I don't have anything new to say, but I still think it's worth feeding a comment here. So I'll do another take on my main response to one of Vlad's points: I still don't see how we get from 4+4 to 34v44. That is, we have an analysis labeled "4+4" (summarized in this video, starting at about 15:50); we have a conclusion that I'm calling "34v44" (stated in various other videos); and we have the claim that the analysis warrants the conclusion. I'll paraphrase the analysis and the conclusion in this comment. The analysis says that we have four trends and four modes of distrust. The four trends are modes of democratic degeneration (although I'm not entirely convinced that the usage of "democratic" here is really compatible with its generic meaning in English): (1) the state of the internet, (2) an increased moral urgency to political opinion, (3) increasing connection between political opinion and identity, and (4) exclusion of people from politics. The four modes of distrust are (1) feeling unsafe because of the incompetence of political institutions, (2) feeling excluded from politics, (3) feeling betrayed by one's political institutions, and (4) feeling as though the existing political institutions are nonsensical or at least incomprehensible. To me, it seem entirely plausible that all of these things are going on, and that they matter. But there's the comparison of how things will be ten years from now (in 2034) versus how they will be ten years after that (in 2044): 34 versus 44, for short. It seems extremely unlikely that any of the 4+4 would entirely reverse on a timescale of days to weeks. But on a time scale of years, not decades, why not? For that matter, the observable patterns could, for all I know, be the visible manifestation of other phenomena that have already begun to reverse. So I have trouble imagining any basis for a high level of confidence that the incapacity of our institutions will continue to worsen between 2034 and 2044.
Yes thank you so much. I think this confirms I understood your view. I'm so thrilled about your engagement here. Allow me to be prosaic, unsoftened and rapid in response. My response isn't that what you are suggesting is unlikely, whereas what I am suggesting is likely. My response is that something more basic has gone wrong with your thinking about this. That's to say, the problem isn't with your reasoning above, although it's problematic too, but with something off the page. The problem with your reasoning above is that the trends I name are currently being held in check by institutions which are accumulating wear and tear; the trends are only in their inception; we have limited mechanisms for democratic regeneration. This means we will be out at sea in 2040. Not sinking but not in the bay. But I don't think that's the problem. The problem is off the page. That's to say, you are not mistaken about these particular trends, but about about something upstream. Probably, about what a trend and a tendency is, politically and historically. Understanding tendencies is not compatible with the superficially neutral spirit of your response. Possibly, this is speculative but plausible, a certain teleology is playing a role - but I would need know you more to judge. That's to say that you have rationally let go of teleology but the way you think is still structured by it. Overall, the brief optimistic post 1991 phase is an historical aberration which we can't return to. The idea that we have a 50% chance of recapturing that level of stability and democratic sustenance by 2040 is really really off. And indeed , my 4+4 doesn't mention plenty of other degenerative democratic factors, such as the climate crisis which will make the sustenance of democracy harder. OVERALL, I'm not sure if this is of any help beyond beyond just an assertion by me. But my intellectual advice is that the issue is off the page. If you think it's 50/50 by 2040, then something seriously epistemically wrong has happened at some previous stage. I will blank out your name and share this exchange on the community board if that's OK! It will help the community a lot! Thank you so much for being with me and hope this blunt reaction is of some use, but I am totally OK if it isn't and you are simply annoyed! With gratitude. Vlad Ps. For anyone reading this, sorry to state the obvious, this exchange is in the realm of interpretation. It's not particularly normative, nor is it close to being factual. Interpretation both of the social world and of the possibilities of interpreting the social world. Pps. The 4 modes of dem degenerations are (1) Social atomisation and untethering of social bonds (2) the state of the internet (3) exclusion (4) ideologies of self realisation which centre political opinion in moralisation and identity.
@@VladVexlerChat I agree with your assessment but how do you see the current speeding up of tech progress affecting this decline? Could one solution be more institutional automation that makes it feel less unfair, especially if the system can explain it's reasoning to people on their own level. Conversely, if we have more time on our hands due to more or even full automation in the workplace and we have something like UBI (Universal Basic Income) - will people find meaning? How would that affect the Democratic decline with more people potentially having nothing to do? Most folks are not mature enough to "find their own way" in a fluid society after all, if you get what I mean. Many need an external framework, a meaning in life that feels integrated into a larger whole. Note that I never finished what Americans would call high school and English is my second language so I liberally use there words.
@@BooleanDisorder Is there "tech progress"? Economists have been argued for several decades that technological progress has pretty much stopped. All we are seeing is a redistribution of income share from labour to capital. And this redistribution has consequences for the type of capital that firms employ for their workforce. If firms buy computers they need workers specialised for that. That is all we are seeing.
@@VladVexlerChat Thank you for the reply. Blunt is fine, and it's certainly ok to repost. For that matter, feel free to include my name if it would be helpful. It's not that I think it's 50/50 where we'll be in 2040, relative to 2024. The trends make that much sense to me, anyway. It's that I think it's close enough to 50/50, for all I can tell, whether 2044 will be better or worse than 2034. Things changed enough from the 70s to the 90s, for example, that projecting the difference between 1990 and 2000 from the perspective of 1980 would take more than I think we have. As for what shapes my thought, it was some time around 1986 I set myself the thought exercise of trying to come up with an argument in favor of democracy that would be persuasive to someone who was biased against democracy but open to dialogue and otherwise generally reasonable. So I'm native to a time when, if someone wanted to write a future history for a sci-fi story, the default would be to have the Soviet empire persist farther into the future than 2024, let alone 1991. Then 1991 arrived, and then 2001. So I'm primed to expect surprises, and to feel that any confident prediction is likely to be wrong. (Except for the prediction that Americans will never be willing to tax the rich: that may have the same epistemic status as anything else at the level of ratiocination, but it feels as though it's carved in stone that will still be legible when everything else about America has crumbled to dust.) If I had seen 1991 coming in 1986, my expectations would presumably be different.
I'm British and have supported Ukraine since the invasion begun in 2014 but strongly since the second invasion. I donate to various groups that fight for Ukraine. I'm still dismayed to find people parroting Kremlin talking points. I loathed Johnson but his attitude to Ukraine I completely agree with. I do think we could do more to help.
We have an elderly friend who does that. “Ukraine is full of Nazis and corruption and NATO was expanding” “ how can we fund war when we’ve got food banks? “. You name it ,he’s repeating the tropes.
I am a Ukrainian ethnic from Romania (NE, 5 miles from the Ukrainian border), who also speaks Russian and been living in London for the past 10.5 years. Discovering your channel about two years ago is something I am really happy about. You show a deep understanding of what's happening, from more than one perspective (I can tell that thanks to my a little unusual life background), and it's always a pleasure getting a sharper imagine of some of the events.
@@CollectiveWest1 I know, I was there. When the invasion started I was in Romania on holiday. Ended up volunteering for two weeks at the border. Also hosted refugees in my home as well.
@@chipishor Well thank you. I am only agreeing with you and showing that someone in the UK is aware of what Romania has done, and so I try to make that better known publicly.
As a Spanish I feel ashamed of the current government we have here. Supposedly it is moderate left, but it managed to govern only due to the support of very very left parties (which had very little support from the population). Because of that, those very very left parties have kidnaped our society and democracy, despite people barely voted to them, and the government only does what those parties tell it to do. So, our government is absolutely aligned with all anti-Western powers of the planet, and of course it is very indulgent with Russia and Iran, but at the same time they try to keep the appearances not to bother the EU too much. The situation is horrible.
I think that this is just 1 particular outcome of the wider crisis with the moderate left in Europe. The moderate left has been splintered disastrously in the last 20 years. And they are left with the difficult decision of forming uneasy coalitions with parties to their left and/or right. I could make the argument that the political parties of EPP is not pro-West. They are in coalition with Victor Orban. If I am to believe that a pro-West politican is like Nixon/Kennedy. Then there is no pro-west politician in Europe.
I’m in the UK and I will vote Labour. My priority is the NHS, Defence (linked to Ukraine) then the Economy. What’s the point in rebuilding our nation if we can’t defend primarily defend it ourselves, instead of heavily relying on someone else (USA) to do the heavy lifting. It’s time that people in the UK realised exactly how vulnerable we are to attack in conventional, cyber and the informational war. The whole world is one big eco system and anything that happens no matter how far away will affect us. Russia, Iran and China must be dealt with before it goes too far. 🇬🇧🇺🇦🇺🇸🇪🇺💪🏻
The situation that Ukraine is going through reminds me the situation that we went through during WW2. there was a point when we were the only country in Europe left to oppose the Nazis and we were being bombed daily just as Ukraine is being bombed. Fortunately with aid coming in from abroad did we hang on long enough for other countries to join the war and turn the tide. Ukraine needs our help now to defend themselves from similar aggression. This is why I will always support Ukraine. And I will only vote for a party that is committed to doing so aswell. We must stand against military expansionism and fascist regimes.
But this comparison doesn't fly Soviets are a key reason Nazi s lost( Ukraine s included ) Leningrad on other hand did have higher number of casualties during WW2 then whole of USA combined.Plus Nazi Germany was never a nuclear weapons power
@@alvarobarcala at one point most of Europe was overrun by Germany. France had surrendered, Italy was in alliance as a dictatorship with Germany, Austria had made a deal, Hungary was an ally and Czechoslovakia had capitulated, Poland was invaded on both sides. So yes U.K. was practically the last country left. Stalin had been Germanys partner in crime but switched sides and the US lend lease programme armed Russia who would otherwise have been overrun.
@@goenzoy712 "The most important things in this war are the machines... The United States is a country of machines. Without the machines we received through Lend-Lease, we would have lost the war." - Stalin "If the United States had not helped us, we would not have won the war" - Khrushchev
Looking at most read articles in newspapers including The Guardian, football usually comes first unless there has been a sex crime or murder. Ukraine is rarely mentioned in any top 10. I put Ukraine first because it’s so terribly important for all of us and the whole world. People avoid me in the coffee shop.
Booyakasha! Respek bruv innit. I'm UK born in Croydon, but here is something interesting- when Putin invaded in 2014 many of us thought "just let Putin have Crimea, at least the rest of Ukraine will finally be free." I was working as a sales rep at the time so I was meeting with lots of affluent often powerful people, this was pretty much what everyone was thinking and saying about the issue, including, to my shame, me. He might've gotten away with it. Now things are very different. We gave him an inch and he has tried to take a yard. Now many of us think Putin has to be stopped, whatever the cost, and Crimea needs to be returned to Ukraine. If not- new cold war or even hot... We are proud and principled, there is a good chance that if Putin invades the Baltics we will declare war on Russia, regardless of what anyone else decides, even given what that will likely mean. I don't think the US will defend the Baltics, but if Russian nukes start dropping on UK, I'm pretty confident the US will join in on our side again. Rather not talk about UK politics... at least we can still point at US politics and say it isn't quite that bad. Another thing- Really strange that some people at the extreme ends of the political spectrum here tend to support Russia- like Russell Brand or Sargon. I don't get it.
