The Petty‑Bourgeois Theory of Soft Power

A petty bourgeois driven to frenzy by the horrors of capitalism is a social phenomenon which, like anarchism, is characteristic of all capitalist countries. The instability of such revolutionism, its barrenness, and its tendency to turn rapidly into submission, apathy, phantasms, and even a frenzied infatuation with one bourgeois fad or another—all this is common knowledge.

Vladimir Lenin, “Left-Wing” Communism: An Infantile Disorder

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Spreading Love Through Media, the Regrantor Way

I just watched a recommended video on gratitude that was sponsored by the Greater Good Science Center and decided to look into it. Their ‘Spreading Love Through the Media’ project reads less like a public service and more like a soft attempt to redirect attention away from the material conditions people are living under. When institutions with elite backing promote ‘connection’ and ‘empathy’ as the antidote to a world shaped by inequality and conflict, it becomes hard not to read it as a subtle form of deflection—an invitation to feel better instead of look closer.

“Yeah, I can tell it from your mouth that you / You got the devil in your eyes, so I’m / Not gonna waste all of my time on ya”

Spreading Love Through Media, the Regrantor Way

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Dancing with Snowflakes: The Personification of Death in The Rainbow

Note: This is a crosspost from my personal blog.

The following are a few quotes that stood out to me in Chapter Four of The Rainbow.

Yes, to see the last German on the gallows, to see them working until they dropped.

But what good would that do her? Others might be satisfied, but her heart would never know peace. No amount of blood, no length of time, no revenge could wash away her memories. They would remain festering at her heart forever.

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2026 U.S. National Defense Strategy +

2026 U.S. National Defense Strategy

It follows that, although we are and will remain engaged in Europe, we must—and will—prioritize defending the U.S. Homeland and deterring China.

Related papers from the Marathon Initiative:

Bridge Colby / DTRASharing the Load: Developing Better Strategies for Burden Sharing

Robert Almelor Delfeld / Elbridge Colby: Broadening the Base: A Blueprint for Expanding Defense Industrial Capacity