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Alex Tabarrok, perhaps the world’s sole Canadian libertarian, joins The Remnant today for the first time. Inflation is on the rise, the vaccine rollout is stalling, and illiberalism is resurgent. In other words, there are plenty of demanding issues for Americans to be concerned about. Thankfully, Tabarrok has a range of considered policy solutions for Jonah to explore. How can we revitalize democracy? Would open borders work? And should we abandon advanced civilization now before the machines destroy us all?
Show Notes:
-Jonah on the wackiness of vaccine paranoia
-The Mayor Quimby of anti-vaxxers
-Jonah on the importance of character
-Ezra Klein on the good old days
-“Born American, but in the Wrong Place”
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I think that Alex Tabarrok opinion that all immigrants in the US just have a strong love affair with the country is at best extremely optimistic. There are many migrants who come in this country for all kinds of reasons and it’s not because America is this unique place. The clearest case in my mind is Ilhan Omar. She was a refugee who has become a pretty successful person in the US and yet she keeps complaining about how America sucks.
Sometimes Jonah ends episodes by saying “I know people want me to push back on ____.” Suggesting that listeners want sharp arguments when guests believe something listeners disagree with strongly. Now, I do want him to force guests to defend or at least fully explain their ideas. Guests shouldn’t be allowed to just say s**t, as it were. But I rather prefer conversations where the guest explains what they think rather than conversations where host and guest argue about who is right. Pushback is only interesting (to me) if it forces somebody to make their argument more clearly. Goldberg doesn’t tend to have on crackpots or people making heinous arguments in favor of human suffering so I’ve never wished he belabored an argument.