See Steve Kornacki's post here: https://x.com/SteveKornacki/status/1965032049808654515
Philosopher Stefan Molyneux reviews a series of posts on X from Steve Kornacki on contemporary perspectives on success among Generation Z, particularly focusing on the diverging priorities of young adults as shaped by gender and political affiliations. Steve Kornacki highlights that men who voted for Trump prioritize having children at the top of their success definition, while women who supported Harris place a fulfilling job or career as their foremost goal. This sets the stage for a deeper examination of values and life choices among these demographics.
Stefan articulates that the motivation for producing more than one consumes is fundamentally linked to the capacity for parenthood. He discusses the unique biological and social timelines associated with maturity in men and women, noting that this developmental context influences the differing perceptions of success. For Trump-supporting men, success is closely tied to the concept of familial responsibilities, suggesting that their values reflect a desire for stability, continuity, and community impact, which includes having children.
Conversely, Kornacki outlines that for Harris-supporting women, the focus primarily lies in career fulfillment, with the aspiration for financial independence ranking high. This leads to a discussion on the implications of defining success through a lens of personal ambition rather than collective familial goals. The lecturer presents a compelling argument that this self-oriented view may lead to emotional instability, as the feminist narrative often distances women from traditional roles that foster familial bonds.
Stefan contrasts the priorities of these two groups further by examining their views on financial independence, home ownership, and spiritual grounding. For men, these are vital elements of success that support the nurturing of children and community. In contrast, women prioritize financial freedom to pursue individual desires, suggesting a path often characterized by hedonism—emphasizing personal gratification over communal support.
The concept of emotional stability emerges as a critical point of discussion, where Stefan illustrates how Trump's supporters associate their emotional well-being with their commitments to family and community. In stark contrast, he argues that women who disfavor familial structures may find themselves grappling with anxiety and instability, often turning to external sources for validation and security.
Delving into the implications of their findings, the lecture addresses the repercussions of societal structures that promote individualism over collective responsibility. The discussion emphasizes the psychological effects of lacking intimate family connections and critiques the notion of altruism directed towards 'others' while neglecting immediate familial bonds. He posits that real support and emotional growth stem from the reciprocity of understanding and love within one's own family.
Stefan concludes with a reflection on how societal narratives around gender roles create tensions between fulfilling personal and communal responsibilities. He underscores the importance of engaging with family life and the moral obligations that come with it, emphasizing that meaningful relationships ultimately enhance happiness and emotional stability. His closing remarks encourage listeners to contemplate their own definitions of success and the societal influences that shape them, suggesting that an investment in familial relationships leads to a richer, more fulfilling life experience.
0:09 - Introduction to Success for Gen Z
2:42 - Men vs. Women: Definitions of Success
6:37 - The Role of Career Aspirations
8:23 - Hedonism vs. Responsibility
12:36 - The Influence of Relationships
15:19 - Empathy and Community Connections
18:24 - Power Dynamics in Helping Others
19:11 - Conclusion: Finding Happiness Through Connection
[0:00] All righty, very interesting stuff from Steve Kornacki over on the vaunted Wild West of Thought X.
[0:09] He writes, our NBC News Decision Desk poll asked, Gen Z adults 18 to 29 years old, what they consider important to a successful life. The combination of gender and politics produced two very different sets of priorities. So let's go into this. Important to personal definition of success. So what is it for your personal definition of success? And of course, this is young. Young people. So men who voted for Trump, number one, having children. Ah, fascinating. Women who voted for Harris, number one, fulfilling job/career.
[0:50] So human beings produce more than we consume. We produce more than we consume. And the question is why? I mean, the obvious answer, of course, is that we produce more than we consume because we have children. So we have the capacity to get more food than we need, to have more resources than we need, to get more water than we need ourselves because we have children. And of course, that in nature, which is the most complex, tends to develop the most slowly, which is why it takes early 20s for women and mid-20s for men to achieve full brain maturity like a quarter century it's mad right i mean like horses can walk within a day or two of being born human being sick like a year, and so having children is the goal now men who voted for trump people who voted for trump tended to be significantly more religious and people who are more religious tend to have more children, Atheists have fewer children significantly. Agnostics are the worst of all. I think they have a replacement rate of 1.3.
