The thing that I find amazing is that with respect to the Gaza war, the Arab countries, specifically the gulf countries, are never part of any analysis. They've basically never been mentioned. While in the past they would have stood openly to the Palestinian side, they've been pretty quiet throughout this war, or even offered some moderate assistance to Israel. Given that the great prize of relationship normalisation between Saudi and Israel remains on the table, I'm not sure that Israel really worries a lot about its current standing in the world. That is because if an agreement between Israel and SA and other Arab countries is reached, Israel's standing would change again. So, the current pressure on Israel is being cushioned by the prospect of normalisation agreements, which singer countries seem to envision for their near future. Perhaps they're even betting on a president Trump with whom they were able to deal with easier than with Biden. Can Professor Mearsheimer give a greatly appreciated opinion on that?
I’ve agreed with all of your opinions and everything you’ve had to say over the years. The one and only thing that I disagree with you on, as you stated at the very end of this interview, is the fact that in your opinion there are no solutions to these problems. I think there are solutions to all of these problems.
The solutions to all of these problems can be found in my “course” which consists of a set of YouTube videos and my three (3) papers.
This “course” lays out what should be considered as a very good political platform for not only the US but also for the world, it should be considered to be an identifier for where we need to try to get to as a species and how to get there, and it also has non-religious, spiritual overtones which are based on rationality and reasonability rather than superstition.
Believe it or not, this course starts off with the concept of a simple theory as it’s explained by John Mearsheimer and it ends with THIS interview.
This “course” is a masterclass in world leadership, diplomacy and how we as the human race should try to conduct ourselves going forward in order to give ourselves the best chance at survival in the best possible way into the future. It is also the blueprint for how we should try to manage artificial intelligence.
It’s actually fairly simple but, as is the case with most things that are worthwhile, it takes at least some amount of work in order to be able to grasp its full value.
In a nutshell, I think a good analogy would be to say that John Mearsheimer’s theory of offensive realism and the logic that emanates from it (including the findings in the book “The Israeli Lobby” - which isn’t directly related to the theory) relative to international relations is similar to the logic that emanates from my theory and prescription as it relates to humanity at large.
With that in mind, it’s my contention that with all of these seemingly intractable problems that are outlined in this interview are actually solvable problems.
That includes the war in Ukraine, the conflict in Israel, the tensions over Taiwan and in the south and East China Sea, as well as all other things human.
It’s true that humans cannot agree on first principals but it’s my contention that if you have a simple, rational, logical theory to try to arrive at the best possible solution for each and every one of these problems it makes tackling them much easier. And that is what my theory and prescription does.
I’m going to have someone help me organize my “course”, which consists of a series of YouTube videos and my three (3) papers. But in the interim, if you’d like to watch the first video it’s titled “John Mearsheimer Explains NeoRealism”. Please watch that and I’ll give you the list of the other YouTube videos which are designed to be watched in sequence. Thanks for your interest in what I’m trying to convey!
Ah Grasshopper, You’ll learn the way forward if you pay attention.
As I had mentioned, the first lesson of the first section is the YouTube video in which John Mearsheimer explains NeoRealism. This not only explains what a “theory” is from one of the masters himself but, for better or for worse, it also explains how the IR system works.
The second lesson explains the “Goal” or better yet the “destination”. That is what I refer to as “Nice”. There are only two videos in the second lesson. The first is the Dalai Lama on “Humilty”. It is any a few minutes long. The second video is the TED Talk titled “The Harvard Study on Happiness”. This points toward, or sums up , the “destination”.
Once you’ve watched those two short videos please let me know and I’ll give you the third lesson. Thank you!
I think the shortest answer is that in the same way one can wrap one’s mind around how the international system works is by way of John Mearsheimer’s theory of offensive realism, one can wrap their mind around the entire enchilada as to what we need to do as a species with my theory and prescription. Once you view the world through the “lens” of offensive realism you gain an “understanding” of how the world’s IR system works. Once you view the world through the “lens” of my theory and prescription you gain an “understanding” of what we need to do in order to save ourselves from ourselves and save ourselves from artificial intelligence. (I know that’s kind of a non-answer answer, but it sums it up pretty well). If you’d like me to elaborate further I’d be glad to provide you with a basic outline of the YouTube series and my three papers.
If you provide a link to your You Tube series in response, I will check it out, as I am still not clear what exactly you mean. We certainly do need to save ourselves from ourselves, that much I understand. Can we do it, however? The drive to dominate is an extraordinarily powerful psychological trait, very nearly instinctual, but it may be that which, more than anything else, is killing us as a species.
Haha. I like your sense of humor but consider this…. (When I have more time I will send my friend MS the first part of my course)…. BUT, just to put what I’m trying to convey into perspective please consider this…
If starting in the 1950s we had listened to my parents and people like them. We would’ve had enough sense to stay out of Vietnam and even after we got involved with Vietnam, we would’ve had enough sense to not escalate the war and get out early.
