#384 | Peter Turchin: Elites and the Path to Political Disintegration - The Realignment Podcast

Peter Turchin, author of End Times: Elites, Counter-Elites, and the Path of Political Disintegration, joins The Realignment. Peter and Marshall discuss his 2010 prediction that the U.S. would experience significant political turmoil in 2020, the factors that drove 2010-2020s political conflict, why the elite-overproduction phenomenon is one of the strongest determinants of societal health, and the historical precedents of nations remaining unified in the face of the above challenges. Subscribe to The Realignment to access our exclusive Q&A episodes and support the show: realignment.supercast.com/. Peter's 2010 Nature Article: www.nature.com/articles/463608a REALIGNMENT NEWSLETTER: therealignment.substack.com/ PURCHASE BOOKS AT OUR BOOKSHOP: bookshop.org/shop/therealignment Email Us: [email protected] Foundation for American Innovation: www.thefai.org/posts/lincoln-becomes-fai 0:00 - Introduction 0:43 - Current trends of instability 8:18 - US Elites 17:40 - What is the “counter-elite?” 20:15 - Historical examples of elite overproduction 33:28 - Predictions for 2020’s 36:53 - Right & Left wing elites 39:50 - 19th Century British Empire