Member Q&A: The Total State with Auron MacIntyre

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On last Tuesday night’s full group call, we had a members-only Q&A with Auron MacIntyre, discussing his new book The Total State.

Questions:

* How does Auron’s book compare with Deneen’s Why Liberalism Failed, and how can we synthesize their respective messages into a positive vision of the future?

* Are there coherent alternatives to managerial liberalism at scale?

* Should states erect barriers to internal migration, or should we encourage The Big Sort?

* How do we navigate the tension between publicizing our associations to gain power, and avoiding the Eye of Sauron?

* Do you think there’s hope for deep institutional reform that could reverse the excesses of the Civil Rights Act, immigration amnesty, etc.?

* Will the Republican Party remain a relevant force when Trump and the conservaboomers leave the scene?

* How did you manage your exit from academia, journalism, etc.?

* What do you make of Peter Zeihan’s argument that America’s continental geographic advantages will prevent partition?

* What will the future of elections look like in the aftermath of Trump’s renegotiation of electoral and discourse norms?

* If you could be an advisor to the major power brokers of the emerging counter-elite (Thiel, Musk, Trump, Vance, Andreessen), what would you guide them toward?

* What practical actions can guys like us take to prepare for a potential Harris presidency?

My takeaway:

Scale and inhuman abstraction are the enemy; but fortunately, the managerial system has scaled way beyond its ability to command the loyalty and cohesion of human beings.

As the consensus-generating organs of managerial liberalism get clogged with nakedly unprincipled deceit and slop, the scope of human organization will by necessity get tighter, and new things will be free to grow.

The way forward is to build sovereign institutions at human scale, predicated on human judgment and initiative. Get to know your neighbors, learn how to get things people need, become useful to useful people.

If you want to build that kind of connection with a network of values-aligned guys, apply for membership at exitgroup.us.

EXIT News

* On Tuesday night’s full group call (8/27), we’ll hear from Zach at shaolin.ai on how he used EXIT to build his machine-learning education business, the future of AI/ML in general, and how our guys can ride the wave instead of losing their job to it.

* Shaolin has wrapped their second 6-month machine learning boot camp cohort. Next class begins in September. EXIT guys get a steep discount — so if you’re a member and you’re considering reskilling, reach out to Zach in the chat.

* Nowhere Summit in Ecuador was a great success. Our friends Ben Wilson (How to Take Over the World) and Alex Petkas (Cost of Glory) put together a terrific event along with our Ecuadorian hosts. I spoke on the state as an extension and abstraction of kinship — I’ll release a recording in the next week or so. We will have very exciting IRL collaborations to announce in the near future.

* Solid turnout at the Salt Lake City meetup, with 27 members and their families. Big thanks to the fellas who came in from Idaho, Colorado, Las Vegas, Southern California.

* Cocktail hour at the Great America hotel downtown

* Unconference at a local park

* Hiked in the rain up the Battle Creek Trail

* Cookout at a member’s house

* I’ll be at Network State Conference on September 22 in Singapore, and checking out Balaji Srinivasan’s Network School thereafter. If you’re planning to be there too, hit me up!

* Cocktail hour invites for Houston (9/13), Washington, DC (10/11), and San Francisco (11/8) meetups available for paying subscribers. EXIT cocktail hours are a great opportunity to meet your local guys, and see if the full group is right for you.