58,000 Americans saved. 3,000,000 million Vietnamese and Cambodians saved.
Then if we had listened to George Cannon starting in the 1960s and John Mearsheimer starting in the 1980s, we would’ve completely avoided getting involved in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. 4,500 American lives saved. 30,000 brave Americans would have avoided being maimed. A total of 500,000 Iraqis and Afghanistan people saved from an early death. More recently if we had listened to and followed John Mearsheimer’s advice we would have saved 300,000 Ukrainian lives and 300,000 Russian lives so far. We would’ve saved 40,000 Palestinian lives and probably 100,000 Palestinians being maimed for life. Thousands of people, including children traumatized for life. And we wouldn’t be facing the prospects of World War III and nuclear holocaust on three fronts. One in Eastern Europe. One in the Middle East. And one in the South China Sea, Taiwan and the East China Sea.
- - So for the same types of reasons that John Mearsheimer would’ve had a steer clear of all of these obvious blunders that we’ve made, my theory and prescription does the same for humanity at large.
Please see my response to MS. Sorry about the typo Cannon versus Kennan. My course builds upon what John Mearsheimer has to say but it delves into the underlying reasons as to why we’re headed for self destruction. It also offers up a concrete way in which we might best try to overcome these self destructive tendencies. If you’re interested in following along with what I have to offer I’d greatly appreciate it!
I'm hoping that you can answer a question, either here or on Judging Freedom. You probably know that Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov warned that the US was close to making a "fatal mistake" and the response may be "asymmetrical" and "stronger than expected."
Would you be willing to hazard a guess as to what he means? I doubt that he is referring to tactical nukes or attacks on NATO territory, but I don't know what he is referring to. Any insight would be appreciated.
Informative segment as always. I don’t know who the “large number of progressives in the Democratic Party” are at this point though. Also, I think Biden is obviously is a bit cognitively impaired to think too critically about all this now. He couldn’t get through his speech at West Point.
Those Western Ukrainians won't let Poles or Hungarians or Romanians take their territory either. And the Poles have also "been there and done that." Watch the film "Volyn" if you can stomach it. I agree Russia probably would think twice before attacking the Baltic countries, but I think Russia will be rattling their cages for the next decade over the ethnic Russian minorities living there. Also, the Baltic countries are small, but they are effective at making their voices heard inside multinational organizations, so the issue of Russian threats to NATO isn't going to go away.
"Wolyn' aka 'Hatred' - second half of that movie shivered me! Recommend you watch the director's latest - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12869276/ (not to be confused with his earlier movie of the same name. It's an extremely good reflection on neo-nazism.
Unfortunately, reading the news and writing about it takes so long, I haven't read a book in ages. But I will put them on my list. I will look them up now.
Brat, but especially Brat 2. Russia, and it's attitude to Ukraine and USA. "Sila ne v dengakh, Sila v pravde." It's the rallying cry for Russians in this conflict with the west.
Thank you so much for making this list of movies, Mike. I really do appreciate it. I have seen a few on your list, but I will relish checking out the others. By the way, after I saw "Wolyn", I watched "Come and See" by Elem Klimov about a Belarusian boy who joins the resistance against the Nazis in WWII. Needless to say, I was emotionally drained after watching those two movies in succession.
Yes, those two are rough. For something a little more fun, watch Brat and Brat 2 to see how Russians feel about the Ukraine and the West, to this day, even though the films were made 25 years ago.
I saw 'Brother', which was decent, but 'Come and See' is classic. 'Homeward' is a good Ukrainian drama about the complications of a roadtrip to Crimea - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThK0Qc87uh0
The thing that I find amazing is that with respect to the Gaza war, the Arab countries, specifically the gulf countries, are never part of any analysis. They've basically never been mentioned. While in the past they would have stood openly to the Palestinian side, they've been pretty quiet throughout this war, or even offered some moderate assistance to Israel. Given that the great prize of relationship normalisation between Saudi and Israel remains on the table, I'm not sure that Israel really worries a lot about its current standing in the world. That is because if an agreement between Israel and SA and other Arab countries is reached, Israel's standing would change again. So, the current pressure on Israel is being cushioned by the prospect of normalisation agreements, which singer countries seem to envision for their near future. Perhaps they're even betting on a president Trump with whom they were able to deal with easier than with Biden. Can Professor Mearsheimer give a greatly appreciated opinion on that?
The situation on the ground is already complicated. The professor has no time to discuss hypotheticals.
I’ve agreed with all of your opinions and everything you’ve had to say over the years. The one and only thing that I disagree with you on, as you stated at the very end of this interview, is the fact that in your opinion there are no solutions to these problems. I think there are solutions to all of these problems.