[1:56] And so having children is the number one list of success for men. Women who voted for Harris was having children, down at the very bottom, right? So for men who voted for Trump, having children is at the very top. For women who voted for Harris, having children is at the very bottom, only 6%.
[2:21] Financial independence. So if we look at for men who voted for Trump, having children, financial independence, fulfilling job career, being married, having money to do the things that you want, owning a home, being grounded spiritually, making family community proud, having no debt, using talents and resources to help others, able to retire early,
[2:38] having emotional stability, these are all centered around the top goal.
[2:42] So if you want to have children, then you need some financial independence. You should have a fulfilling job or career because you want to provide for your children. You want to be married because being married is the best environment for your children. Having money to do the things you want, well, what you want is to have children and be married. So it's not like you go to Cabo and get drunk on the beach. Owning your own home, that's important for your family. Being grounded spiritually, that's important to be a leader within your family. Making family and community proud, that is not selfish, right? That means that your self-esteem and your happiness is all bound into being approved of by a moral community. Having no debt is important because if you have debt, then you are paying the bankers or the lenders rather than investing in your own family. Using talents and resources to help others able to retire early, having emotional stability is right at the bottom. Now, the people who have emotional stability don't say they want to have emotional stability, and so on, right? So, um...
[3:48] Having emotional stability is a low priority because these men who voted for Trump, these are people who want to be married, productive member of their community, and be responsible, not get into debt, and live in service to others, right? I mean, that's the hedonism, right? I posted this on X, that, of course, one of the problems with hedonism is that you run out of fun a lot long before you run out of life.
[4:16] And that's sort of why hedonism becomes kind of hell itself right so living for others is great because then you start to take your pleasure in the happiness of others and they take pleasure in your happiness and you just end up with a maximum happiness right like if you try to produce everything yourself you're going to have a pretty horrible life right you got to build your own house build your own boat if you want to go fishing build your own fishing rod and so on And you have a pretty horrible life if you want to do it all yourself. But if you trade in the free market, you end up with being able to specialize in your labor and do all of these wonderful things. It's the same thing with happiness. If you share your happiness with others, each person focuses on what makes the happiness the best. So I can focus on some things in my family which add to our happiness. My wife focuses on other things in our family that bring happiness. She's amazing at making the house beautiful. and I live in an absolute girly world paradise. It's amazing and so on, right? So, all right. So this is a life of reproduction, of service, of morals. Being grounded spiritually has to do with morals and so on and focusing on helping others. And this produces emotional stability.
[5:30] So, I mean, if you want stability in your investment portfolio, right? Some people say, I think it's probably a decent idea. You don't have all your eggs in one basket and spread your risk around and so on. And if you put everything into one basket, you win big, you lose big, but it's kind of a roller coaster. It's the same thing with happiness. If you put your happiness in the happiness of your kids and your family and your friends and your customers and all of that, then you'll end up with a lot more stability in the same way that if you invest in a wide variety of things, you're probably going to end up with more portfolio stability. All right, so this is men who voted for Trump. Now let's go over to women who voted for Harris. So fulfilling job career, and the question is, for what? It's not for having children. Having children, like, it's the lowest number of all. For the men who voted for Trump, having emotional stability, 9%. And for the women who voted for Harris, being married and having children is 6%.
[6:37] 6%. Isn't that wild? Now, of course, women who voted for Harris, what is the number one thing? Fulfilling job, career. 51%. Is that the highest? Yeah, that's by far the highest. Men who voted for Trump, having children was 34% of their definition of success. For women, fulfilling job or career, 51%. Now, I mean, basic fact is most people don't have a very fulfilling job or career.
[7:07] Of course, a lot of women go into the helping professions, and the helping professions are run by the government, which means that they don't really help that much. They just provide the illusion of helping. But anyway, so women want a fulfilling job or career. And why? Right? Men, number one thing is having children and therefore fulfilling job career is in the service of being married and having children. So the women who vote for Harris, they don't want to get married and they don't want to have children. So what is the fulfilling job or career? Well, that's 51%. The next high, it's way higher again. Next highest is having money to do the things you want at 46%. So what are the things you want? Well, it's not being married and having children. So it's the things you want selfishly. You want just for yourself. Hmm, very interesting.