This exactly 👌🏻I was doing a very similar job, in the same circles and to my own shame the same opinion. However, after Feb 22 I was and remain outraged and I want to see the gloves come off against Russia, China and Iran too, but especially Russia.
As a Brit I believe Ukraine is seen as an issue here and there is still support but it's not as visceral as it is within the former Soviet nations because we never lived under Moscow's thumb. We still carry the memory of the last time someone in Europe started invading their neighbors and to be blunt if it was Germany acting up instead of Russia there'd probably a more urgent response from us as it's closer and we remember what happened the last time. One of the main issues is that there is a myriad of internal issues in the UK that need to be addressed and little confidence in Parliament to get the job done. We spent nearly a decade watching politicians argue and go in circles with Brexit (yes, it will have been 10 years in June) and since then there has been multiple scandals in pretty much every major political party. The Tories are not popular but there doesn't seem to be much faith in the alternatives to be any better, I would not be surprised if the next election results in a hung parliament with no clear winner and a coalition being formed that continues to fumble the ball because they cannot agree on basic things. Support for Ukraine is here, but faith in the government is not.
As a UK citizen I do care very strongly about Ukraine, but I do worry when I watch pro-Ukrainian podcasts that I am part of a small bubble. This episode of Vlads channel is actually quite reassuring.
l respect the British people alot.Even after the invansion of Ukraine some european leaders like Macron and Scholz made shameful comments about appeasing Putin but the Brits were the most supportive and anti Putin since the very start
Well Macron is the only one that has actually spoke about sending troops to Ukraine so I personally don't think he is that bad at least not anymore. With Scholz I'm not so happy with, they should stop the blocking and send Taurus immediately.
I don’t think so much. Boris Johnson was at the fore of helping Ukraine but lots of people thought he was faking it for attention and now they are even coming out with how he stopped a peace deal! I was more than happy that he did his utmost for Ukraine but Lots of folk here don’t want Ukraine to get any help and look for excuses like how ‘Ukraine is corrupt, Nazi. Had a coup, tried to join nato and all those tropes. Typical Farage followers. Maybe a few prominent people make us appear nicer but scratch the surface and it’s not like that.
As someone who spent a lot of time in the UK, Lithuania and Poland, from my perspective, the biggest supporter is Lithuania, then the UK and then Poland. All of them are doing an awesome job. I base this on what people say and the flags I see on the streets etc, and what companies do. Poland has the most Ukrainians, but I'm surprised that not that many polish companies show support for Ukraine, e.g. in Lithuania I saw many companies change their logo to Ukrainian flag colors
I think that Romania, Latvia, Estonia, Norway and the Netherlands are also particularly strong supporters of Ukraine (and other countries are providing help too).
@@CollectiveWest1 All the Nordic countries Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland with the Baltics have been strong supporters of Ukraine. Actually in opinion polls the rate of % population supportive of Ukraine was the highest in Sweden, Finland and Netherlands were it was something like over 90%. Even Poland, Baltics or UK were nowhere those levels.
I didn't realise you used to live in Datchet, Vlad. My parents were just down the road in Wraysbury for a few years! I enjoy that you opted to mention the proximity to Ali G rather than Windsor Castle!
South African living in Glasgow, in a long-term relationship with a Ukranian lass. I'm an outsider to UK and to Ukraine so it's been interesting to watch but mostly quite sad to see the decline of active support of Ukraine from everyday people. Only the most committed locals attend support rallies and events anymore. I understand compassion fatigue and the increase of, what I perceive to be, successful sticky Russian propaganda esp the Carlson interview but I absolutely cannot understand the apathy of certain comments my girlfriend receives from random people we meet who ask where we're from. For example, a cab collected us from the bus station after she returned from visiting family in Ukraine and the driver congratulated her for not getting bombed while she was there and chuckled to himself. After the terrorist attack in Moscow someone from her office removed the Ukrainian flag which was standing on her desk. I've also felt a slight shift in sentiment, almost as if they're now unsure whether Ukraine is in the right for defending itself, from my friends and family regarding the war and that disturbs me. As someone to researching impacts of technology, my impulse is to blame this mediated space most people now live in/experience for bringing out the worst in individuals.
I don't think the Tucker Carlson interview was successful russian propaganda, in most reviews i have seen putin comes across as completely unhinged. Tucker Carlson's russian supermarket video was equally moronic, where he was astounded that you put a coin in a slot to get a trolley, and that one can buy fresh bread. Good luck to you and your bonny Ukrainian lassie.
Based on this, Russian troll factories will have the most effect by focusing on "my tax pounds" in British forums. I guess they figured that out a long time ago.
I have literally never heard of someone who supports or excuses Russia here in Sweden, in real life. It's utterly uncontroversial to help Ukraine and *not* something you can win or lose elections from. "Russia is our only enemy! Better to reduce them in Ukraine than fight them here later!". It's one of the very very few things going on in Sweden that I am super proud of. Well, except in how clueless we can be with immigration - not until now (some) Ukrainians hiding here have gotten a unique "person numbers" ("social security number" to word it American) which is essential to be recognized by many (digital) systems, or make bank account etc. But you know, it's not like we aced immigration before this... xD
Yes, I saw some polls and Sweden with Netherlands was where the support was highest in Europe with over 90%. I think it would be the same or even higher in Finland but they were not in that poll if I remember correctly. It's great to know in the Nordic countries people have not fallen for the propaganda coming from Kremlin and Netherlands was the same.
I’m an Italian living in London for almost ten years. I cannot speak on behalf UK as I believe London is a little world apart. I do not know many ‘British’ but in my workplace people do not discuss politics and I feel a general lack of interest for international politics. Expat community is more likely to discuss it. There is not doubt that Londoners feels generally disappointed by the Tories and the mayor election will possibly confirm Khan as Mayor. The vast muslim community is pro Palestinians hundred percent. When last February 24, I went to the gathering in Trafalgar square to commemorate the Russian brutal invasion of Ukraine, I was surprised to notice the lack of diversity of the people protesting or showing solidarity. I fear a large part of the country without a European background perceive the conflict as something European and pretty regional. I may be wrong but this is the general feeling I got from my work place. In contrast to Italy, I have never hear pro Russian comments here. In Italy, the RUclips channels I follow are pestered by pro Russia’ s individuals, some are probably generated bots but some others are against USA and embrace and admire the dictatorial leaderships. Sad but true. Stay strong dear Vlad, hugs from Lewisham.
That’s a very interesting and honest perspective especially about Italy. I’ve heard that many Italians like a lot of people are happy to have dictatorship. My own Italian grandfather was a big follower of Mussolini and even had the uniform. But his plight was fairly understandable as a WW1 veteran who had fought Austria, a peasant from the Veneto who could not read or write. In U.K. I think people don’t like taking politics, not because it’s bad manners but mostly because they don’t know anything, like a kid at school who hasn’t done their homework. They take short cuts, reiterating headlines or banal statements. I think it’s quite likely that it’s always been so as politics requires at least some reading and research into history to glean some knowledge about the topic. I’m a great earwigger and note that I hardly ever hear conversations that are about current affairs. They are generally about personal stuff but I find that quite amusing. The public should not be asked to vote in referendums. They are mostly not up to it at all and I think politicians should have IQ tests too, as the current ones seem pretty dumb.
@@PortilloMoment both perhaps. My current concern is how many MPs seem to be there for sex reasons first, second money and last working for constituents How have they got so much time when they have an endlessly busy day if they do the job properly?
Yes! There are about 50 English words which I learnt to pronounce wrong! I still pronounce them wrong. That includes some names, also random words like hedgehog, or innards. I am eliminating them little by little, but only a rate of one per year!!! And it's got harder since my neurological illness 2003 onward - I stopped being able to speak or write or read for a few years. When my symptoms are less under control I struggle to spell or pronounce or recall words which I know.
"Salis"bury is how Americans pronounce it. Source: salisbury steak was my favorite TV Dinner flavor as a kid, lol. You should hear us say Worcestershire, lol. Or even worse, ask an American to spell it.
I love you man. So glad you finally came out and said everything outright and with some context. We need someone like you right now on a platform like this to help some people understand what's going on.
Dearest Vlad, it's so good to see you up and animated. I didn't realize stats got you so excited! Next time I'll keep that in mind when I see a poll! Math department out. Lots of love from NYC ❤️💛🌻
I'm British and support Ukraine but I think it's the government to increase defense spending and to do everything to help Ukraine as a given. I do worry they aren't increasing arms production fast enough. I agree with your view as we are not at war and are an island so I suppose we don't feel threatened and thus it's less of a political priority .
I used to live in Spain and the fact they are more ambiguous towards their views in the Russia-Ukraine war does not surprise me. There is more of an anti-NATO-US-UK "hegemony" attitude in many of the southern European countries - there is a stron. I imagine being the most distant NATO members from Russia helps with that relaxed attitude - they feel completely safe from world events; plus Spain and Italy being pretty much a non-entity on the world stage for about 300 years. There is also an increased number of Russian immigrants living in Spain now. I lived in Catalunya and it attracted a lot of Russian families resettling there. Not wishing to lower the tone or be uncouth but there is a bit of a 'simping' attitude of a lot of Spaniards to Russians...to the woman, of course.
Unsurprisingly, However it is an exploit point for Russia to start separatist groups .. I am from the USA, with some Spanish blood, and I studied history a bit but no expert. Russia will destabilize a country and corrupt it.. Spain better wake up..
Same in the USA...American men love Eastern European women...just look at Trump.😆 I lived in Granada for a year during college....and southern Europe went through a very hard time with austerity measures to get in the EU...so there may be a little resentment deep down. Spain had a difficult economy with so much unemployment etc...so they worked hard to get in the EU. Italy and Greece even more, I think.
@@suzannstrohmaier2578 Spain joined EU already 1986 so I don't think the more recent austerity measures had anything to do with being able to join EU, it was due to the financial crisis and rules of being part of Euro etc. But it is true that for some reason, the Kremlin propaganda seems to be hitting their target much more efficiently in southern Europe for some reason.
I think it also has a lot to do with the fascistic past of spain and italy which they were never forced to properly processe like germany. a lot more sympathisers for dictatorship and strongmen like putin.
