Compact

“His name is not French, but a globalized mess: part Italian, part American.” Michael Behrent in @compactmag compactmag.com/article/the-ne…

“Bardella at once bemoans the loss of French identity and affirms his modernity.” Read Michael Behrent’s piece in COMPACT: compactmag.com/article/the-ne…

"Before the crash of 2008, no conservatives anywhere in the West understood that a strong state was indispensable to a country that wanted to avoid debt bondage and lost sovereignty." That was a huge part of Orbán's appeal...and why progressives hated him. compactmag.com/article/orban-…

Christopher Caldwell on Orbán's rise, fall, and enduring legacy, exclusively for @compactmag subscribers: compactmag.com/article/orban-…

Not to be missed: Christopher Caldwell on Viktor Orbán compactmag.com/article/orban-…

“If there is one phrase associated with Orbán, it is “illiberal democracy,” but this is a description devised by his detractors.” Read Christopher Caldwell’s piece in COMPACT: compactmag.com/article/orban-…

In 1991, Bret Easton Ellis published a novel portraying Donald Trump as the most important figure of the age. On the prescience of “American Psycho”: patreon.com/posts/californ…

“The Artemis mission offers a reminder of this older—and in my view far better—way of conceiving the relation between man and machine.” Read @g_shullenberger’s newsletter substackfwd.xyz/?url=https://c…

I wrote about the Artemis mission, LBJ, AI, progress, and why the tech right is wrong about space: tinyurl.com/48zefshm

Technocracy is fundamentally hostile to democracy. compactmag.com/article/techno…

People are fed up with technocracy, and taking a stand against it can win you an election. But once in power, technocracy has already set the rules. That's why it's proven so hard to escape. compactmag.com/article/techno…

"Despite the populist revolt that has swept across the West, technocracy remains deeply embedded in organizations... Digital technologies and, increasingly, artificial intelligence, further reinforce its power." Paul O'Connor on why technocracy persists: compactmag.com/article/techno…

“The paradox of technocracy is that it presents itself as a set of neutral procedures, while quietly redefining what it means to be human and undermining the basis of a shared citizenship.” Paul O’Connor in @compactmag compactmag.com/article/techno…

Carbon credits are being used to sell forests that don't even exist. I guess we couldn't have our "coffee without caffeine" (an economy that cancels out its own destruction) after all. On how "saving the planet" became another way to financialise it: @compactmag compactmag.com/article/carbon…

“Managerial technocracy is therefore fundamentally hostile to democracy.” Read Paul O’Connor’s piece in COMPACT: compactmag.com/article/techno…

I wrote this book review for Compact Magazine about the inefficacy of both political violence and normal politics to make meaningful social change, looking at two episodes from the 1990s: Ruby Ridge and the Earth Liberation Front. compactmag.com/article/how-po…

In the Brazilian Amazon, global demand for carbon offsets has ushered in a new era of land-grabbing with a green face. Tyler Antonio Lynch explores this strange shadow economy, rife with fraud: compactmag.com/article/carbon…

Trump threatens Iran, the Artemis Mission is launched, and Kanye gets banned in Britain. @AshleyAFrawley and @g_shullenberger join @matthewschmitz podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kan…

“The legacy of the green finance boom may well be to provide a sheen of legitimacy for new modes of sucking up land into rich men’s portfolios.” Tyler Antonio Lynch in @compactmag compactmag.com/article/carbon…

“This marriage of speculative capital and loose land markets bodes ill for Brazil.” Read Tyler Antonio Lynch’s piece in COMPACT: compactmag.com/article/carbon…