The year the music died, except the music is Boomers

I’d like to make the case that classical liberalism was killed for good in 2020. It only requires accepting my premise that classical liberalism is essentially the belief that as knowledge increases, power dynamics change. I.e. When people “wake up” things change. It used to be, people would think they were being a little shitty but it was just them and nobody knew. Now, after the lockdowns, BLM, January 6th, and Biden’s election, everything has been revealed. And everybody KNOWS that everything has been revealed. That’s the important change.

It used to be everybody thought everybody else was just ignorant. But then everybody saw the truth AAAAND…Nothing changed. Not even the things people were saying with their mouths. Not even the things they said in secret, in confidence. In whispers. Even these things turned out to be calculated to be a little bit shitty, little betrayals to get a little ahead in the big game, as if it was still true that no one knew.

And what’s left is the open reality that people are trapped in a web of real power dynamics. The little betrayals weren’t motivated by ambition, they were motivated by economic desperation and surprisingly small stipends from the KGB.

Here’s how I’d characterize 2020:

1. Kanye said “I’m Jesus now and here is the New Law: A black man may strike a white man, but a white man may not strike a black man. A Jew may strike a black man, but a black man may not strike a Jew. And so on. Women may only work as mercenaries for higher groups against lower groups..”
2. Then Chauvin got droned for striking George Floyd.
3. Then Nick Cannon got droned for striking a Jew.
4. Then BLM was allowed to protest without masks.
5. Then a kid toucher with dementia was made president and everybody clapped.

Or more succinctly: 2020 is the year we were told that we live in North Korea, and people looked around for a second, and then got back to exactly the same things they were doing before.

If classical liberalism is the belief that if people knew better, they’d act differently, then it’s dead now. You have to at least believe that other people still believe that. It’s 2021. No one believes anyone else believes that. If they’re saying it with their mouths, it’s because the KGB is sending them monthly checks and they’re still just barely making rent.

If you disagree, then count up the number of political writers in the 2021 blogosphere who write for free.

There are a couple of good indicators. No one says “it’s a free country” anymore. That’s a good sign. It indicates society learning. That’s a form of movement, like a glacier. It means the future will look very different. That’s important, because what we’ve seen is that when Satan points a gun at their heads, most people will swear fealty to Satan. Even if they know ahead of time everything that entails.

The reason it’s good that people don’t say “it’s a free country” anymore, unless they’re getting a check for it or currently under duress, is it indicates there’s a limit to their shamelessness. People choose hell, but they don’t feel at home there. In fact, that’s the most profound statement I’ve ever made about human nature.