Thanks Vlad. As always, a calm and rationale perspective, with which I agree as a Briton. I have a limited social circle, so cannot generalise but here in London I have met only one person sympathetic to Russia (a Chinese colleague at my former employer, who was otherwise a reasonable person, so I infer he was influenced by Chinese media - I and several colleagues from other European countries strongly but politely advocated to him in favour of Ukraine, and of course we continued working together in a professional manner). I think Britons don't feel there is a need to demonstrate about Ukraine because all the major political parties support Ukraine so I'd expect policy to be fairly consistent in the near future regardless of the election result. However, I still try to go to marches and other events supporting Ukraine anyway. The UK perspective for those with knowledge of history may be influenced by cultural memory of the 1938 Munich agreement and appeasement. Also, I (and perhaps quite a few Britons) have relatives in Eastern Europe, including by marriage. I tend towards conservative politically, but have voted for other parties in non-general elections and I feel all the parties are disappointing in different ways.
Very glad to have you back on track, Vlad! I would also love to have some more videos dedicated to the latest major political events, such as latest US voting - I still can't get my head around, what made the americans make this U turn after six months. This UK video felt a bit too niche to me considering past week events. Lots of love.
I have come across a number of people in the UK who seem to need "deprogramming" when I drilled down on each of their arguments they said I was clearly educated but said they don't care they still believe what they believe, I think this is worth a video in itself, Why do you believe what you believe and I cannot think of a better person to break it down and deliver it. Vlad you are like a detox for the brain, not an echo chamber but serious analysis and a full understanding of the Soviet speak, no so much double speak as 57 varieties of a story so ignorant do not know what to believe. Do not be surprised that "it is the economy stupid" or whatever the phrase was, but did you know that the UK has reduced the offerings for Ukrainian refugees and limited time to 18 months. I am ashamed and disgusted by that. For the REFORM PARTY voters I would simply remind them that they face the same fate as UKIP, Brexit or True and Fair Party, "null points" said in French in Eurovision Song Contest fashion. So a vote for REFORM PARTY is a vote for Labour and they will have 5 years to contemplate that in agony. I try to nail my feet to the absolute centre, I can go right on some things and left on other, I am only extreme or far in that I believe in capital punishment for certain crimes and multiple offenders and maybe in legal Dignitas for chronic pain. I would replace NI with ringfenced NHS, Welfare an Pension taxes. My left of centre include social housing, affordable housing, closing of non-dom, I would change the OFxxx consumer organisations to be pro consumer and sack all of their boards of directors. I would dilute the F out of Thames Water by getting preference shares for Government investment that forces existing shareholder to pay in or see their shareholding diminished. We should have done that with Energy Companies rather than letting 32 companies go to the wall and getting 0.4 trillion more debt. I do no subscribe to the alleged sick note culture, I would create a system of voluntary task based activities that are not mandatory but allow the claimant to contribute and gain confidence in themselves, plus I would give them the support to get back to work. I would actually teach them how to be self employed and I would ban zero hours contracts which are in my opinion a form of modern day slavery. I do not believe that we have a far right or a far left party in the UK, it concerns me that these labels dilute the true meaning of the real extremist parties Stalin, Hitler and their crimes. Based on current offerings, I feel Rishi Sunak is the adult in the room when it comes to fixing the economy, I don't know why people do not get it. Truss was like a husband coming home and saying his solution to debt is to not pay debts they have committed to and to spend what little they have on a get rich quick scheme. The UK is subject to the ratings from Moodys and Standard & Poor, Sunak has their confidence but they will not believe in Kier Starmer and the Labour party. It is just the same as any other domestic or business loan; we will pay high interest with bad rep and we will will pay low interest rate if they believe we are in a safe pair of hands. Currently Sunak is the only option and giving him 5 years to resolve Covid and Energy Debt will give Starmer the chance to completely irradiate the radical left and bring on board some MP's with experience of running a business, project managing, being a Doctor, Scientist and yes a Banker (No I do not believe in shadow chancellor) the problem with Labour is none of them show decisive leadership, they refuse to make any comment until the "central committee" has agreed the "message" which they all stick to and they won't answer questions. Flipper Kier Starmer still has too many radical left, too many momentum, too many lightweights (look up the wikipedia pages) like Angela Rayner who I think is a hypocrite for selling her Social Housing Flat, she learnt tax avoidance from Tony Blair but it is the breach of alleged values that I have a problem with. She took away a social housing property from the people that need them. Never mind the likes of Apsana Begum who got off from Housing Benefit Fraud and still lives in a Social Housing property on her nearly £90,000 salary PLUS EXPENSES. George Osborne damages so much of this Country, from Social Housing to Sure Start Nurseries to draconian Private Landlord taxes making them sell up. Finally we have Cameron, unelected Foreign Secretary that did not even have the balls to remain an MP when he gave the vote on Brexit. Still even he could not be worse that Truss who was pathetic Foreign Secretary and absurd PM who still lives in her own bizarre reality. There was a time when the Lib Dems might have been a home but whatever they were it is lost and they are not worthy of a vote in current form and policies. Oh and I would reduce the ratio of UK MP's to population to 200 and 150, the US manages with equivalent of 91 and 21 respectively, I would seriously change the House of Lords, almost all would be fired. No Michelin level subsidised food & wine, no absurd pay per day rates, no second homes, no renting to each other and massively less expenses. Can you believe £30,033,298.50 claimed in 2023 for 147,920 items including staff and travel. I would pay MP's more, but no second jobs or income and payment by results. No 6 month redundancy package for losing their seat. No to PM giving places on HOL or handing out knighthoods. As for the NHS, remove PFI which is the biggest cost, force renegotiation of contracts and move the debt to where it should be, on UK Balance sheet. Let the Doctors run their departments, prescribe what they believe is best for patients. Make private providers pay the NHS 3x whatever they pay a clinician that has been NHS trained rather than deducting private surgeries from the Trust budget causing theatres to be closed and then rented to the same private companies. Change the patient pathway to the clinician who the GP referred to takes the patient forward to the care they need, inform the GP but no need to go back. Same for any test, the pathlab (which all need to be brought back into NHS) refers the patient forward for treatment without need to go back to GP, but GP retains overall control and support of the care. Out of Hours GP service to be provided in every hospital has has A&E and anything other than true accident or true emergency is triaged by those out of hours GP's, out of hours service fulfilled by all regional GP's in the area. Better preventative medicine, better diagnostics, funding not appeals for expensive equipment. At least half of those on welfare are probably there because they were never given preventative treatment or intervention. I could go on but END OF RANT. VLAD
I am on the left (although a bit wobbly these days), but I truly love Rory Stewart. In these days of an increasingly toxic right, I want to cry with relief when I hear him speak.
Rory Stewart is the only type of Tory I have time for. I would never vote for the man but the Conservatives need to pivot back to people like Rory instead of the fringe right they seem to have embraced.
@@randiebarsteward9406 I really enjoy his politics of localism, and when I heard him talk about it I thought about it an awful lot afterwards, although perhaps I conceive of it differently to him. It's difficult to look at the last century or so of British history and not come to the conclusion that centralisation of the economy around London hasn't had an absolutely apocalyptic effect on the rest of the country, and what is desperately needed is decentralisation, perhaps by simply diversifying our economy away from the sort of business that congregates in the capital (i.e., finance). All the jobs that were in the provinces have gone overseas, and aren't going to come back; personally, I'd like to see heavy investment in the sort of things we've historically been good at as a nation and could replace those jobs: namely, cutting-edge science and technology R&D and manufacturing. We could become a new Taiwan, without the constant threat of invasion. We have a world-class education system and a large workforce which is essentially lying fallow.
For a Northern European it has been surprising to find out how many people actually fall for the Kremlin propaganda in places like Germany that I though were sensible and far too rational for it. I'm also very surprised that Americans and especially republicans (party of Reagan) are for some reason falling for the nonsense also, it was the last place I thought could ever become pro Putin so I'm frankly shocked about it.
I think France and European countries which have been occupied are going all in are doing so because of their recent historical memories. We haven't been invaded for (roughly) 1,042 years and 803 days, give or take, (taking into account leap years since 1582 with the Gregorian calendar), so most people don't have the visceral connection that many around Europe must harbour.
In my experience most Brits are pretty clueless about what’s happening in Ukraine. Most really don’t know anything and what’s more don’t want to know anything.
They appear to be clueless about foreign affairs in general, although I live in the middle of a "woke", left/centre-left, pro-EU, pro-Ukrainian, pro-Palestinian large-minority bubble.
Vlad, I'm so glad to see a video concentrating on the UK, but if you ever do another one, can you not release it at about midnight UK time! I saw it come up as I was going to bed and knew I couldn't do it justice, so waited until this morning, but I hate being late to the party...
I think you overestimate the power of anti-ukraine right populism. I think people like the leader of reform who still support Ukr are more common than you think
My main takeaway from this is that Vlad has been here as long as I have been alive (It was my 30th birthday a week ago). That is a pleasing piece of information to me.
What a luxury to have more than two major political parties! We Americans are envious! I don't think it would be possible for the US to adopt a parliamentary system, but I do believe that a better-designed voting method -- either Approval or STAR -- would have a similar effect, eliminating the spoiler effect that locks us into two parties.
It's very much a two party system here too, although smaller parties do have a small representation in parliament. Caroline Lucas, our only Green MP, and one of the best speakers in the House of Commons, is leaving parliament at the next election, and it seems unlikely that more than a tiny handful of Greens will be elected. There are currently 15 Liberal Democrat MPs. There is one Reform MP and he is an ex-Conservative. There are 18 Independents - 3 ex-Labour and 15 ex-Conservative. Everything is further complicated by the fact that both Scotland and Wales are partially devolved, so have their own parliaments, but still elect MPs to the UK Parliament.
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As a Brit with fairly liberal views I naturally despise the current Conservative party and I see their constant prattling about immigration, islamism, woke etc. as an attempt to manufacture a problem they want to deal with rather than have to try to deal with the actual immediate and oppressing problems you mentioned. Rather than a strawman argument it is like a strawman political issue, they are inventing political issues they want to have so that they can avoid the political issues they don't want to have and act like they achieved a great deal anyway. Regardless, and I know this is irrational, but if there was a bizarre situation where the Conservatives were the only party willing to support Ukraine, I would be seriously tempted to vote for them anyway, such is my passion about the importance of this war for providing at least a pretence of legitimacy to the current world order in broad strokes. Labour's main strategy for now is precisely to avoid such wedges appearing between them and the Conservatives.
@roundaes There is no worse omen for the future of our society than the schizophrenic ramblings of you and your ilk, simply impossible to negotiate with in honest terms
People in Britain take war very seriously. It is the settled view of both main party supporters to support Ukraine. It's not a top issue because there is little controversy
Your perspective is interesting, Vlad. Based on my review of the data, I’d say UK support is stronger than you think. It’s a simplification, but you can divide western countries into three blocks: (1a) Poland, Baltic etc. (1b) the UK, Scandinavia Etc. (2) France, Japan etc. and (3) Italy etc. on paper, support in the UK for Ukraine is as high as a n places like Poland, if not the highest in the wild. As you said, the support is not as ‘daily’/visceral as it perhaps is in places like Lithuania because we are on the other side of the continent and the threat isn’t as ‘real’ to us as it is to Polish people etc. But support among the British public is very strong and hasn’t really budged that much in over two years. I think the USA would be in group 1b if it wasn’t for disinformation from Trump etc., but they’ve really poisoned the water in America.
