This week's Inside Zero Books podcast is actually an episode from the C-Realm's membership site. The original description, slightly edited, follows:
Sam Harris interviewed Charles Murray for his podcast. KMO tried to generate some discussion of that podcast episode on the Friends of the C-Realm group. The resulting discussion proved frustrating, as the most dedicated participants were focused on discrediting Murray and showed little willingness to engage with the issues that Harris and Murray discussed. Author and publisher Douglas Lain admits that Murray's talking points make him angry, but Doug is willing to resist the impulse to lead with ad hominem and actually delve into Murray's arguments. His effort at honest criticism is most appreciated.
The first half of the conversation takes place on the the C-Realm Podcast in an episode entitled Honest Criticism. In it KMO tries to highlight what he finds useful in Murray's presentation and Doug articulates why Murray's arguments are built on shaky foundations.
The conversation you'll hear in this week's Inside Zero books is the conclusion to that conversation also published in the C-Realm Vault.
The conclusion of conversation is heated at times as they examine Murray's explanation for the decline of the American working class. The post-war boom is not the natural state of man, Doug argues, nor is the market a benign, disinterested force of nature. Doug argues that Murray's worldview excuses philosophical and policy choices that have resulted in despair and desperation for those not in the cognitive elite.