You address the material problems that men are going through, but what about the spiritual? Boys get their identities from father figures. Is it not true that a man can grow up to be a successful businessman and husband, and yet still have deep questions about himself and his masculinity that cannot be addressed by material success when he has grown up without a father? What should a man in that situation do when he is already older and past development?
You address the crisis that men have with society and masculinity through your work of non-fiction. What place do you think fiction has in the role of portraying masculinity and impacting men’s lives in contrast to non-fiction? What do you think about the demoralizing portrayals of masculinity in stories from the past few years? And do you think we need more fiction written BY MEN about masculinity that is positive and strong? Finally, what’s a good example of a character—aside from Aragorn—who you think really embodies masculinity that nobody talks about? Historical people can be chosen if preferable.
Stories are very important to human societies and individuals, they are a major force in shaping the cultures and guiding our conduct. The contestants on the survival reality-show "Alone" display good character (and they're real people): resilience, strength to persevere, humility, reasect, acceptance of defeat, etc. Maybe biographies of some bold and courageous real men is even better than a fiction.
Using real historical men as examples is a great idea! I think men would really lean into military heroes and generals, such as George Washington and Alexander the Great!
Likewise, I would suggest John Eldredge’s book “Wild at Heart.” It’s a Christian oriented work, but a transformative one nonetheless. Thanks for your suggestion!
It's quite obvious that material abundance does not supplant having purpose, being valued by peers in your profession or by residents of your locality, as far as giving people a sense of satisfaction with life. Our supposedly high standard of living is incredibly low judged by markers of felt purpose, freedom from stress, and actual autonomy; what can we do to improve these areas of life and negate the mental and physical maladies plaguing Man and men in techno-industrial society?
I appreciate your advice for boys and pass a lot on to my 13 year old son, but you advise going to college a lot and I'm torn. Setting campus politics aside, the costs have outpaced inflation for decades, the scarcity of degrees is gone, and many majors don't lead to graduates being qualified for jobs they wouldn't already have been qualified for. Add to this the incredible competition for entrance to top tier universities and it looks like kids have to dedicate their teen years entirely to working a system that offers diminishing returns.
I loved college so please tell me I'm missing something other than college graduates in aggregate out earn high school graduates.
Hi Scott, as an American and Democrat living in London, you can't have escaped listening to the Supreme Court Ruling on Women's spaces being for biological women only. I'm guessing you may also be aware of the Cass report and the Tavistock clinic scandal (gay kids being medicalised into straight kids).
There seems to be a deliberate avoidance by the Democrats and liberal leaders like yourself and Kara to avoid looking or talking about what Transgender ideology is doing to Women's Rights and gay kids. For a long time, I thought the 'trans thing' was like the gay thing, and I have always supported gay rights. However, when you look more closely, a lot of transgender ideology is driven by autogynephilia (a sexual fetish), autism, homophobia and misogyny. It's very hard for any woman to speak about this because of the viciousness of cancel culture on the Left. However, wealthy white liberal men can speak out without inviting backlash. What are your thoughts on this?
We need brave leaders to stand up for women and gay kids, and I'm really, really hoping that's you.
PS. For example, please see what happened to Tish Hyman a black lesbian in LA who got kicked out of her gym for complaining that a man was in there.
PPS I'm hoping you are brave enough to answer this question on Triggernometry - but if you don't and you just read it, I hope you at least think about it. Best wishes from a fan of Pivot.
Hello Scott, I’m 16 years old and about to go to college, what advice would you have for me, furthermore, do you have any advice and what are some things that young people do today that could maximize our time and potential
When asked what the 'What can Jews themselves do to stop antisemitism?', Thomas Sowell once answered, "Fail – because as long as you succeed you’re going to be hated.” As both a specialist in marketing, and someone who supports Israel, what do you think the Jews/Israel can do to stop antisemitism or at least to be less hated?
I've heard Scott talk a lot about how young men need to grow a pair and ask a woman out, but I haven't heard him address the problems of doing so post-# MeToo, where breathing in the same room as a woman without her consent is enough to get the police called. This is especially true, seeing as all the young women I've grown up with are hyper-feminist and uber-woke. Assuming my life is in enough order to be reasonably attractive, and I've done everything I can to be clean, fit, well-educated and so on, how do I find someone who will make a good partner?
A related question on friends: there is a 'click' I often get with people who are on the same wavelength. It rarely happens, but when I find someone like that, we become the best of friends. How do I find people like that, and how do I become more charismatic myself so I can attract those kinds of people, or bring that out of otherwise boring people (including myself)?
"Affordability" is the buzzword. Many younger, urban people rant that their dreams aren't "affordable," *cough* Francis *cough* Konstantin *cough* as if this is a new phenomenon. Would you please speak to the entitlement trap young professionals experience when they expect to live the lifestyle that 50-60 year old parents enjoy and what the overcoming/stoic mindset would be?
Does Scott think that young people are now so dissatisfied with the current political and economic system that they've turned away from capitalism and their energies are now focused on socialism and creating a society where the only real economic challenge is to figure out how to extract most economic benefit from the welfare system?
You address the material problems that men are going through, but what about the spiritual? Boys get their identities from father figures. Is it not true that a man can grow up to be a successful businessman and husband, and yet still have deep questions about himself and his masculinity that cannot be addressed by material success when he has grown up without a father? What should a man in that situation do when he is already older and past development?