@VladVexlerChat I hope you will also reflect on the elections in India? Is this nation going be a second autocracy with 1 billion people, and Modi becoming a second Xi? While India has no real imperialistic traditions like Russia and (to some degree) China in last centuries, as ex-colonial nation - a new nationalistic autocracy with 1 billion people is not something to be ignored anyway.
I think the legacy of WW2 and Churchill had a innoculating effect on the Russian/right arguments working in America. Its such a strong callback, especially for conservative voters that not 'living up' to that legacy during a full land-war in Europe makes pro-russian or anti support arguments a harder sell. Probably also helped that Boris set the tone for unqualified support (big Churchill fanboy.) And that most of the old people watch the BBC, not something like FOX.
Interesting. I watch your programmes on Ukraine and dodge your climate-con stuff. Ukraine is very important to me because I am against invasion- and that is why immigration is so high on my list. I will probably vote Reform and support its anti woke stance. Keep up the good stuff on Ukraine. Oh and I support NATO fully but await the collapse of the EU. For Ukraine NATO membership is more important than joining the EUSSR.
Di you have anything to say about institutionalised inefficiency/corruption in business and government management? (I think this could be a winning platform for the Green party and helpful for the country as a whole)
I think looking at differences in views and support for both Ukraine and Palestine in Ireland and comparing them to the views held in the UK could be interesting. There would be lots of similarities but the differences could shed some light on issues. The UK has a more rabid tabloid press and is more divided at the moment then Ireland it also is coloured by clinging on to notions of empire. While Ireland places a very high importance to it's neutrality and sees common history with the Palestinians.
I want to add what I believe to be a really important opinion, although anecdotal, from myself who is surrounded by highly intelligent people leaning toward reform: The single and only reason these people consider voting reform is because they feel utterly betrayed on the one thing they have consistently voted for for 20 years and "supposedly" won on. That is migration. These people are not ANTI migration either, they simply want the numbers enforced to around the levels of the 1990's (anywhere between 10,000 - 100,000 per year). If migration goes down, NONE of them will vote reform. The single biggest failure of the torys in many of their minds is their promise and subsequent failure to LOWER migration. All of them would vote for labour over tory if they genuinly wanted to lower migration to what is considered a sustainable level too. In summary, I don't think right wing populism has a hold on the educated right, other than the utter abject failure of those in power for the last 25 years to put reasonable limits on migration numbers and enforce them. None of them care about planes to Rwanda, it's simply a numbers game, reduce the numbers and suddenly the rest of politics comes back into the room for discussion.
It may be my part Polish heritage from one Grandparent and the fact I remember my memories of all my Grandparents except the Grandmother who died before I was born and all lived and fought in WW2. However I fervently oppose Fascism and Communism, support all aid for Ukraine and more, and trust the system of government that Liberal Democracy represents. (In my opinion we don't have that in the UK with our Electoral System which overwhelmingly supports a single political party, let alone two.)
Are the poles of our (US +UK) current polarization 18thC vs 19thC? Enlightenment rationalism, democracy, and the equality of man vs Romantic Nationalism, instinct, strongman leadership and the nation as one people?
My intuition about Reform Party members is that whilst they might say they oppose supporting Ukraine because of "Britain First", for some of them that's something of a disguise for their admiration of Putin .. admiration because he is a dictator and admiration because he is 'anti-woke'.
I voted Reform in the poll (though no option reflects where I'm at). I'm to my core anti-Putin and his regime. I am unwavering in my support for Ukraine. I see the NHS strain and unsustainable rates of immigration tied together. I am vehemently anti-woke. I agree with a lot of the critiques of anti-woke that Vlad has presented, yet I do not agree that the latter is as yet worse than the former. I find "Wokeism" a regressive betrayal of British Liberalism. I also find it authoritarian, dressed up in manipulative platitudes of nice words. I find it's weaponization of words like "Empathy" dehumanising towards those who aren't in lock step with its claims, and who happen to have the misfortune of being from the wrong tribe in the facile "oppressor / oppressed" paradigm. You may find a lot of people attracted to Reform are far from anti-democratic right wing nutjobs, though most are temperamentally right wing or right leaning. Many are classical liberals who don't share the Green or Lib Dem progressive lens, while Labor is a mixed bag of a progressive lens and the more sympathetic classical class lens. It's interesting Vlad mentioning the commentator who called out Reform with a "How Dare You" because that is exactly how Reform feel about the parties that have pushed "Wokeism" on society. A socially corrosive, punitive, paternalistically racist, counter majoritarian, bizarre chimera of Social Liberalism and Marxism, buttressed with post modern sophistry. It's basically religious ethno-marxism built on exceptions rather than any universal principles. A blind dog could tell you amplifing group based identity politics yet thinking one can control who gets to do so is idiotic beyond belief. It was always going to wish into existence the very opponent it had been tilting at windmills for years over, the re-racializing of white identity as something bigger than fringe nutters. The Woke imposition was beyond irresponsible, but deliberately destructive going by its advocates own rhetoric. It is an affront to Liberalism. As for Conservatives, one must ask what a British Conservative wants to conserve. The majority of these people aren't fascists, their worldview is shaped and defined by a broad western British Liberalism, and most calling themselves Conservative want to conserve what they see as the damage to that Liberal order committed by the "woke" excess of progressivism. Something the Tories have refused to do, or could not do. These conservatives hold individualism as a core pillar of their beliefs. Reform certainly has to be on its guard against elements beyond the pale, namely collectivist white identitarians. Just like the Greens and Labor should be doing with anti-democratic Marxists amongst their ranks. Vlad has acknowledged that populist right segments of society feel they have been put last in favour of "outsiders". Yet there may be truth to the perception, as Pew research polls indicate that specifically in the USA (who share cultural traits with the UK) across racial and political lines, all demographic groups have a mild in-group bias except for progressive white people who have an out-group bias, the very group responsible for pushing "Wokeism". Vlad rightfully talks about the fundamental need for robust counter majoritarian institutions. Yet what does one do when so many appear to be infected with a post-truth proto-faith (Woke certainly is) that is seen as an existential threat to one's social trust and culture at large?
Admiration of Putin is something I simply can’t comprehend unless one is ignorant. He has destroyed Russia for the next 100 years. They’re now subservient to China and their economy is totally wrecked.
@@PjRjHj May I ask, when you say "I do not agree that the latter is as yet worse than the former", what is the 'latter' and 'former' to which you are referring?
We pro-Ukrainian voices are finding ourselves with some strange bedfellows: Lockheed, Raytheon, General Dynamics, etc. Without a doubt the military industrial complex is cuddled up right next to us. Which feels really weird…
I know exactly how you feel. I think back to myself in my 20s and my attitudes then, and yet even then I wasn't a complete pacifist. I knew that if I'd been alive in 1939, I would have backed the war effort wholeheartedly.
I am British and a member of ReformUK. This membership largely recognises the threat of Russia and wants Ukraine to survive. The problems come with economic support and refugees when public funding and housing is in such short supply. The fringe right like The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters and Tim Davies aren't in ReformUK because they got kicked out.
When there's economic growth many domestic issues can be properly managed. International policy has then more space. It's now evident that Brexit was not the solution to British economic stagnation. Labor will be at a disadvantage to improve conditions after Brexit.
![Eminem - The Death of Slim Shady [Album Trailer]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/X0HIrS6kUYI/mqdefault.jpg)
I don't have anything new to say, but I still think it's worth feeding a comment here. So I'll do another take on my main response to one of Vlad's points: I still don't see how we get from 4+4 to 34v44.
That is, we have an analysis labeled "4+4" (summarized in this video, starting at about 15:50); we have a conclusion that I'm calling "34v44" (stated in various other videos); and we have the claim that the analysis warrants the conclusion. I'll paraphrase the analysis and the conclusion in this comment.
The analysis says that we have four trends and four modes of distrust. The four trends are modes of democratic degeneration (although I'm not entirely convinced that the usage of "democratic" here is really compatible with its generic meaning in English): (1) the state of the internet, (2) an increased moral urgency to political opinion, (3) increasing connection between political opinion and identity, and (4) exclusion of people from politics. The four modes of distrust are (1) feeling unsafe because of the incompetence of political institutions, (2) feeling excluded from politics, (3) feeling betrayed by one's political institutions, and (4) feeling as though the existing political institutions are nonsensical or at least incomprehensible.
To me, it seem entirely plausible that all of these things are going on, and that they matter. But there's the comparison of how things will be ten years from now (in 2034) versus how they will be ten years after that (in 2044): 34 versus 44, for short. It seems extremely unlikely that any of the 4+4 would entirely reverse on a timescale of days to weeks. But on a time scale of years, not decades, why not? For that matter, the observable patterns could, for all I know, be the visible manifestation of other phenomena that have already begun to reverse. So I have trouble imagining any basis for a high level of confidence that the incapacity of our institutions will continue to worsen between 2034 and 2044.
Yes thank you so much. I think this confirms I understood your view. I'm so thrilled about your engagement here. Allow me to be prosaic, unsoftened and rapid in response. My response isn't that what you are suggesting is unlikely, whereas what I am suggesting is likely. My response is that something more basic has gone wrong with your thinking about this. That's to say, the problem isn't with your reasoning above, although it's problematic too, but with something off the page. The problem with your reasoning above is that the trends I name are currently being held in check by institutions which are accumulating wear and tear; the trends are only in their inception; we have limited mechanisms for democratic regeneration. This means we will be out at sea in 2040. Not sinking but not in the bay. But I don't think that's the problem. The problem is off the page. That's to say, you are not mistaken about these particular trends, but about about something upstream. Probably, about what a trend and a tendency is, politically and historically. Understanding tendencies is not compatible with the superficially neutral spirit of your response. Possibly, this is speculative but plausible, a certain teleology is playing a role - but I would need know you more to judge. That's to say that you have rationally let go of teleology but the way you think is still structured by it. Overall, the brief optimistic post 1991 phase is an historical aberration which we can't return to. The idea that we have a 50% chance of recapturing that level of stability and democratic sustenance by 2040 is really really off. And indeed , my 4+4 doesn't mention plenty of other degenerative democratic factors, such as the climate crisis which will make the sustenance of democracy harder. OVERALL, I'm not sure if this is of any help beyond beyond just an assertion by me. But my intellectual advice is that the issue is off the page. If you think it's 50/50 by 2040, then something seriously epistemically wrong has happened at some previous stage. I will blank out your name and share this exchange on the community board if that's OK! It will help the community a lot! Thank you so much for being with me and hope this blunt reaction is of some use, but I am totally OK if it isn't and you are simply annoyed! With gratitude. Vlad Ps. For anyone reading this, sorry to state the obvious, this exchange is in the realm of interpretation. It's not particularly normative, nor is it close to being factual. Interpretation both of the social world and of the possibilities of interpreting the social world. Pps. The 4 modes of dem degenerations are (1) Social atomisation and untethering of social bonds (2) the state of the internet (3) exclusion (4) ideologies of self realisation which centre political opinion in moralisation and identity.