The solutions to all of these problems can be found in my “course” which consists of a set of YouTube videos and my three (3) papers.
This “course” lays out what should be considered as a very good political platform for not only the US but also for the world, it should be considered to be an identifier for where we need to try to get to as a species and how to get there, and it also has non-religious, spiritual overtones which are based on rationality and reasonability rather than superstition.
Believe it or not, this course starts off with the concept of a simple theory as it’s explained by John Mearsheimer and it ends with THIS interview.
This “course” is a masterclass in world leadership, diplomacy and how we as the human race should try to conduct ourselves going forward in order to give ourselves the best chance at survival in the best possible way into the future. It is also the blueprint for how we should try to manage artificial intelligence.
It’s actually fairly simple but, as is the case with most things that are worthwhile, it takes at least some amount of work in order to be able to grasp its full value.
In a nutshell, I think a good analogy would be to say that John Mearsheimer’s theory of offensive realism and the logic that emanates from it (including the findings in the book “The Israeli Lobby” - which isn’t directly related to the theory) relative to international relations is similar to the logic that emanates from my theory and prescription as it relates to humanity at large.
With that in mind, it’s my contention that with all of these seemingly intractable problems that are outlined in this interview are actually solvable problems.
That includes the war in Ukraine, the conflict in Israel, the tensions over Taiwan and in the south and East China Sea, as well as all other things human.
It’s true that humans cannot agree on first principals but it’s my contention that if you have a simple, rational, logical theory to try to arrive at the best possible solution for each and every one of these problems it makes tackling them much easier. And that is what my theory and prescription does.
You peaked my curiosity, Kevin. What is your prescription for humanity at large inimical to survival?
I’m going to have someone help me organize my “course”, which consists of a series of YouTube videos and my three (3) papers. But in the interim, if you’d like to watch the first video it’s titled “John Mearsheimer Explains NeoRealism”. Please watch that and I’ll give you the list of the other YouTube videos which are designed to be watched in sequence. Thanks for your interest in what I’m trying to convey!
Ah Grasshopper, You’ll learn the way forward if you pay attention.
As I had mentioned, the first lesson of the first section is the YouTube video in which John Mearsheimer explains NeoRealism. This not only explains what a “theory” is from one of the masters himself but, for better or for worse, it also explains how the IR system works.
The second lesson explains the “Goal” or better yet the “destination”. That is what I refer to as “Nice”. There are only two videos in the second lesson. The first is the Dalai Lama on “Humilty”. It is any a few minutes long. The second video is the TED Talk titled “The Harvard Study on Happiness”. This points toward, or sums up , the “destination”.
Once you’ve watched those two short videos please let me know and I’ll give you the third lesson. Thank you!
I think the shortest answer is that in the same way one can wrap one’s mind around how the international system works is by way of John Mearsheimer’s theory of offensive realism, one can wrap their mind around the entire enchilada as to what we need to do as a species with my theory and prescription. Once you view the world through the “lens” of offensive realism you gain an “understanding” of how the world’s IR system works. Once you view the world through the “lens” of my theory and prescription you gain an “understanding” of what we need to do in order to save ourselves from ourselves and save ourselves from artificial intelligence. (I know that’s kind of a non-answer answer, but it sums it up pretty well). If you’d like me to elaborate further I’d be glad to provide you with a basic outline of the YouTube series and my three papers.
If you provide a link to your You Tube series in response, I will check it out, as I am still not clear what exactly you mean. We certainly do need to save ourselves from ourselves, that much I understand. Can we do it, however? The drive to dominate is an extraordinarily powerful psychological trait, very nearly instinctual, but it may be that which, more than anything else, is killing us as a species.
The world’s about to end but thank god we’ve got the ‘Kevin Flynn’ course to bail us out. You came just in time Kev, phew!
Haha. I like your sense of humor but consider this…. (When I have more time I will send my friend MS the first part of my course)…. BUT, just to put what I’m trying to convey into perspective please consider this…
If starting in the 1950s we had listened to my parents and people like them. We would’ve had enough sense to stay out of Vietnam and even after we got involved with Vietnam, we would’ve had enough sense to not escalate the war and get out early.
58,000 Americans saved. 3,000,000 million Vietnamese and Cambodians saved.
Then if we had listened to George Cannon starting in the 1960s and John Mearsheimer starting in the 1980s, we would’ve completely avoided getting involved in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. 4,500 American lives saved. 30,000 brave Americans would have avoided being maimed. A total of 500,000 Iraqis and Afghanistan people saved from an early death. More recently if we had listened to and followed John Mearsheimer’s advice we would have saved 300,000 Ukrainian lives and 300,000 Russian lives so far. We would’ve saved 40,000 Palestinian lives and probably 100,000 Palestinians being maimed for life. Thousands of people, including children traumatized for life. And we wouldn’t be facing the prospects of World War III and nuclear holocaust on three fronts. One in Eastern Europe. One in the Middle East. And one in the South China Sea, Taiwan and the East China Sea.