You often critique the hypocrisy of elite universities.
If you could redesign higher education from scratch, what would it look like?
You address the crisis that men have with society and masculinity through your work of non-fiction. What place do you think fiction has in the role of portraying masculinity and impacting men’s lives in contrast to non-fiction? What do you think about the demoralizing portrayals of masculinity in stories from the past few years? And do you think we need more fiction written BY MEN about masculinity that is positive and strong? Finally, what’s a good example of a character—aside from Aragorn—who you think really embodies masculinity that nobody talks about? Historical people can be chosen if preferable.
Stories are very important to human societies and individuals, they are a major force in shaping the cultures and guiding our conduct. The contestants on the survival reality-show "Alone" display good character (and they're real people): resilience, strength to persevere, humility, reasect, acceptance of defeat, etc. Maybe biographies of some bold and courageous real men is even better than a fiction.
Using real historical men as examples is a great idea! I think men would really lean into military heroes and generals, such as George Washington and Alexander the Great!
I have criticisms of Jack Donovan's *The Way of Men* but nonetheless suggest it as a worthwhile read for you.
Likewise, I would suggest John Eldredge’s book “Wild at Heart.” It’s a Christian oriented work, but a transformative one nonetheless. Thanks for your suggestion!
Scott - What advice do you have for people 50+ years old that are considering to start their own business?
It's quite obvious that material abundance does not supplant having purpose, being valued by peers in your profession or by residents of your locality, as far as giving people a sense of satisfaction with life. Our supposedly high standard of living is incredibly low judged by markers of felt purpose, freedom from stress, and actual autonomy; what can we do to improve these areas of life and negate the mental and physical maladies plaguing Man and men in techno-industrial society?
I appreciate your advice for boys and pass a lot on to my 13 year old son, but you advise going to college a lot and I'm torn. Setting campus politics aside, the costs have outpaced inflation for decades, the scarcity of degrees is gone, and many majors don't lead to graduates being qualified for jobs they wouldn't already have been qualified for. Add to this the incredible competition for entrance to top tier universities and it looks like kids have to dedicate their teen years entirely to working a system that offers diminishing returns.
I loved college so please tell me I'm missing something other than college graduates in aggregate out earn high school graduates.
Hi Scott, as an American and Democrat living in London, you can't have escaped listening to the Supreme Court Ruling on Women's spaces being for biological women only. I'm guessing you may also be aware of the Cass report and the Tavistock clinic scandal (gay kids being medicalised into straight kids).
There seems to be a deliberate avoidance by the Democrats and liberal leaders like yourself and Kara to avoid looking or talking about what Transgender ideology is doing to Women's Rights and gay kids. For a long time, I thought the 'trans thing' was like the gay thing, and I have always supported gay rights. However, when you look more closely, a lot of transgender ideology is driven by autogynephilia (a sexual fetish), autism, homophobia and misogyny. It's very hard for any woman to speak about this because of the viciousness of cancel culture on the Left. However, wealthy white liberal men can speak out without inviting backlash. What are your thoughts on this?
We need brave leaders to stand up for women and gay kids, and I'm really, really hoping that's you.
PS. For example, please see what happened to Tish Hyman a black lesbian in LA who got kicked out of her gym for complaining that a man was in there.
PPS I'm hoping you are brave enough to answer this question on Triggernometry - but if you don't and you just read it, I hope you at least think about it. Best wishes from a fan of Pivot.
Hello Scott, I’m 16 years old and about to go to college, what advice would you have for me, furthermore, do you have any advice and what are some things that young people do today that could maximize our time and potential
When asked what the 'What can Jews themselves do to stop antisemitism?', Thomas Sowell once answered, "Fail – because as long as you succeed you’re going to be hated.” As both a specialist in marketing, and someone who supports Israel, what do you think the Jews/Israel can do to stop antisemitism or at least to be less hated?
In which country do you believe the problems of young men are more severe: the US or the UK?
I've heard Scott talk a lot about how young men need to grow a pair and ask a woman out, but I haven't heard him address the problems of doing so post-# MeToo, where breathing in the same room as a woman without her consent is enough to get the police called. This is especially true, seeing as all the young women I've grown up with are hyper-feminist and uber-woke. Assuming my life is in enough order to be reasonably attractive, and I've done everything I can to be clean, fit, well-educated and so on, how do I find someone who will make a good partner?
A related question on friends: there is a 'click' I often get with people who are on the same wavelength. It rarely happens, but when I find someone like that, we become the best of friends. How do I find people like that, and how do I become more charismatic myself so I can attract those kinds of people, or bring that out of otherwise boring people (including myself)?
"Affordability" is the buzzword. Many younger, urban people rant that their dreams aren't "affordable," *cough* Francis *cough* Konstantin *cough* as if this is a new phenomenon. Would you please speak to the entitlement trap young professionals experience when they expect to live the lifestyle that 50-60 year old parents enjoy and what the overcoming/stoic mindset would be?
Does Scott think that young people are now so dissatisfied with the current political and economic system that they've turned away from capitalism and their energies are now focused on socialism and creating a society where the only real economic challenge is to figure out how to extract most economic benefit from the welfare system?