@@VladVexlerChat
I agree with your assessment but how do you see the current speeding up of tech progress affecting this decline? Could one solution be more institutional automation that makes it feel less unfair, especially if the system can explain it's reasoning to people on their own level. Conversely, if we have more time on our hands due to more or even full automation in the workplace and we have something like UBI (Universal Basic Income) - will people find meaning? How would that affect the Democratic decline with more people potentially having nothing to do? Most folks are not mature enough to "find their own way" in a fluid society after all, if you get what I mean. Many need an external framework, a meaning in life that feels integrated into a larger whole. Note that I never finished what Americans would call high school and English is my second language so I liberally use there words.
@@BooleanDisorder Is there "tech progress"? Economists have been argued for several decades that technological progress has pretty much stopped. All we are seeing is a redistribution of income share from labour to capital. And this redistribution has consequences for the type of capital that firms employ for their workforce. If firms buy computers they need workers specialised for that. That is all we are seeing.
look who controls the media, those billionaires hate putin
@@VladVexlerChat Thank you for the reply. Blunt is fine, and it's certainly ok to repost. For that matter, feel free to include my name if it would be helpful.
It's not that I think it's 50/50 where we'll be in 2040, relative to 2024. The trends make that much sense to me, anyway. It's that I think it's close enough to 50/50, for all I can tell, whether 2044 will be better or worse than 2034. Things changed enough from the 70s to the 90s, for example, that projecting the difference between 1990 and 2000 from the perspective of 1980 would take more than I think we have.
As for what shapes my thought, it was some time around 1986 I set myself the thought exercise of trying to come up with an argument in favor of democracy that would be persuasive to someone who was biased against democracy but open to dialogue and otherwise generally reasonable. So I'm native to a time when, if someone wanted to write a future history for a sci-fi story, the default would be to have the Soviet empire persist farther into the future than 2024, let alone 1991. Then 1991 arrived, and then 2001. So I'm primed to expect surprises, and to feel that any confident prediction is likely to be wrong. (Except for the prediction that Americans will never be willing to tax the rich: that may have the same epistemic status as anything else at the level of ratiocination, but it feels as though it's carved in stone that will still be legible when everything else about America has crumbled to dust.) If I had seen 1991 coming in 1986, my expectations would presumably be different.
I'm British and have supported Ukraine since the invasion begun in 2014 but strongly since the second invasion. I donate to various groups that fight for Ukraine. I'm still dismayed to find people parroting Kremlin talking points. I loathed Johnson but his attitude to Ukraine I completely agree with. I do think we could do more to help.
My sentiments exactly
We have an elderly friend who does that. “Ukraine is full of Nazis and corruption and NATO was expanding” “ how can we fund war when we’ve got food banks? “. You name it ,he’s repeating the tropes.
Ukrainians have my full support. Best wishes from Nottingham UK.
As a brit i support Ukraine
Me too!
Many blessings from Bournemouth
I'm a Brit, I support Ukraine 🇺🇦 ❤
I'm trying to learn Ukrainian too 🇬🇧 ❤ 🇺🇦
це іду повільно.
Слава Україні!
The scientific term for this is vladbias.
Another Bournemouth Ukraine supporter here. Proud to be part of NAFO, I bonk and donate as often as I can.
Slava Ukraini!
I am a Ukrainian ethnic from Romania (NE, 5 miles from the Ukrainian border), who also speaks Russian and been living in London for the past 10.5 years. Discovering your channel about two years ago is something I am really happy about. You show a deep understanding of what's happening, from more than one perspective (I can tell that thanks to my a little unusual life background), and it's always a pleasure getting a sharper imagine of some of the events.
Romania has been very supportive of Ukraine and helped displaced persons a lot
@@CollectiveWest1 I know, I was there. When the invasion started I was in Romania on holiday. Ended up volunteering for two weeks at the border. Also hosted refugees in my home as well.
@@chipishor Well thank you. I am only agreeing with you and showing that someone in the UK is aware of what Romania has done, and so I try to make that better known publicly.
Thank you, Vlad, please take good care of your health. Lots of love, listen to you soon 🤗
Love love!
As a Spanish I feel ashamed of the current government we have here. Supposedly it is moderate left, but it managed to govern only due to the support of very very left parties (which had very little support from the population). Because of that, those very very left parties have kidnaped our society and democracy, despite people barely voted to them, and the government only does what those parties tell it to do. So, our government is absolutely aligned with all anti-Western powers of the planet, and of course it is very indulgent with Russia and Iran, but at the same time they try to keep the appearances not to bother the EU too much. The situation is horrible.
I think that this is just 1 particular outcome of the wider crisis with the moderate left in Europe. The moderate left has been splintered disastrously in the last 20 years. And they are left with the difficult decision of forming uneasy coalitions with parties to their left and/or right.
I could make the argument that the political parties of EPP is not pro-West. They are in coalition with Victor Orban. If I am to believe that a pro-West politican is like Nixon/Kennedy. Then there is no pro-west politician in Europe.
I just visited Spain and see it is host to an awful lot of Russians
Aren't there some centrist parties they could form a coalition with or is the only other option right wing?
I’m in the UK and I will vote Labour. My priority is the NHS, Defence (linked to Ukraine) then the Economy. What’s the point in rebuilding our nation if we can’t defend primarily defend it ourselves, instead of heavily relying on someone else (USA) to do the heavy lifting. It’s time that people in the UK realised exactly how vulnerable we are to attack in conventional, cyber and the informational war. The whole world is one big eco system and anything that happens no matter how far away will affect us. Russia, Iran and China must be dealt with before it goes too far. 🇬🇧🇺🇦🇺🇸🇪🇺💪🏻
British culture, before British economy!
I'm British and I support Ukraine.
The situation that Ukraine is going through reminds me the situation that we went through during WW2. there was a point when we were the only country in Europe left to oppose the Nazis and we were being bombed daily just as Ukraine is being bombed. Fortunately with aid coming in from abroad did we hang on long enough for other countries to join the war and turn the tide.
Ukraine needs our help now to defend themselves from similar aggression. This is why I will always support Ukraine. And I will only vote for a party that is committed to doing so aswell. We must stand against military expansionism and fascist regimes.
But this comparison doesn't fly
Soviets are a key reason Nazi s lost( Ukraine s included )
Leningrad on other hand did have higher number of casualties during WW2 then whole of USA combined.Plus Nazi Germany was never a nuclear weapons power
"the only country in Europe left to oppose the Nazis"??? Sorry, but where you got that fantasy from?
@@alvarobarcala I think meaning the last one still standing and not fully taken over.
@@alvarobarcala at one point most of Europe was overrun by Germany. France had surrendered, Italy was in alliance as a dictatorship with Germany, Austria had made a deal, Hungary was an ally and Czechoslovakia had capitulated, Poland was invaded on both sides. So yes U.K. was practically the last country left. Stalin had been Germanys partner in crime but switched sides and the US lend lease programme armed Russia who would otherwise have been overrun.
@@goenzoy712 "The most important things in this war are the machines... The United States is a country of machines. Without the machines we received through Lend-Lease, we would have lost the war."
- Stalin
"If the United States had not helped us, we would not have won the war"
- Khrushchev
Looking at most read articles in newspapers including The Guardian, football usually comes first unless there has been a sex crime or murder. Ukraine is rarely mentioned in any top 10. I put Ukraine first because it’s so terribly important for all of us and the whole world. People avoid me in the coffee shop.
Which coffee shop?
@@searcherholic3473 costa in Westbourne usually
The Guardian does have good coverage of Ukraine though including by Luke Harding
@@CollectiveWest1 yes but not many interested in it
@@sallywilton2236 I agree with you - your comment is fair and consistent with what Vlad said.
Never ever did i expect my youth hero AliG getting mentioned on this Channel, though its a deeply political comedy.
Apparently Sacha Baron Cohen is working on bringing him back
@@RealUlrichLeland Nice, although i loved the ending with him becoming UK-Ambassador to Jamaica^^
NUF RESPECT
Booyakasha! Respek bruv innit. I'm UK born in Croydon, but here is something interesting- when Putin invaded in 2014 many of us thought "just let Putin have Crimea, at least the rest of Ukraine will finally be free." I was working as a sales rep at the time so I was meeting with lots of affluent often powerful people, this was pretty much what everyone was thinking and saying about the issue, including, to my shame, me. He might've gotten away with it. Now things are very different. We gave him an inch and he has tried to take a yard. Now many of us think Putin has to be stopped, whatever the cost, and Crimea needs to be returned to Ukraine. If not- new cold war or even hot... We are proud and principled, there is a good chance that if Putin invades the Baltics we will declare war on Russia, regardless of what anyone else decides, even given what that will likely mean. I don't think the US will defend the Baltics, but if Russian nukes start dropping on UK, I'm pretty confident the US will join in on our side again.
Rather not talk about UK politics... at least we can still point at US politics and say it isn't quite that bad.
Another thing- Really strange that some people at the extreme ends of the political spectrum here tend to support Russia- like Russell Brand or Sargon. I don't get it.
This exactly 👌🏻I was doing a very similar job, in the same circles and to my own shame the same opinion. However, after Feb 22 I was and remain outraged and I want to see the gloves come off against Russia, China and Iran too, but especially Russia.
@0:00 It's GOOD to see you looking with and acting with more pep than you could muster (it seemed) for several weeks now, Vlad. 🖖🏽❣
Thanks so much!
As a Brit I believe Ukraine is seen as an issue here and there is still support but it's not as visceral as it is within the former Soviet nations because we never lived under Moscow's thumb.
We still carry the memory of the last time someone in Europe started invading their neighbors and to be blunt if it was Germany acting up instead of Russia there'd probably a more urgent response from us as it's closer and we remember what happened the last time.
One of the main issues is that there is a myriad of internal issues in the UK that need to be addressed and little confidence in Parliament to get the job done. We spent nearly a decade watching politicians argue and go in circles with Brexit (yes, it will have been 10 years in June) and since then there has been multiple scandals in pretty much every major political party. The Tories are not popular but there doesn't seem to be much faith in the alternatives to be any better, I would not be surprised if the next election results in a hung parliament with no clear winner and a coalition being formed that continues to fumble the ball because they cannot agree on basic things.
Support for Ukraine is here, but faith in the government is not.
