Shellenberger: Major Factor In Decline Of Civilization Is When Elites Identify And Sympathize More With Foreigners
Public News founder Michael Shellenberger tells FOX News host Jesse Watters that Democrats are nowhere close to starting to “rethink any major part of their agenda.”
CBS NEWS: Now this is the most visible protest of its kind so far this spring following dozens of protests on campuses a year ago. Police arrested more than two dozen people. Among other things, demonstrators demanded the school break its ties to the Boeing Corporation because of its military contracts. JESSE WATTERS, FOX NEWS: Public News founder Michael Schellenberger joins me now. How you doing Mike? Great to be with you Jesse. It’s interesting these things are getting a little rowdier after the Tesla terrorism attacks. Are you nervous? MICHAEL SHELLENBERGER, PUBLIC NEWS: Well you know when you see how old some of those protesters are it’s not too scary. Certainly the Antifa ones are more scary but I think it’s showing that protests and often violent protests are the new comfort zone for the left and for the Democrats. They don’t really have much to say. They don’t have an agenda that they’re advocating so they keep retreating into these protests that just seem to get more and more violent every time. You know the other thing I say about it Jesse is that we know from history that when the elites in your society start to identify more and sympathize more with foreigners that is a very dangerous sign. That’s what you know the great British historian [Arnold] Toynbee points out is one of the main factors to look for the decline of civilization. So I think the repudiation of that sort of protest is essential. Doesn’t look like the Democrats are anywhere close to starting to rethink any major part of their agenda. WATTERS: So what does Toynbee say is that this is an indication of the collapse of society when you have marginal groups that become violent and then they align themselves with foreigners? Is this like a traitorous action? SHELLENBERGER: Yeah and it’s interesting because of course it works at two different levels. On the one hand it’s identifying with the elites of other countries with the globalized elite class of other countries like in Europe but it’s also identifying and sympathizing more with poor and working people in other countries more than with working people here. I mean where is the sympathy for the working class Americans that have lost all those good manufacturing jobs over the last 30 years? You know manufacturing jobs pay on average $ 107,000 a year. Service sector jobs pay around $ 37,000 a year. This used to be a left-wing concern. This desire to bring back good jobs with high paid in the United States. It’s been completely taken over by Republicans. They’ve also taken over the free speech issue against the censorship of the left. So I mean Jesse I don’t know when it ends which just seems to be a downward spiral for Democrats on the left right now.
