What a family! What a Dad. Tangentially, after being 100% social media free, I opened an ‘anonymous’ Instagram account two months ago. What I found crystallized everything wrong with our society. It’s a bottomless cesspool of manipulation, greed, and control. Subtle things: constant badgering to‘access my photos and contacts’ (to enhance my user experience); endless worship of shiny baubles few can afford.
Everyone should try it. It’s not enough to know how bad “social media’ is. It must be experienced. And it’s all cushioned in cute animal videos to make us forget how vile are the thinking and tactics of ruling class.
Dr. Maté's observations about the effects of our consumer culture--including the idea that happiness comes from somewhere or something outside ourselves--ring true. Also wish more docs took seriously his point about the link between physical illness & emotion.
Wonderful discussion, reminding me of the work of psychologist Alice Miller. She and Gabor Maté have a similar perspective about trauma and its long-term effects.
Such a great podcast episode, way too short! I could have listened to the two of you for a few more hours. Will you do a follow-up with Gabor Mate, please?
I just wrote a comment in an other Substack that included my theory for why liberals are attracted to scarcity policy when it is clearly destructive to the whole. I wrote:
"My liberal friends all seem to be plagued with abundant socioeconomic competition stress. I see this attraction to scarcity policy as simply supporting their interest to neuter “the others” in their community that they would otherwise feel inferior to or threatened by. Liberals are made nervous by economic dynamism because they are wired risk-averse. They seek to calm their nerves by shutting it all down."
A quote from this podcast:
"The engine of capitalism, defined by the cult of the self, thrives on the fostering of psychological and physical chronic disorders, including high blood pressure, diabetes, anxiety, depression, addictions and suicide. It rewards the core traits of psychopaths: superficial charm, grandiosity, and self-importance; a need for constant stimulation, a penchant for lying, deception, and manipulation, and the inability to feel remorse or guilt. Personal style and personal advancement are mistaken for individualism, equated falsely with democratic equality. We have a right, in the cult of the self, to get whatever we desire. We can do anything, even belittle and destroy those around us, including our friends, to make money, to be happy, and to become famous. Once fame and wealth are achieved, they become their own justification, their own morality. How one gets there is irrelevant. The consequence of this dark ethic, Dr. Maté illustrates, plays out on our bodies, severely damaging our psyches, and pushing us towards individual and social self-annihilation."
Funny, but I don't have any of these problems above. I am energized and made more calm and happy in a system of capitalism vs a system of collectivist authoritarianism to make everything "fair". My sense is that the people that would buy-in to the junk above are really just socioeconomic malcontents lacking confidence or otherwise having failed at a go in the private economy. They are projecting their own psychological dysfunction for feeling left out and rejected onto others.
Here is a bit of advice... leave us the eff alone. If you don't like the competitiveness of the private economy in a free democratic capitalist system... then please get on a jet and move somewhere where your socialist utopia is thriving. But stop the attempts to destroy what we have built just because you are a loser and looter living off the spoils of those of us that risk our savings and work 80 hours a week to build a business.
After listening carefully to this interesting interview with Dr. Mate, It confirmed my suspicion that definitely I am abnormal. That is, above normal, because I have all I need and wish and this makes me the richest man on earth. In my youth I learned the philosophy of the Buddha which teaches that desire is the source of all suffering and I oriented my life accordingly to those principles.
British Columbia is our Pacific Coast and Quebec controls access to the Atlantic. They are Green and democratic socialist.
Alberta and Saskatchewan produce petroleum and have access thru Chicago and Galveston and no pipelines will go through either costal province.
Pompeo already claimed our Northwest passage to China and India.
Quebec and British Columbia reject American neoliberalism and Dr Matte's book is inspiring but remember British Columbia is rich. Very very rich in all that America holds sacred.
Alberta is an American colony as is Saskatchewan and Dallas and Houston have more say than Trudeau and Ottawa.
Is it not written that "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."?
What a family! What a Dad. Tangentially, after being 100% social media free, I opened an ‘anonymous’ Instagram account two months ago. What I found crystallized everything wrong with our society. It’s a bottomless cesspool of manipulation, greed, and control. Subtle things: constant badgering to‘access my photos and contacts’ (to enhance my user experience); endless worship of shiny baubles few can afford.