As a UK citizen I do care very strongly about Ukraine, but I do worry when I watch pro-Ukrainian podcasts that I am part of a small bubble. This episode of Vlads channel is actually quite reassuring.
l respect the British people alot.Even after the invansion of Ukraine some european leaders like Macron and Scholz made shameful comments about appeasing Putin but the Brits were the most supportive and anti Putin since the very start
Well Macron is the only one that has actually spoke about sending troops to Ukraine so I personally don't think he is that bad at least not anymore. With Scholz I'm not so happy with, they should stop the blocking and send Taurus immediately.
I don’t think so much. Boris Johnson was at the fore of helping Ukraine but lots of people thought he was faking it for attention and now they are even coming out with how he stopped a peace deal! I was more than happy that he did his utmost for Ukraine but Lots of folk here don’t want Ukraine to get any help and look for excuses like how ‘Ukraine is corrupt, Nazi. Had a coup, tried to join nato and all those tropes. Typical Farage followers. Maybe a few prominent people make us appear nicer but scratch the surface and it’s not like that.
@@cyberfunk3793 agree
@@cyberfunk3793 That is only recently though.
As someone who spent a lot of time in the UK, Lithuania and Poland, from my perspective, the biggest supporter is Lithuania, then the UK and then Poland.
All of them are doing an awesome job.
I base this on what people say and the flags I see on the streets etc, and what companies do.
Poland has the most Ukrainians, but I'm surprised that not that many polish companies show support for Ukraine, e.g. in Lithuania I saw many companies change their logo to Ukrainian flag colors
I think that Romania, Latvia, Estonia, Norway and the Netherlands are also particularly strong supporters of Ukraine (and other countries are providing help too).
@@CollectiveWest1 Yeah, no doubt about it, I only mentioned countries I visited a lot in the last few years
@@CollectiveWest1 All the Nordic countries Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland with the Baltics have been strong supporters of Ukraine. Actually in opinion polls the rate of % population supportive of Ukraine was the highest in Sweden, Finland and Netherlands were it was something like over 90%. Even Poland, Baltics or UK were nowhere those levels.
@@cyberfunk3793 Thank you for that additional information.
Middle right Conservative here. I have and will always support Ukraine.
I didn't realise you used to live in Datchet, Vlad. My parents were just down the road in Wraysbury for a few years! I enjoy that you opted to mention the proximity to Ali G rather than Windsor Castle!
South African living in Glasgow, in a long-term relationship with a Ukranian lass. I'm an outsider to UK and to Ukraine so it's been interesting to watch but mostly quite sad to see the decline of active support of Ukraine from everyday people. Only the most committed locals attend support rallies and events anymore. I understand compassion fatigue and the increase of, what I perceive to be, successful sticky Russian propaganda esp the Carlson interview but I absolutely cannot understand the apathy of certain comments my girlfriend receives from random people we meet who ask where we're from. For example, a cab collected us from the bus station after she returned from visiting family in Ukraine and the driver congratulated her for not getting bombed while she was there and chuckled to himself. After the terrorist attack in Moscow someone from her office removed the Ukrainian flag which was standing on her desk. I've also felt a slight shift in sentiment, almost as if they're now unsure whether Ukraine is in the right for defending itself, from my friends and family regarding the war and that disturbs me. As someone to researching impacts of technology, my impulse is to blame this mediated space most people now live in/experience for bringing out the worst in individuals.
I don't think the Tucker Carlson interview was successful russian propaganda, in most reviews i have seen putin comes across as completely unhinged.
Tucker Carlson's russian supermarket video was equally moronic, where he was astounded that you put a coin in a slot to get a trolley, and that one can buy fresh bread.
Good luck to you and your bonny Ukrainian lassie.
It's been a while since we got a really good khhhhhello!
Based on this, Russian troll factories will have the most effect by focusing on "my tax pounds" in British forums. I guess they figured that out a long time ago.
That’s true
I have literally never heard of someone who supports or excuses Russia here in Sweden, in real life. It's utterly uncontroversial to help Ukraine and *not* something you can win or lose elections from. "Russia is our only enemy! Better to reduce them in Ukraine than fight them here later!". It's one of the very very few things going on in Sweden that I am super proud of. Well, except in how clueless we can be with immigration - not until now (some) Ukrainians hiding here have gotten a unique "person numbers" ("social security number" to word it American) which is essential to be recognized by many (digital) systems, or make bank account etc. But you know, it's not like we aced immigration before this... xD
Yes, I saw some polls and Sweden with Netherlands was where the support was highest in Europe with over 90%. I think it would be the same or even higher in Finland but they were not in that poll if I remember correctly. It's great to know in the Nordic countries people have not fallen for the propaganda coming from Kremlin and Netherlands was the same.
Wow
Vlad, superb content, you really nailed today.
thanks so much
That was really good. I am always Pessimistic and I hope your description is more accurate. Thank you.
Oh you live in the U.K., proud to have you here mate.
Vlad is part of the Staines massive init. Proper gangsta
RESPECT
Love to see him in his dayglow cammo gear
I’m an Italian living in London for almost ten years. I cannot speak on behalf UK as I believe London is a little world apart. I do not know many ‘British’ but in my workplace people do not discuss politics and I feel a general lack of interest for international politics. Expat community is more likely to discuss it. There is not doubt that Londoners feels generally disappointed by the Tories and the mayor election will possibly confirm Khan as Mayor. The vast muslim community is pro Palestinians hundred percent. When last February 24, I went to the gathering in Trafalgar square to commemorate the Russian brutal invasion of Ukraine, I was surprised to notice the lack of diversity of the people protesting or showing solidarity. I fear a large part of the country without a European background perceive the conflict as something European and pretty regional. I may be wrong but this is the general feeling I got from my work place.
In contrast to Italy, I have never hear pro Russian comments here.
In Italy, the RUclips channels I follow are pestered by pro Russia’ s individuals, some are probably generated bots but some others are against USA and embrace and admire the dictatorial leaderships. Sad but true.
Stay strong dear Vlad, hugs from Lewisham.
That’s a very interesting and honest perspective especially about Italy. I’ve heard that many Italians like a lot of people are happy to have dictatorship. My own Italian grandfather was a big follower of Mussolini and even had the uniform. But his plight was fairly understandable as a WW1 veteran who had fought Austria, a peasant from the Veneto who could not read or write. In U.K. I think people don’t like taking politics, not because it’s bad manners but mostly because they don’t know anything, like a kid at school who hasn’t done their homework. They take short cuts, reiterating headlines or banal statements. I think it’s quite likely that it’s always been so as politics requires at least some reading and research into history to glean some knowledge about the topic. I’m a great earwigger and note that I hardly ever hear conversations that are about current affairs. They are generally about personal stuff but I find that quite amusing. The public should not be asked to vote in referendums. They are mostly not up to it at all and I think politicians should have IQ tests too, as the current ones seem pretty dumb.
@@sallywilton2236 I can't place much store in IQ tests so I'd be much more keen for them to take a Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised test.
@@PortilloMoment both perhaps. My current concern is how many MPs seem to be there for sex reasons first, second money and last working for constituents How have they got so much time when they have an endlessly busy day if they do the job properly?
Love your brilliant thoughts. Im so dumb. Thank you professor.
Nice to see you are doing well, Vlad. its about time you gave us a visit for a bit of Beautiful Australian Sunshine. Slava Ukraine.
Idk why but it's super funny to see you in those kind of "Russian grandma" type of glasses lol
Vlad, it’s sols-bry not salis-bury!
Yes! There are about 50 English words which I learnt to pronounce wrong! I still pronounce them wrong. That includes some names, also random words like hedgehog, or innards. I am eliminating them little by little, but only a rate of one per year!!! And it's got harder since my neurological illness 2003 onward - I stopped being able to speak or write or read for a few years. When my symptoms are less under control I struggle to spell or pronounce or recall words which I know.
"Salis"bury is how Americans pronounce it.
Source: salisbury steak was my favorite TV Dinner flavor as a kid, lol.
You should hear us say Worcestershire, lol. Or even worse, ask an American to spell it.
@@OdyTypeR Me too I loved Salisbury Steak TV dinners : ) an American classic 🤣 Right up there with Kraft Mac and Cheese : )
Actually it’s correctly pronounced Saulsbury. I went to school there.
@@sallywilton2236 I am routinely teased for not pronouncing it right since the 1990s!
I love you man. So glad you finally came out and said everything outright and with some context. We need someone like you right now on a platform like this to help some people understand what's going on.
Thanks for the analysis!
VladdyG!!!
In da HOUSE
LOL
Dearest Vlad, it's so good to see you up and animated. I didn't realize stats got you so excited! Next time I'll keep that in mind when I see a poll!
Math department out.
Lots of love from NYC ❤️💛🌻
I'm British and support Ukraine but I think it's the government to increase defense spending and to do everything to help Ukraine as a given. I do worry they aren't increasing arms production fast enough. I agree with your view as we are not at war and are an island so I suppose we don't feel threatened and thus it's less of a political priority .
Thank you for the time and effort you give in producing these interesting videos.
I used to live in Spain and the fact they are more ambiguous towards their views in the Russia-Ukraine war does not surprise me. There is more of an anti-NATO-US-UK "hegemony" attitude in many of the southern European countries - there is a stron. I imagine being the most distant NATO members from Russia helps with that relaxed attitude - they feel completely safe from world events; plus Spain and Italy being pretty much a non-entity on the world stage for about 300 years. There is also an increased number of Russian immigrants living in Spain now. I lived in Catalunya and it attracted a lot of Russian families resettling there. Not wishing to lower the tone or be uncouth but there is a bit of a 'simping' attitude of a lot of Spaniards to Russians...to the woman, of course.
Unsurprisingly, However it is an exploit point for Russia to start separatist groups ..
I am from the USA, with some Spanish blood, and I studied history a bit but no expert.
Russia will destabilize a country and corrupt it.. Spain better wake up..
Same in the USA...American men love Eastern European women...just look at Trump.😆 I lived in Granada for a year during college....and southern Europe went through a very hard time with austerity measures to get in the EU...so there may be a little resentment deep down. Spain had a difficult economy with so much unemployment etc...so they worked hard to get in the EU. Italy and Greece even more, I think.
@@suzannstrohmaier2578 Spain joined EU already 1986 so I don't think the more recent austerity measures had anything to do with being able to join EU, it was due to the financial crisis and rules of being part of Euro etc. But it is true that for some reason, the Kremlin propaganda seems to be hitting their target much more efficiently in southern Europe for some reason.
I think it also has a lot to do with the fascistic past of spain and italy which they were never forced to properly processe like germany. a lot more sympathisers for dictatorship and strongmen like putin.
