Anti-authoritarianism

[instrumental music plays]

Welcome to the Anti-Authoritarian Podcast, the podcast about how we win against authoritarianism and become the founders of a free country.

This season, our conversations run along three streams.

The first stream is arts and culture.

So, um, now I have a question for both of you about a long historical pattern that's emerged across the world, is that authoritarian regimes move early against artists and cultural workers.

So why artists first? What does that tell us about the relationship between creative expression and political power?

I, I wanna just say first that anybody that is really interested in drilling down into this question that Scott just asked, please subscribe to his Substack, The Anti-Authoritarian Playbook, 'cause he writes about this more brilliantly than anything I've ever read.

But, you know, first we have to look at w- what do authoritar- authoritarians need? One thing they need is the perception that they are inevitable, that they are strong.

I was just wondering when you were in, when you were active duty and you were getting after it, man, did you, were you so critical of the government?

Well, even before I ever joined the army, I was a anti-authoritarian kind of a pain in the ass.

Like I was, Anti-authoritarian.

That's it.

And in the Army, so there's a maturing period.