was a fight against the corporate state. (I just read Daniel’s remarkable essay “(We’re) Back in the USSR,” which fleshes his points at the end of this podcast episode so nicely.) The multiplicity of solutions reminds me of the Norwegian Pietist movement, which, I’m told, ended up outdoing the state at its own business and eventually contributing to the establishment of Norway’s social democracy.
A wonderful episode! I agree with Pete: Daniel has discovered and opened the black box after the tragic flight of growth and redistribution. I’m all about pre-distribution now.
I’m once again finding some of my so-far two-dimensional concepts, particularly as they relate to civic life, further developed by this podcast. Not for the first time, the third dimension here is economics. I love Daniel’s point, for instance, that Bowling Alone (our country’s lack of civic association) is only the tip of the iceberg. People join associations for reasons approaching mutual aid. It’s not a choice between individualized needs and civic life; we don’t get more efficient at addressing the former to make time for the latter. We become more community oriented every which way.
I’m looking forward to reading the chapter Daniel describes in his forthcoming book involving disparate critiques from the 1960s, including Mumford, Jacobs, and Carmichael. It was enlightening to hear how Carmichael and other Black power thinkers advocated for solutions that were beyond the “Milton Friedman” rising-tide approach of Jane Jacobs’s diversity.
I was also fascinated by the idea that what united the various solutions advanced in the former Eastern Bloc—e.g., cooperatives, parallel poleis—was a fight against the corporate state. (I just read Daniel’s remarkable essay “(We’re) Back in the USSR,” which fleshes his points at the end of this podcast episode so nicely.) The multiplicity of solutions reminds me of the Norwegian Pietist movement, which, I’m told, ended up outdoing the state at its own business and eventually contributing to the establishment of Norway’s social democracy.
A wonderful episode! I agree with Pete: Daniel has discovered and opened the black box after the tragic flight of growth and redistribution. I’m all about pre-distribution now.
Thank you so, so much my brothers!