Thanks Vlad. As always, a calm and rationale perspective, with which I agree as a Briton. I have a limited social circle, so cannot generalise but here in London I have met only one person sympathetic to Russia (a Chinese colleague at my former employer, who was otherwise a reasonable person, so I infer he was influenced by Chinese media - I and several colleagues from other European countries strongly but politely advocated to him in favour of Ukraine, and of course we continued working together in a professional manner). I think Britons don't feel there is a need to demonstrate about Ukraine because all the major political parties support Ukraine so I'd expect policy to be fairly consistent in the near future regardless of the election result. However, I still try to go to marches and other events supporting Ukraine anyway. The UK perspective for those with knowledge of history may be influenced by cultural memory of the 1938 Munich agreement and appeasement. Also, I (and perhaps quite a few Britons) have relatives in Eastern Europe, including by marriage. I tend towards conservative politically, but have voted for other parties in non-general elections and I feel all the parties are disappointing in different ways.
Thanks Vlad, glad you’re feeling better. ❤
Very glad to have you back on track, Vlad!
I would also love to have some more videos dedicated to the latest major political events, such as latest US voting - I still can't get my head around, what made the americans make this U turn after six months.
This UK video felt a bit too niche to me considering past week events.
Lots of love.
Thanks for talking to us.
פסח שמח,
dear Vlad!
Very interesting, the bit of discussion about your expectations for your audience poll and comparison with results underway.
Thank you for the look inside, Vlad!
Good to see you 😀
Love from Norwich
Great to get a big picture summary
Scottish voter here and I wouldn't wish the green party on anyone!
I have come across a number of people in the UK who seem to need "deprogramming" when I drilled down on each of their arguments they said I was clearly educated but said they don't care they still believe what they believe, I think this is worth a video in itself, Why do you believe what you believe and I cannot think of a better person to break it down and deliver it. Vlad you are like a detox for the brain, not an echo chamber but serious analysis and a full understanding of the Soviet speak, no so much double speak as 57 varieties of a story so ignorant do not know what to believe.
Do not be surprised that "it is the economy stupid" or whatever the phrase was, but did you know that the UK has reduced the offerings for Ukrainian refugees and limited time to 18 months. I am ashamed and disgusted by that.
For the REFORM PARTY voters I would simply remind them that they face the same fate as UKIP, Brexit or True and Fair Party, "null points" said in French in Eurovision Song Contest fashion. So a vote for REFORM PARTY is a vote for Labour and they will have 5 years to contemplate that in agony.
I try to nail my feet to the absolute centre, I can go right on some things and left on other, I am only extreme or far in that I believe in capital punishment for certain crimes and multiple offenders and maybe in legal Dignitas for chronic pain. I would replace NI with ringfenced NHS, Welfare an Pension taxes. My left of centre include social housing, affordable housing, closing of non-dom, I would change the OFxxx consumer organisations to be pro consumer and sack all of their boards of directors. I would dilute the F out of Thames Water by getting preference shares for Government investment that forces existing shareholder to pay in or see their shareholding diminished. We should have done that with Energy Companies rather than letting 32 companies go to the wall and getting 0.4 trillion more debt. I do no subscribe to the alleged sick note culture, I would create a system of voluntary task based activities that are not mandatory but allow the claimant to contribute and gain confidence in themselves, plus I would give them the support to get back to work. I would actually teach them how to be self employed and I would ban zero hours contracts which are in my opinion a form of modern day slavery.
I do not believe that we have a far right or a far left party in the UK, it concerns me that these labels dilute the true meaning of the real extremist parties Stalin, Hitler and their crimes. Based on current offerings, I feel Rishi Sunak is the adult in the room when it comes to fixing the economy, I don't know why people do not get it. Truss was like a husband coming home and saying his solution to debt is to not pay debts they have committed to and to spend what little they have on a get rich quick scheme.
The UK is subject to the ratings from Moodys and Standard & Poor, Sunak has their confidence but they will not believe in Kier Starmer and the Labour party. It is just the same as any other domestic or business loan; we will pay high interest with bad rep and we will will pay low interest rate if they believe we are in a safe pair of hands. Currently Sunak is the only option and giving him 5 years to resolve Covid and Energy Debt will give Starmer the chance to completely irradiate the radical left and bring on board some MP's with experience of running a business, project managing, being a Doctor, Scientist and yes a Banker (No I do not believe in shadow chancellor) the problem with Labour is none of them show decisive leadership, they refuse to make any comment until the "central committee" has agreed the "message" which they all stick to and they won't answer questions.
Flipper Kier Starmer still has too many radical left, too many momentum, too many lightweights (look up the wikipedia pages) like Angela Rayner who I think is a hypocrite for selling her Social Housing Flat, she learnt tax avoidance from Tony Blair but it is the breach of alleged values that I have a problem with. She took away a social housing property from the people that need them. Never mind the likes of Apsana Begum who got off from Housing Benefit Fraud and still lives in a Social Housing property on her nearly £90,000 salary PLUS EXPENSES. George Osborne damages so much of this Country, from Social Housing to Sure Start Nurseries to draconian Private Landlord taxes making them sell up. Finally we have Cameron, unelected Foreign Secretary that did not even have the balls to remain an MP when he gave the vote on Brexit. Still even he could not be worse that Truss who was pathetic Foreign Secretary and absurd PM who still lives in her own bizarre reality.
There was a time when the Lib Dems might have been a home but whatever they were it is lost and they are not worthy of a vote in current form and policies.
Oh and I would reduce the ratio of UK MP's to population to 200 and 150, the US manages with equivalent of 91 and 21 respectively, I would seriously change the House of Lords, almost all would be fired. No Michelin level subsidised food & wine, no absurd pay per day rates, no second homes, no renting to each other and massively less expenses. Can you believe £30,033,298.50 claimed in 2023 for 147,920 items including staff and travel. I would pay MP's more, but no second jobs or income and payment by results. No 6 month redundancy package for losing their seat. No to PM giving places on HOL or handing out knighthoods.
As for the NHS, remove PFI which is the biggest cost, force renegotiation of contracts and move the debt to where it should be, on UK Balance sheet. Let the Doctors run their departments, prescribe what they believe is best for patients. Make private providers pay the NHS 3x whatever they pay a clinician that has been NHS trained rather than deducting private surgeries from the Trust budget causing theatres to be closed and then rented to the same private companies. Change the patient pathway to the clinician who the GP referred to takes the patient forward to the care they need, inform the GP but no need to go back. Same for any test, the pathlab (which all need to be brought back into NHS) refers the patient forward for treatment without need to go back to GP, but GP retains overall control and support of the care. Out of Hours GP service to be provided in every hospital has has A&E and anything other than true accident or true emergency is triaged by those out of hours GP's, out of hours service fulfilled by all regional GP's in the area. Better preventative medicine, better diagnostics, funding not appeals for expensive equipment. At least half of those on welfare are probably there because they were never given preventative treatment or intervention.
I could go on but END OF RANT. VLAD
Vlad, your accent betrays the fact that you are not living in a bubble of intellectual elites. I can feel that just in the way you say "about" 🙂
I am on the left (although a bit wobbly these days), but I truly love Rory Stewart. In these days of an increasingly toxic right, I want to cry with relief when I hear him speak.
Rory is beautiful.
Rory is adorable. I'm on the progressive left and listen faithfully to The Rest is Politics. On the American side, I also follow The Bulwark.
Rory Stewart is the only type of Tory I have time for. I would never vote for the man but the Conservatives need to pivot back to people like Rory instead of the fringe right they seem to have embraced.
@@randiebarsteward9406 I really enjoy his politics of localism, and when I heard him talk about it I thought about it an awful lot afterwards, although perhaps I conceive of it differently to him.
It's difficult to look at the last century or so of British history and not come to the conclusion that centralisation of the economy around London hasn't had an absolutely apocalyptic effect on the rest of the country, and what is desperately needed is decentralisation, perhaps by simply diversifying our economy away from the sort of business that congregates in the capital (i.e., finance).
All the jobs that were in the provinces have gone overseas, and aren't going to come back; personally, I'd like to see heavy investment in the sort of things we've historically been good at as a nation and could replace those jobs: namely, cutting-edge science and technology R&D and manufacturing. We could become a new Taiwan, without the constant threat of invasion. We have a world-class education system and a large workforce which is essentially lying fallow.
Rest is politics podcast enjoyer?
Thank you Vlad for yet again expanding my views
18:00 Absolutely right and very well put
For a Northern European it has been surprising to find out how many people actually fall for the Kremlin propaganda in places like Germany that I though were sensible and far too rational for it. I'm also very surprised that Americans and especially republicans (party of Reagan) are for some reason falling for the nonsense also, it was the last place I thought could ever become pro Putin so I'm frankly shocked about it.
🇺🇦❤🇺🇦❤🇺🇦💪🇬🇧👍
Nice drill down Vlad. Feel better Sir.
Interesting stuff for me as a Non-Brit (German). Your Labor Partys stance on Ukraine sounds like our Social Democrats.
I think France and European countries which have been occupied are going all in are doing so because of their recent historical memories.
We haven't been invaded for (roughly) 1,042 years and 803 days, give or take, (taking into account leap years since 1582 with the Gregorian calendar), so most people don't have the visceral connection that many around Europe must harbour.
"CHHHhhhhhello..." LOL
In my experience most Brits are pretty clueless about what’s happening in Ukraine. Most really don’t know anything and what’s more don’t want to know anything.
Fair.
They appear to be clueless about foreign affairs in general, although I live in the middle of a "woke", left/centre-left, pro-EU, pro-Ukrainian, pro-Palestinian large-minority bubble.
From your observation, why is this?
@@playedout148 selfishness
Fear.
They believe what they don't know can't hurt them and so if they think about Ukraine it'll get them hurt (or something)
Vlad, I'm so glad to see a video concentrating on the UK, but if you ever do another one, can you not release it at about midnight UK time! I saw it come up as I was going to bed and knew I couldn't do it justice, so waited until this morning, but I hate being late to the party...
I think you overestimate the power of anti-ukraine right populism.
I think people like the leader of reform who still support Ukr are more common than you think
My main takeaway from this is that Vlad has been here as long as I have been alive (It was my 30th birthday a week ago). That is a pleasing piece of information to me.
What a luxury to have more than two major political parties! We Americans are envious!
I don't think it would be possible for the US to adopt a parliamentary system, but I do believe that a better-designed voting method -- either Approval or STAR -- would have a similar effect, eliminating the spoiler effect that locks us into two parties.
It's very much a two party system here too, although smaller parties do have a small representation in parliament. Caroline Lucas, our only Green MP, and one of the best speakers in the House of Commons, is leaving parliament at the next election, and it seems unlikely that more than a tiny handful of Greens will be elected. There are currently 15 Liberal Democrat MPs. There is one Reform MP and he is an ex-Conservative. There are 18 Independents - 3 ex-Labour and 15 ex-Conservative. Everything is further complicated by the fact that both Scotland and Wales are partially devolved, so have their own parliaments, but still elect MPs to the UK Parliament.