[7:59] Very interesting. So the things that you want are your own personal pleasures. This is a form of hedonism.
[8:07] Now, as I was saying, if you only focus on pleasing yourself, you will run out of fun long before you run out of life. And you tend to be less stable in the same way if you only invest in one stock, especially if it's a volatile stock, you won't have financial stability.
[8:24] And so if you only invest in what you like and what you want with no service to others, you have a one volatile stock and so you're not going to be emotionally stable so these men who voted for trump kids married and so on make family community proud they have emotional stability because having emotional stability is very low on the list of priorities which means they already have it these women who focus only on themselves are selfish they don't have emotional stability, so fulfilling job career 51 percent having money to do the things you want 46 percent having emotional stability, 39%. Using talents and resources to help others. Okay. So in this case, who are the others? Well, it is having children, being married, right? So for the men who voted for Trump, the others, they want to help family, community, children, and wife, right? That's who they want to help. Who do these women want to help? Strangers, right? This is the in-group, out-group heat map, right? They want to help strangers because they don't want to get married and they don't want to have children. And so the others that they help are the underprivileged, the people overseas, the migrants, the refugees, all this kind of stuff, right? It's just way, way, way others.
[9:38] Financial independence, very, very high. And for what, right? So financial independence for men is very high at 33%. It's almost the same at 32% for the women who voted for Harris, but what do they want their financial independence for?
[9:53] Well, it's not to have children or be married. They want financial independence so that they can be hedonistic and do what they want.
[10:03] Having no debt, it's the same, high priority, high priority. Owning own home for men, 26%, for women, 20%, so less important. And of course, if you don't have kids, you're not married, owning your own home is a little bit less important, right? Because if you own your own home, then you have to save up for the down payment, which is less of having the money to do the things that you want in the moment. You have to pay a lot of interest. whereas if you just rent you have more money to do the things that you want in the moment okay making family and community proud making family community proud for men who voted for trump it's uh 23 for women who voted for harris uh 19 and i think making family community proud since the men want to have children and get married i assume it's a lot to a large degree it's their own family. For this, it would be your family of origin or community, but not your children. Being grounded spiritually, 11% for women, 24% for men. So they don't particularly care about being grounded spiritually for women. And if you're just pursuing hedonism to a large degree, or just doing the things that you want, or doing what makes you happy and not... I mean, it's funny, it's not a sacrifice, right?
[11:24] Like, if I want a coffee, and the coffee is two bucks, Am I sacrificing by having an economic interaction with the guy selling the coffee? No. He wants my two bucks more than he wants to keep his cup of coffee. I want the cup of coffee more than I want my two bucks. So we're both better off for that exchange.
[11:44] And exchanging happiness with others makes you happier. Having people in your life that you will make, quote, sacrifices in order to make them happy makes you happier because they're bringing their own specialization in what makes you happy. And also, we're not always really good at what makes us happy. Sometimes we need an outsider.
[12:06] To help us understand what makes us happy, right? So if you want to be an entrepreneur, sometimes you need your wife or your husband to really believe in you and say, of course you can do it and here's why and I'll help. Right, I really, you don't seem happy at work. Let's try this. Let's really go for it. You know, you need somebody outside of yourself to notice when you're unhappy to then work for your happiness. So you end up with way more happiness when you are trading happiness with others than when you're focusing entirely on yourself, which as I said before, is kind of like trying to produce everything for yourself.
[12:37] So yeah being grounded spiritually is more important if you are exchanging happiness credits in a sense with with others able to retire early six percent nine percent for men so you know a third more for men being married having children is is nothing for these women and of course single women vote hard left which is why the hard leftists are very very keen on promoting a paranoia towards men. You can't trust men. You've got to be financially independent. What if he just takes off? Men are trashy. Men are unreliable. Men are patriarchal. Men are exploitive. Men are violent. Like all of this stuff, right? It's just scaring.
[13:19] I mean, think of a company that sells home alarms, right? Alarms. Are they going to put out a lot of ads saying, you know, crime is really, really low. You know, you're not really in any danger. No, no. What are they going to do? They're going to put out ads about some sinister guy breaking into your house, and, you know, one scenario, you end up killed in your bed. In another scenario, the alarm goes off and the guy runs away, right? So they're going to focus on making you feel frightened so that you will buy their protection, right? That's, we can understand that. It's not very complicated. It's the same thing with the government, right? The government wants you frightened, so you'll run to the protection of the government, right? And so women who are single tend to be pretty anxious, neurotic.