- - So for the same types of reasons that John Mearsheimer would’ve had a steer clear of all of these obvious blunders that we’ve made, my theory and prescription does the same for humanity at large.
Sounds like we need the John Mearsheimer course not the Kevin Flynn course.
Oh and it’s George Kennan not George Cannon :)
Please see my response to MS. Sorry about the typo Cannon versus Kennan. My course builds upon what John Mearsheimer has to say but it delves into the underlying reasons as to why we’re headed for self destruction. It also offers up a concrete way in which we might best try to overcome these self destructive tendencies. If you’re interested in following along with what I have to offer I’d greatly appreciate it!
Hello John,
I'm hoping that you can answer a question, either here or on Judging Freedom. You probably know that Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov warned that the US was close to making a "fatal mistake" and the response may be "asymmetrical" and "stronger than expected."
https://www.rt.com/russia/598695-ryabkov-us-fatal-miscalculation/
Would you be willing to hazard a guess as to what he means? I doubt that he is referring to tactical nukes or attacks on NATO territory, but I don't know what he is referring to. Any insight would be appreciated.
Thanks
Informative segment as always. I don’t know who the “large number of progressives in the Democratic Party” are at this point though. Also, I think Biden is obviously is a bit cognitively impaired to think too critically about all this now. He couldn’t get through his speech at West Point.
Those Western Ukrainians won't let Poles or Hungarians or Romanians take their territory either. And the Poles have also "been there and done that." Watch the film "Volyn" if you can stomach it. I agree Russia probably would think twice before attacking the Baltic countries, but I think Russia will be rattling their cages for the next decade over the ethnic Russian minorities living there. Also, the Baltic countries are small, but they are effective at making their voices heard inside multinational organizations, so the issue of Russian threats to NATO isn't going to go away.
"Wolyn' aka 'Hatred' - second half of that movie shivered me! Recommend you watch the director's latest - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12869276/ (not to be confused with his earlier movie of the same name. It's an extremely good reflection on neo-nazism.
During the second half of "Wolyn" I could hardly take a breath; it was so heavy. Thanks for recommending "Wesele". I hope I can find it online.
You will. It's more psychological than violent, and brilliantly connects the horror of the past to the danger of the present. Consider these too:
Turtles Can Fly (Iran set Iraq war child drama 2004 - Dir Bahman Ghobadi)
Omar (Palestine occupation drama 2013 - Dir Writer Hany Abu-Assad)
Downfall (Germany WW2 war 2004 - Dir Oliver Hirschbiegel)
The Lives of Others (Germany cold war 2006 - Dir Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck)
In Syria aka Insyriated (Belgium set Syria shot Lebanon war drama 2017)
Where Do We Go Now? (Lebanon war dramedy 2011 - Dir Nadine Labaki)
Black Book (Netherlands WW2 war drama 2006 – Dir Paul Verhoeven)
Kukushka aka The Cuckoo (Russia war comedy 2002)
Beanpole (Russia post-WW2 war PTSD drama 2019 - Dir Kantemir Balagov)
Queen Marie of Romania (Romania post-WW1 biopic 2019)
Son of Saul (Hungary war drama 2015 - Dir Laszlo Nemes)
Are you a reader? My favorite two books about Russia and war are Life and Fate by Vassily Grossman, and The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer
Unfortunately, reading the news and writing about it takes so long, I haven't read a book in ages. But I will put them on my list. I will look them up now.
Brat, but especially Brat 2. Russia, and it's attitude to Ukraine and USA. "Sila ne v dengakh, Sila v pravde." It's the rallying cry for Russians in this conflict with the west.
Thank you so much for making this list of movies, Mike. I really do appreciate it. I have seen a few on your list, but I will relish checking out the others. By the way, after I saw "Wolyn", I watched "Come and See" by Elem Klimov about a Belarusian boy who joins the resistance against the Nazis in WWII. Needless to say, I was emotionally drained after watching those two movies in succession.
Yes, those two are rough. For something a little more fun, watch Brat and Brat 2 to see how Russians feel about the Ukraine and the West, to this day, even though the films were made 25 years ago.
I saw 'Brother', which was decent, but 'Come and See' is classic. 'Homeward' is a good Ukrainian drama about the complications of a roadtrip to Crimea - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThK0Qc87uh0
Thanks for these recommendations, Grazier. It is good to watch movies on the lighter side in between these very heavy movies.
on this day in sixty-seven
thirty-four men sent to heaven
the enemy not cause their end
no they were killed by so-called friends
.
one hundred seventy two more
were wounded in the six day war
our Liberty was almost sunk
by traitors and jews power drunk
.
The Worlds Most Dangerous Poet