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Oxfordshire is a great place to live, I am in the South
As a Brit with fairly liberal views I naturally despise the current Conservative party and I see their constant prattling about immigration, islamism, woke etc. as an attempt to manufacture a problem they want to deal with rather than have to try to deal with the actual immediate and oppressing problems you mentioned. Rather than a strawman argument it is like a strawman political issue, they are inventing political issues they want to have so that they can avoid the political issues they don't want to have and act like they achieved a great deal anyway. Regardless, and I know this is irrational, but if there was a bizarre situation where the Conservatives were the only party willing to support Ukraine, I would be seriously tempted to vote for them anyway, such is my passion about the importance of this war for providing at least a pretence of legitimacy to the current world order in broad strokes. Labour's main strategy for now is precisely to avoid such wedges appearing between them and the Conservatives.
@roundaes There is no worse omen for the future of our society than the schizophrenic ramblings of you and your ilk, simply impossible to negotiate with in honest terms
People in Britain take war very seriously. It is the settled view of both main party supporters to support Ukraine. It's not a top issue because there is little controversy
Your perspective is interesting, Vlad. Based on my review of the data, I’d say UK support is stronger than you think. It’s a simplification, but you can divide western countries into three blocks: (1a) Poland, Baltic etc. (1b) the UK, Scandinavia
Etc. (2) France, Japan etc. and (3) Italy etc. on paper, support in the UK for Ukraine is as high as a n places like Poland, if not the highest in the wild. As you said, the support is not as ‘daily’/visceral as it perhaps is in places like Lithuania because we are on the other side of the continent and the threat isn’t as ‘real’ to us as it is to Polish people etc. But support among the British public is very strong and hasn’t really budged that much in over two years.
I think the USA would be in group 1b if it wasn’t for disinformation from Trump etc., but they’ve really poisoned the water in America.
❤
Salisbury, like the city, is pronounced 'sawls-berry', (the 'i' is silent) 😁
I think I heard a story about a man who went to war armed with a umbrella 😊. Dude that's just Gangster 😊. Thanks Vlad
@VladVexlerChat
I hope you will also reflect on the elections in India? Is this nation going be a second autocracy with 1 billion people, and Modi becoming a second Xi?
While India has no real imperialistic traditions like Russia and (to some degree) China in last centuries, as ex-colonial nation - a new nationalistic autocracy with 1 billion people is not something to be ignored anyway.
How did things get the way they are? Something is stinky.
Shit happens, as they say, and it's a constant in history.
yep absolutely. this whole thing feels sketch.
was not expecting an Ali G shout-out =)
I think the drift (if any) in most western, non US countries is towards indifference, not negativity…
Great stuff, thanks. I wonder if bot usage correlates with political leaning. It certainly feels like there id more on the right?
I think the legacy of WW2 and Churchill had a innoculating effect on the Russian/right arguments working in America.
Its such a strong callback, especially for conservative voters that not 'living up' to that legacy during a full land-war in Europe makes pro-russian or anti support arguments a harder sell.
Probably also helped that Boris set the tone for unqualified support (big Churchill fanboy.) And that most of the old people watch the BBC, not something like FOX.
Vlad casually flexing that he was at Oxford for at least 2 segments of higher education (bachelors + masters, or masters + phd?)
Interesting. I watch your programmes on Ukraine and dodge your climate-con stuff. Ukraine is very important to me because I am against invasion- and that is why immigration is so high on my list. I will probably vote Reform and support its anti woke stance. Keep up the good stuff on Ukraine. Oh and I support NATO fully but await the collapse of the EU. For Ukraine NATO membership is more important than joining the EUSSR.
Don't offer "Don't Know" in a poll
Di you have anything to say about institutionalised inefficiency/corruption in business and government management? (I think this could be a winning platform for the Green party and helpful for the country as a whole)
Nobody, no one, not a single soul: nothing
Vlad: HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I think looking at differences in views and support for both Ukraine and Palestine in Ireland and comparing them to the views held in the UK could be interesting. There would be lots of similarities but the differences could shed some light on issues. The UK has a more rabid tabloid press and is more divided at the moment then Ireland it also is coloured by clinging on to notions of empire. While Ireland places a very high importance to it's neutrality and sees common history with the Palestinians.
I want to add what I believe to be a really important opinion, although anecdotal, from myself who is surrounded by highly intelligent people leaning toward reform:
The single and only reason these people consider voting reform is because they feel utterly betrayed on the one thing they have consistently voted for for 20 years and "supposedly" won on. That is migration.
These people are not ANTI migration either, they simply want the numbers enforced to around the levels of the 1990's (anywhere between 10,000 - 100,000 per year).
If migration goes down, NONE of them will vote reform. The single biggest failure of the torys in many of their minds is their promise and subsequent failure to LOWER migration. All of them would vote for labour over tory if they genuinly wanted to lower migration to what is considered a sustainable level too.
In summary, I don't think right wing populism has a hold on the educated right, other than the utter abject failure of those in power for the last 25 years to put reasonable limits on migration numbers and enforce them. None of them care about planes to Rwanda, it's simply a numbers game, reduce the numbers and suddenly the rest of politics comes back into the room for discussion.
Reform.
It may be my part Polish heritage from one Grandparent and the fact I remember my memories of all my Grandparents except the Grandmother who died before I was born and all lived and fought in WW2.
However I fervently oppose Fascism and Communism, support all aid for Ukraine and more, and trust the system of government that Liberal Democracy represents. (In my opinion we don't have that in the UK with our Electoral System which overwhelmingly supports a single political party, let alone two.)
Missed the poll. Unfortunate.
Are the poles of our (US +UK) current polarization 18thC vs 19thC? Enlightenment rationalism, democracy, and the equality of man vs Romantic Nationalism, instinct, strongman leadership and the nation as one people?
My intuition about Reform Party members is that whilst they might say they oppose supporting Ukraine because of "Britain First", for some of them that's something of a disguise for their admiration of Putin .. admiration because he is a dictator and admiration because he is 'anti-woke'.
Admiration of Putin, indirectly at least, as a sort of place holder, is the big point I left out of this video. It is growing in the West.
I voted Reform in the poll (though no option reflects where I'm at). I'm to my core anti-Putin and his regime. I am unwavering in my support for Ukraine.
I see the NHS strain and unsustainable rates of immigration tied together.
I am vehemently anti-woke. I agree with a lot of the critiques of anti-woke that Vlad has presented, yet I do not agree that the latter is as yet worse than the former.
I find "Wokeism" a regressive betrayal of British Liberalism. I also find it authoritarian, dressed up in manipulative platitudes of nice words. I find it's weaponization of words like "Empathy" dehumanising towards those who aren't in lock step with its claims, and who happen to have the misfortune of being from the wrong tribe in the facile "oppressor / oppressed" paradigm.
You may find a lot of people attracted to Reform are far from anti-democratic right wing nutjobs, though most are temperamentally right wing or right leaning. Many are classical liberals who don't share the Green or Lib Dem progressive lens, while Labor is a mixed bag of a progressive lens and the more sympathetic classical class lens.
It's interesting Vlad mentioning the commentator who called out Reform with a "How Dare You" because that is exactly how Reform feel about the parties that have pushed "Wokeism" on society. A socially corrosive, punitive, paternalistically racist, counter majoritarian, bizarre chimera of Social Liberalism and Marxism, buttressed with post modern sophistry. It's basically religious ethno-marxism built on exceptions rather than any universal principles. A blind dog could tell you amplifing group based identity politics yet thinking one can control who gets to do so is idiotic beyond belief. It was always going to wish into existence the very opponent it had been tilting at windmills for years over, the re-racializing of white identity as something bigger than fringe nutters.
The Woke imposition was beyond irresponsible, but deliberately destructive going by its advocates own rhetoric. It is an affront to Liberalism.
As for Conservatives, one must ask what a British Conservative wants to conserve. The majority of these people aren't fascists, their worldview is shaped and defined by a broad western British Liberalism, and most calling themselves Conservative want to conserve what they see as the damage to that Liberal order committed by the "woke" excess of progressivism. Something the Tories have refused to do, or could not do. These conservatives hold individualism as a core pillar of their beliefs.
Reform certainly has to be on its guard against elements beyond the pale, namely collectivist white identitarians. Just like the Greens and Labor should be doing with anti-democratic Marxists amongst their ranks.
Vlad has acknowledged that populist right segments of society feel they have been put last in favour of "outsiders". Yet there may be truth to the perception, as Pew research polls indicate that specifically in the USA (who share cultural traits with the UK) across racial and political lines, all demographic groups have a mild in-group bias except for progressive white people who have an out-group bias, the very group responsible for pushing "Wokeism".
Vlad rightfully talks about the fundamental need for robust counter majoritarian institutions. Yet what does one do when so many appear to be infected with a post-truth proto-faith (Woke certainly is) that is seen as an existential threat to one's social trust and culture at large?
@@PjRjHjplease tell me what disturbs you, in detail, about the "woke" agenda.
Admiration of Putin is something I simply can’t comprehend unless one is ignorant. He has destroyed Russia for the next 100 years. They’re now subservient to China and their economy is totally wrecked.
@@PjRjHj May I ask, when you say "I do not agree that the latter is as yet worse than the former", what is the 'latter' and 'former' to which you are referring?
I'm surprissed that EU relations are not higher. Isn't that the biggest economic oroblem right now next to health care?
We pro-Ukrainian voices are finding ourselves with some strange bedfellows: Lockheed, Raytheon, General Dynamics, etc. Without a doubt the military industrial complex is cuddled up right next to us. Which feels really weird…
I know exactly how you feel. I think back to myself in my 20s and my attitudes then, and yet even then I wasn't a complete pacifist. I knew that if I'd been alive in 1939, I would have backed the war effort wholeheartedly.
χχχχχχχeeelllloooooo XD
I am British and a member of ReformUK. This membership largely recognises the threat of Russia and wants Ukraine to survive. The problems come with economic support and refugees when public funding and housing is in such short supply.
The fringe right like The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters and Tim Davies aren't in ReformUK because they got kicked out.
Who from the Lotus eatets got kicked out of reform and why?
Farage and his ilk have done enough damage to the UK thank you very much. They don't offer solutions, they know nothing but to destroy.
Salisbury pronounced saulsbury
Give them agency by devolving abortion rights to states and also let states decide if they want to support Ukraine
salisbury is pronounced sawlsbery
Vlad i would love to meet one day and buy you a pint, i am a labour supporter but would vote for Rory
When there's economic growth many domestic issues can be properly managed. International policy has then more space. It's now evident that Brexit was not the solution to British economic stagnation. Labor will be at a disadvantage to improve conditions after Brexit.