Our Own Worst Enemy: The Assault from within on Modern Democracy Cover
Podcast Mentions

Our Own Worst Enemy The Assault from within on Modern Democracy

Tom Nichols

A contrarian yet highly engaging account of the spread of illiberal and anti-democratic sentiment throughout our culture that places responsibility on the citizens themselves. Over the past three decades, citizens of democracies who claim to value freedom, tolerance, and the rule of law have increa...

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Quotes 7
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The Bulwark Podcast

Podcast

The Bulwark Podcast

The hosts referenced the title while outlining Tom Nichols' body of work, noting that it examined how a long stretch of peace and prosperity can make people perceive conditions as worse than they are. Tom Nichols himself highlighted this theme in the discussion, and Charlie Sykes mentioned it alongside his other books. The overall tone was neutral, treating the book as a notable contribution rather than a strong endorsement.

Episode: Tom Nichols: The GOP Needs a Fake Joe Biden

It was mentioned that Tom wrote about a long stretch of peace and prosperity in his book 'Our Own Worst Enemy.'

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But in our own worst enemy, I said, you know, this has been such a long stretch of peace and prosperity and rapidly achieving living standards, that it's easy to convince people that things are terrible just by showing them stuff constantly.

Episode: Tom Nichols: Clowns with Flame Throwers

This book was mentioned alongside 'The Death of Expertise' as one of Tom Nichols' works, implying it covers themes related to self-defeating behaviors in contemporary society.

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Tom Nichols, staff writer at The Atlantic and professor emeritus at the Naval War College and his books include, as you know, the death of expertise and our own worst enemy.

Stay Tuned with Preet

Podcast

Stay Tuned with Preet

It was described as raising a new theory about the rise of anti-democratic movements, specifically that our own narcissism is to blame. It was also said to include a section that was heavily autobiographical, and that he quoted Ian Bremmer and Fiona Hill.

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Democracies can't cope with peace, affluence, and progress.

— Episode: A Danger to Ourselves (with Tom Nichols)

Episode: A Danger to Ourselves (with Tom Nichols)

It was described as raising a new theory about the rise of anti-democratic movements, specifically that our own narcissism is to blame. It was also said to include a section that was heavily autobiographical, and that he quoted Ian Bremmer and Fiona Hill.

"

Democracies can't cope with peace, affluence, and progress.

The January 6th rioters were the most extreme example of the stupefying level of narcissism. These insurrectionists were not disenfranchised, or oppressed people trying to engage in a peaceful assembly. Rather, the whole event was a day camp outing for middle-aged, middle-class, gainfully employed Americans who wanted to be heroes storming Congress.

the one thing that the government can't do, this is where I part with my liberal friends, it cannot provide your life a sense of meaning and I think too much of what happens in a democracy that is successful like ours is that we lose a sense of meaning.

the animating, you know, sort of central proposition for people on the left.

I'm the guy who wrote a whole article in The Atlantic calling JD Vance an asshole, literally.

Note: The book recommendations on this page are discovered automatically from podcast transcripts, and may be incorrect or incomplete.