This is part of an episode of my periodic podcast on politics and culture, The Apocalypse Cabaret, produced with Ariel Cruz.
In this episode, Benjamin and Ariel discuss the concept of noblesse oblige in the context of secular modern technocracy and whether or not it, and other civic virtues, can be re-activated in the culture. Also Ariel paraphrases deadeyed ghoul Grover Norquist in a way he would have hated, kickstarting a conversation about the role crisis plays in the generation of urgency and commitment, which are necessary conditions for re-building a sense of community in an age of market driven social atomization.
All Apocalypse Cabaret episodes can be found here.