It was a great discussion with some interesting disagreements and good arguments made by all. You can find it below (blame Dave for the awful image choice).
If you want my thoughts in more systematic format, scroll down to find the notes I was taking as we talked.
Please enjoy.
My notes as we talked:
It’s important to clarify which discussion we’re actually having.
Are we offering societal commentary or individual advice?
As
succinctly put it on X: “As far as I can make out, the youth are arguing that (1) the *system* in which they are condemned to struggle is harmful and unjust and that (2) it can and should be changed. It’s simply not a relevant response to that argument to give them advice about what they should do *as individuals* within that unjust system, on the question-begging assumption that the system itself cannot or should not be changed.”
If we’re offering societal commentary and not just personal advice to individual Gen Z young men, I’d suggest we focus on the following:
Start by engaging sympathetically with Gen Z as a whole, acknowledge the struggles of the youth, and express solidarity and support.
Remind successful people - particularly older generations - of the noble pursuit of raising up the next generation.
Advise parents on how to secure serious employment for their children to mitigate against systematic discrimination by HR. This might involve helping them with internships, networking, starting family businesses, advancing loans for children to start their own ventures, etc.
Continue to apply political pressure to reduce immigration and remove anti-white DEI policies.
Reducing elite over-production by changes further up the supply chain (closing pointless university programs and even whole universities).
Recognizing the increasing dysfunction in working class (and particularly those below the working class - the underclass) communities, focus on re-attaching the traditional pillars of meaning to these communities to add stability: faith, family, purpose, etc. This means supporting solid churches, etc.
If we’re giving individual advice:
The bootstraps messaging can be important and empowering, but we need to know what kind of individual are we talking about.
Regardless of who you are and what you do: it’s about setting yourself up for long term resilience, and get on a track that can gain you a good wife, a family, and property. These tracks can look very different though.
It’s very important to be intentional about this. As
said in a recent piece: “Inequality and divergence have been defining features of our era. As economist Tyler Cowen put it, “Average is over.” This has produced a two tier environment in which the top 20-25% of society is doing very well, but the bottom 75-80% is struggling not just economically, but personally and socially.”It’s not just about ‘pulling yourself up by your bootstraps’ - because if you choose the wrong job, you can work until you’re exhausted and you’ll still be miserable and unfulfilled. It’s about being smart and hard working. As others have pointed out, the fast food path probably isn’t financially viable in most areas.
If you’re a potential elite:
If you’re exceptionally smart and have gotten into a good school, you should not be contemplating fast food. We need a new generation of elites, and you need to be making smart career decisions.
There’s reason for hope. Tech hiring, for example, is accelerating at the moment, and companies like Meta are beginning to scale back DEI policies.
If you’ve come this far and have elite potential, don’t compromise CV or momentum, which a long stint at fast food will do.
If you’re struggling to land a good position, some options:
Start one rung down from where you intended;
Take a lower paid government equivalent;
Gain a professional certification;
Found a startup;
Do an internship;
Do tutoring;
…all while aggressively networking and applying. These will preserve your CV and buy you time. Move back into your parents’ house if you have to (as I did, for a time).
If you want to hear my extended thoughts on getting into elite companies, I recorded a podcast here with
with some relevant sections.
If you want to pursue a solid working class route:
Absolutely nothing wrong with a non-elite track: by definition, that encompasses most of us. In fact - if you’re going to work a trade, I would encourage you to decisively pursue that path as early as possible, so as to not accrue unnecessary debt and expectations.
However, not all working job paths are equal.
Characteristics of jobs you shouldn’t work:
Subject to mega-corp DEI and other policies;
Hours that get in the way of family formation (evenings, weekends);
Working amongst low-skilled immigrants, and therefore;
Not embedded within a stable community of peers who respect you;
A cap on how high you can work your way up;
No clear path to start your own business (as with trades);
Unfulfilling;
Universally regarded as low status so difficult to attract a spouse.
(Note: fast food ticks all of these boxes.)
Characteristics of jobs you should pursue if that’s right for you:
These are exemplified by the good trades, skilled manufacturing:
Builds meaningful skills and opens path to start a small business;
Hours and potential earnings compatible with family life;
Embedded within a stable community of peers who respect you;
Fulfilling;
Practices parallelism.
Be aware that if you’re switching from a university path to a working class path you’re probably also changing dating pools due to status mechanics. That’s not the end of the world but it will require intentional discovery to find good women who you might want to marry. Churches etc.
Best of luck. I’m rooting for you.
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Sic transit imperium,
Johann
The discussion about rebuilding the career prospects of bright young men has been good, but there has been an important message missing. Young men need to hear that it is effeminate to complain about their personal failings in public. Decades of longhouse rule has confused even man right-wing men about this, but the expectations for men are different than the expectations for women, and almost everyone finds it contemptible for a young man to whine about society.
Petitioning for redress of specific grievances, such as the ending of DEI, is proper public action. Talking about how you personally have no job prospects is something to discuss among friends and family.
1: there's a spectrum of personality types and not all want to be the kool kids with 'high status.' Employment strategies must be developed for the other types of people, not just the kool kids.
2: there's a dearth of meaningful, serious employment. There simply are not enough real jobs for people to make a living. Our economies were hollowed out and wrecked as part of the WEF/Davos mob's end plan to destroy humanity.
3: People will work hard, damned hard, when they see it benefits themselves. When people see no benefits or any real path of advancement, they won't bother to participate.