Everyone should try it. It’s not enough to know how bad “social media’ is. It must be experienced. And it’s all cushioned in cute animal videos to make us forget how vile are the thinking and tactics of ruling class.
Two people I admire the most in the world having a conversation. Thank you. Amazing dialogue.
Fascinating interview.
Dr. Maté's observations about the effects of our consumer culture--including the idea that happiness comes from somewhere or something outside ourselves--ring true. Also wish more docs took seriously his point about the link between physical illness & emotion.
Thank You Chris. I sure appreciate this report
Wonderful discussion, reminding me of the work of psychologist Alice Miller. She and Gabor Maté have a similar perspective about trauma and its long-term effects.
Such a great podcast episode, way too short! I could have listened to the two of you for a few more hours. Will you do a follow-up with Gabor Mate, please?
The reason why Gabor cried was because his diaper was full of crap, just like the practice of Psychiatry is full of crap and crappy thinking.
Tangentially related to this, is Gene's view of the Body as an Interaction, rather than something separate from the environment.
He discusses the ways in which the Body knows more about trauma and grieving and disturbances than our conscious mind does.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvjpT2pI2_Q
I just wrote a comment in an other Substack that included my theory for why liberals are attracted to scarcity policy when it is clearly destructive to the whole. I wrote:
"My liberal friends all seem to be plagued with abundant socioeconomic competition stress. I see this attraction to scarcity policy as simply supporting their interest to neuter “the others” in their community that they would otherwise feel inferior to or threatened by. Liberals are made nervous by economic dynamism because they are wired risk-averse. They seek to calm their nerves by shutting it all down."
A quote from this podcast:
"The engine of capitalism, defined by the cult of the self, thrives on the fostering of psychological and physical chronic disorders, including high blood pressure, diabetes, anxiety, depression, addictions and suicide. It rewards the core traits of psychopaths: superficial charm, grandiosity, and self-importance; a need for constant stimulation, a penchant for lying, deception, and manipulation, and the inability to feel remorse or guilt. Personal style and personal advancement are mistaken for individualism, equated falsely with democratic equality. We have a right, in the cult of the self, to get whatever we desire. We can do anything, even belittle and destroy those around us, including our friends, to make money, to be happy, and to become famous. Once fame and wealth are achieved, they become their own justification, their own morality. How one gets there is irrelevant. The consequence of this dark ethic, Dr. Maté illustrates, plays out on our bodies, severely damaging our psyches, and pushing us towards individual and social self-annihilation."
Funny, but I don't have any of these problems above. I am energized and made more calm and happy in a system of capitalism vs a system of collectivist authoritarianism to make everything "fair". My sense is that the people that would buy-in to the junk above are really just socioeconomic malcontents lacking confidence or otherwise having failed at a go in the private economy. They are projecting their own psychological dysfunction for feeling left out and rejected onto others.
Here is a bit of advice... leave us the eff alone. If you don't like the competitiveness of the private economy in a free democratic capitalist system... then please get on a jet and move somewhere where your socialist utopia is thriving. But stop the attempts to destroy what we have built just because you are a loser and looter living off the spoils of those of us that risk our savings and work 80 hours a week to build a business.
After listening carefully to this interesting interview with Dr. Mate, It confirmed my suspicion that definitely I am abnormal. That is, above normal, because I have all I need and wish and this makes me the richest man on earth. In my youth I learned the philosophy of the Buddha which teaches that desire is the source of all suffering and I oriented my life accordingly to those principles.
So much that needs explaining.
Canada is federation of sovereign nations.
British Columbia is our Pacific Coast and Quebec controls access to the Atlantic. They are Green and democratic socialist.
Alberta and Saskatchewan produce petroleum and have access thru Chicago and Galveston and no pipelines will go through either costal province.
Pompeo already claimed our Northwest passage to China and India.
Quebec and British Columbia reject American neoliberalism and Dr Matte's book is inspiring but remember British Columbia is rich. Very very rich in all that America holds sacred.
Alberta is an American colony as is Saskatchewan and Dallas and Houston have more say than Trudeau and Ottawa.