[14:10] And women in general score higher in neurosis, which I don't mean that in a negative way. I mean, you need to be neurotic to keep a bunch of babies and toddlers alive because they're, you know, constant death magnets. So the neurosis is why we're all here. It's a beautiful aspect of women. But if it's not around children, women tend to just worry about everything. If they don't actually have, if they don't have actual children to worry about, then they tend to worry about anything and everything else. And if they don't have actual children of their own to take care of, they tend to try and mother the entire world, right? Including that poor Turkish guy on the beach like 10 years ago that made all of the women want to open borders for Europe, right? So they tend to want to mother others if they don't have their own, own children. And so, and if they don't have their own protector, which is a husband who loves them and pays the bills and protects her, then she still feels anxious and runs to the government for protection. Of course, the government doesn't protect her, but the illusion is, right?
[15:10] That it will. So, if you look at sort of feminism and skepticism of men, none of this is ideological.
[15:16] It's all political, right? It's all political.
[15:19] So, men want to have children. They want to be their family, and they are emotionally stable. Women want to live for themselves. They don't want to be married and have kids, which is the perfect place for them to vote for bigger and bigger government and living for themselves mostly, or having only generosity and compassion and empathy for distant people, people kind of coming through. See, if you have empathy for your own kids, what's interesting, and of course you should have empathy for your own kids, kind of goes without saying but if you really love and care for your own kids a very interesting thing happens which is that your kids will judge you because they're around they see you at your best and at your worst and they they you know you have a whole world to process out there and kids are basically just processing what's going on in the family particularly if you're homeschool so if you love your wife and if you love your children they will judge you and they will know you very well right they know you better i mean in many ways your family knows you better than you know yourself which is good, right? You need your wife to check your back for moles, right? So it's helpful to have another perspective on yourself and can be life-saving. So.
[16:31] If you use your talents and resources, right, to help others, which is very important, number four for the women who voted for Harris. So let's say you're a social worker and you help some homeless person. He kind of comes and goes and he doesn't judge you because he just needs you so much. He doesn't judge you. So you end up being judgment free. If you help strangers, it's not bad or wrong, but you should help those close to you first. And you should have those who are close to you first and then help them first.
[17:00] And it's a power thing because if you are dangling resources like a lot of these women will be in jobs uh in the sort of social services and welfare and unemployment and and all of that um so they're using the government's money which is to say the taxpayers money or the the children of the men who vote for trump uh using their future tax revenue that's borrowed against. So they are dangling resources that they didn't earn in front of other people who are desperate for them, which means it's a power thing, right? And those people will just kind of pass through, they'll take the money, they'll move on. Whereas the people who you really care about, they will judge you and they will have criticisms of you and it's an equal relationship. This helping strangers, especially using government money, is a power relationship, whereas investing in the people who care for you is an egalitarian relationship where you will get judged and you should be in this way like nobody's nobody's going to say if you're desperate right you're desperate to get resources from some social worker the very few people are going to say well you're kind of mean and i don't i'm not going to take your resources or whatever it is whereas if you're mean in family and kids they'll have something to say about it and you'll get that feedback and then you'll end up you know blunting or sanding down the rough edges of your personality and being nicer overall, being nicer and better, and all of that sort of stuff.
[18:25] So I just wanted to point out that this is helping others, is a power relationship using other people's money.
[18:35] And this is winding yourself into other people's happiness, being submitting to judgment. This tends to sand down the rough edges and aggressive aspects of the personality, makes you nicer and more pleasant in the long run. This does not. and this is why government workers tend to end up as Karens because they've had too much power for too long and it has corrupted their very soul. So yeah, let me know. I know that there's another one of these below. I'm curious if you find this interesting. I find it quite fascinating. Love to know what you think. Freedomain.com/donate. I should probably get that right. Freedomain.com/donate to help out the show, to help out philosophy. I really do appreciate it. Lots of love, my friends.
[19:12] Wind yourself into the happy loves of others and you will live in bliss for life. All the best. Bye!
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