Brendan O'Neill on Cultural Marxism and how the elite loathe ordinary folk

Editor of Spiked Online, Brendan O'Neill, talks to Douglas Carswell about the elite's loathing of ordinary Brits and Brexit, woke culture, the future of the monarchy and much more

[wadstam]

Please keep this up, it's so refreshing to listen to peoples ideas without also being told that I must conform to these ideas or else.

[marccas]

Nick Clegg.. "I am not a globalist elitist Davos man!" Becomes Facebook global ambassador.

[kesfitzgerald]

I must add...

From my experience, it is the reduction of contact between the middle class and working class caused by a greater division of labour i.e. the growth of white collar (middle class) office jobs and the intensification of the university experience (that forces students to study long hours and become indebted), that are the main causes of this divide.

As a New Zealander, I recall the masses of university students working in the freezing works (slaughter houses) during the school holidays, alongside their fellow working class citizens. This was almost a rite of passage and and acted as a great social leveller and was often the basis of mutual respect and lifelong friendships. This is now relatively rare and I see it reflected in the attitudes of the graduates I get looking for work.

Simply put, the middle class university elite, no longer have an appreciation of the working class - they think them stupid in thought, bigoted and uncouth - and now despise what they do not understand.

[mattfm]

The funny thing about Eastenders is that it has become a period drama, it would scare the shit out of people if it actually reflected the demographics of the east end now.

[beatsinabar]

Looks like one of the cameras is frozen! And the sound drops out in places! Good show all the same!

[foreignparticle]

Loved this conversation, but please optimise your audio. It's really important to make your videos as easy as possible to listen to (referring to production, not ideology). The technology is cheap and accessible.

[StonefieldJim]

So refreshing to see the return of the longform interview. O'Neill is on top form, as ever.

[cc-jpgh]

Brilliant chat, discussion. Thank you.

[VaucluseVanguard]

At 52:10 they start talking about Radio 4 comedy. Loved it for many years - say 1978 - 1995 but since then it has just deteriorated primarily by just not changing its tune and focusing on a narrower and narrower range of SJW shite. I tried listening to the Radio 4 Comedy awards last night. The finalists seem to have been chosen from the SJW catalogue. There was the Muslim, the lesbian the gay man and the straight woman. After 15 minutes I literally had not heard anything funny, just the odd mildly witty politically correct quip. There was a revolution in British comedy starting in the late 1970s early 80s. That revolution has had its day and its now a conservative, self interested tired bore. Radio 4 comedy has become what Charlie Williams, Jimmy Tarbuck, Bernard Manning and Frank Carson were by 1985. We need a new comedy revolution.

[markkavanagh]

Am I right in thinking that these 2 men wouldn't be sitting together having a civilised conversation except for Brexit, it has completely altered the political landscape of Britain.

[aucourant]

Great discussion, very interesting. But spoiled a little bit by bad sound and camera work. However, subscribed as this is so good (and I know those glitches will be fixed in time).

[ZonarosaSmith]

An Irishman recently told me he wanted the death of the monarchy. I agreed that I didn’t much care for it or any of them, but, I want a thriving monarchy because they are invaluable living art, living history and a living museum.

It keeps generations of people employed in specialized trades that are a thousand years old. Once the pomp and circumstance of British royalty is dead, jolly olde England will be next.

That really shut the Irishman up.

[justaphasebizarre]

I don't agree with everything Brendan says, but he is absolutely right on the EU, elites, Brexit, environmentalists.

[kesfitzgerald]

Well said and articulated Brendan. It is always nice to have reaffirmed that there was, at one stage, at least, a libertarian left that upheld the principals of individual freedom and humanism.

[BrettJones]

And the BBC part of the discussion is why Doctor Who is now so bloody awful!

[hjyigo]

A strange defence of George Monbiot. Surely he's one of the worst people - wealthy, smug, elitest etc.

[garypowell]

Brendon is self deluded if he genuinely believes that the socialism of anytime was not essentially authoritarian. Yes of course there has always been a libertarian fraction within the Labour movement, but this has been in a battle with both the Fabian/fascist and Marxist/communist ones since before the Labour Party was officially formed. This is a battle that Libertarians have clearly lost, and been losing since battle first commenced. Brendon can be forgiven for not understanding this, as he was young then, and is not a whole lot older now. As the libertarians got up and left a long time ago, taking their ball with them, and revolutionary communism is now deader than the Do-do, we are now left with the Fabian fascist wing, perhaps better known as the Blairites, which have now successfully infiltrated all other political parties, little less the Conservative Party. We are now almost entirely ruled by corporatist think tanks, not free thinking politicians. Brexit may mark the reaction against this slow, but sure takeover of the human spirit, we shall see.

[mikemahoney]

Very interesting conversation. You both articulated my thoughts thank you.

[robbie_]

I read Guns, Germs and Steel, then I read the antidote to Guns, Germs and Steel called Why Nations Fail. The latter was far more convincing than the former.

[Liamfulful]

This is such thoughtful video! Lot’s of many greats points of views and great examples backing the points of views!