#296 — Repairing Our Country

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: Sam Harris and Jonah Goldberg examine how social media, partisan tribalism, and collapsing institutional trust are degrading American civil society. They use reactions to Queen Elizabeth II’s death and Trumpism as lenses to argue that online outrage rewards mob thinking, while both left and right increasingly treat politics as entertainment and power struggle rather than governance.

Main Topics: Queen Elizabeth II, monarchy, and anti-scapegoating (Priority: 4/5): Harris reflects on Andrew Sullivan’s defense of the Queen, arguing that a constitutional monarch can function as a symbol of service, continuity, and restraint rather than a scapegoat for communal sins. Social media and mob epistemology (Priority: 5/5): Both speakers describe Twitter and similar platforms as amplifying rage, rewarding performative moralism, and making conversation resemble unreasoning mob behavior instead of good-faith deliberation. Institutional decline and loss of trust (Priority: 5/5): They discuss eroding confidence in public health agencies, media, elections, and government, noting that some distrust is earned because institutions have displayed incompetence or inconsistency. Asymmetries between left and right (Priority: 5/5): Harris argues the left has captured more cultural institutions, while Goldberg emphasizes that both sides are polarized but that Trump-era Republican derangement is uniquely severe in scale and malice. Trumpism, lawlessness, and character (Priority: 5/5): Goldberg argues Trump is not just another imperfect politician but a historically unusual figure whose character and willingness to violate norms corrupted the GOP and politicized lawlessness. Institutions as character-forming structures (Priority: 4/5): Using Yuval Levin’s framework, Goldberg argues institutions should shape character and service, but modern elites often use them as platforms for self-branding and status extraction. Cultural pessimism vs. realistic hope (Priority: 3/5): Despite the bleak diagnosis, the conversation ends on a note that people living offline, in real communities, still experience more decency and stability than social media suggests.

Key Arguments: A constitutional monarch can embody civic virtues like dignity, restraint, service, and continuity, functioning as a symbolic opposite of scapegoating. Social media incentivizes outrage, certainty, and moral performativity while removing the possibility of persuasion, pushing public discourse toward mob logic. Much online political drama is distorted by a tiny, highly engaged minority; viral posts are not representative of broader public opinion. Some institutional distrust is justified because agencies, media, and political actors have at times been incompetent, inconsistent, or openly biased. The left and right are not identical, but both increasingly use tribal, identity-based, and apocalyptic frames that undermine liberal institutions. Trump is a cause as well as a symptom: he intensified polarization, normalized norm-breaking, and made bad institutional habits worse. Conservatism, properly understood, should prioritize fidelity to institutions, constitutionalism, and character; Trumpism converts it into raw right-wing populism. Institutions should form character and constrain ego; when they become platforms for self-promotion, they stop serving the public good. Political actors and media figures increasingly treat politics like entertainment, judging outcomes as team wins/losses rather than by rules or consequences. Mutual radicalization creates a feedback loop: extreme behavior on one side justifies escalation on the other.

Data Points: Andrew Sullivan piece cited: "Mourning the Loss of the Queen" - Referenced as the essay that prompted Harris to reconsider the value of constitutional monarchy. C.S. Lewis quotation: "where men are forbidden to honor a king, they honor millionaires, athletes, or film stars instead, even famous prostitutes or gangsters" - Used to suggest that societies will still seek objects of reverence. Jeff Bezos reaction: 1 high-profile reaction - Harris notes Bezos reacted to a Carnegie Mellon professor’s tweet about the Queen, amplifying its visibility. Twitter virality example: 5,000 to 10,000 likes - Goldberg uses this range to illustrate how online engagement can seem large but still represent a tiny slice of the population. Defund the police polling: about 80% or more - Goldberg cites polling that people of color wanted the same amount or more policing, contrary to activist claims. Obama DACA statement count: 24 times; later 28 times - Goldberg says Obama repeatedly said he lacked power to create DACA before doing it anyway. Trump business metric: third wife / newborn / porn star - Goldberg cites Trump cheating on his third wife while she was nursing their newborn as evidence of poor character. National Review tenure: 20 years - Goldberg describes his long career at National Review and related conservative media work. Dispatch team size: 25-28 people - Goldberg says The Dispatch has assembled a staff in this range and is growing. Dispatch revenue ranking on Substack: #1 - Goldberg says The Dispatch became the top revenue-generating product on Substack since launch. Obama's DACA rationale: "I’m not a king" - Goldberg invokes Obama’s own framing to argue that later executive action contradicted his stated limits.

Pivotal Quotes: ""the monarch in a constitutional monarchy seems like the opposite of a scapegoat"" — Sam Harris: Harris explains why Queen Elizabeth II came to symbolize service and civic continuity rather than communal blame. ""our conversation more and more is conforming to the epistemology of the mob"" — Sam Harris: Harris argues that social media is rewarding crowd psychology rather than reasoned discourse. ""Trump himself is sui generis in a lot of ways"" — Jonah Goldberg: Goldberg emphasizes that Trump cannot be reduced to ordinary political hypocrisy or opportunism.

Implications: The episode argues that rebuilding trust requires stronger institutions, less online performativity, and a return to liberal norms of restraint, good faith, and character—especially if politics is to avoid further mutual radicalization.