- https://PayPal.Me/lukeisback
"Luke Ford reports all of the 'juicy' quotes, and has been doing it for years." (Marc B. Shapiro)
"This guy knows all the gossip, the ins and outs, the lashon hara of the Orthodox world. He’s an [expert] in... all the inner workings of the Orthodox world." (Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff) LATEST POSTS:
- Tanner Greer
- Economist Tyler Cowen
- Richard Reeves: A Life in Institutions
- Jake Adelstein: The Reporter Who Became His Story
- Jim Goad (1961-2026)
- Moira Greyland
- Robert Oscar Lopez: The Inconvenient Witness
- Two Ledgers: Decoding the Gurus and the Price of Talk
- The Pervert’s Progress: Costin Vlad Alamariu and the Making of Bronze Age Pervert
- Curtis Yarvin: A Life Against Democracy
- Mark Helprin: Against the Current
- Mark Brandt: The Man Who Asked Who Else Is Prejudiced
- John T. Jost: The Psychologist of Acquiescence
- Strange Bedfellows in the Academy: Alliance Theory and the Straussian Schism
- Tournier on Desmond Ford
- The Fence and the Blessing: How Jews Have Thought About Gentiles
- Tournier on Luke Ford
- Tournier on The Nostradamus Kid
- An Alliance Theory of Antisemitism
- Tournier on Cinema Paradiso and Desmond Ford
BEST POSTS:
- * The Enlightenment Wasn’t Enlightened (6-23-26)
* Mr. Burge Draws The Line (6-23-26)
* 'Improving on Democracy' (6-17-26)
* People Leak To People Who Are Fun (6-11-26)
* Why Does Australia Produce So Many Great Journalists? (6-11-26)
* Steve Wynn and the Press: Power, Litigation, and the Contest Over Las Vegas (6-3-26)
* Sheldon Adelson and the Journalists (6-3-26)
* The Vigilant Animal: Thinkers Who Reject the Myth of Human Gullibility (6-2-26)
* The Cost of Refusing the Misunderstanding Myth (6-2-26)
* Show Me How It Travels (6-2-26)
* The Norm Explainers (6-2-26)
* Centering Marginalized Voices (6-1-26)
* What would it look like if the Washington Post put its reader first? (6-1-26)
* What would it look like if the Financial Times put its reader first? (6-1-26)
* What It Would Mean for the Los Angeles Times to Put the Reader First? (6-1-26)
* What It Would Mean for The New York Times to Put the Reader First? (6-1-26)
* Why Wembanyama Lives on the Perimeter (5-31-26)
* The Emotional Palettes Of San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco & Sacramento (5-27-26)
* The Administrative Capital: Sacramento Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* San Diego - The Quiet Republic (5-27-26)
* The Quiet Bar: San Diego Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* SF v LA Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* Why Talent Travels Poorly Between San Francisco and Los Angeles (5-27-26)
* San Francisco and Los Angeles as Rival Models of Urban Access (5-27-26)
* Social Cliques in New York, 2026 (5-25-26)
* Social Cliques in San Francisco, 2026 (5-25-26)
* The Rival Courts of Washington (5-25-26)
* The City of Private Rooms (5-25-26)
Category Archives: Elites
Why Do Elites Love Paralympics?
Elites and journalists tend to love the Paralympics because it satisfies several incentives at once. First, it provides an almost perfect moral narrative. The Paralympics offers stories of suffering, resilience, and triumph. Those are emotionally powerful and easy to communicate. … Continue reading
Posted in Elites
Comments Off on Why Do Elites Love Paralympics?
In Elite Speak, ‘Grievance’ Means Illegitimate Claims By White People
In elite discourse the word “grievance” usually signals that the speaker believes the underlying complaint is exaggerated, misdirected, or illegitimate. It is a framing device. If an elite commentator thinks a complaint is justified, they normally use words like injustice, … Continue reading
Posted in Elites
Comments Off on In Elite Speak, ‘Grievance’ Means Illegitimate Claims By White People
Why Are Journalists Embracing ‘Goldilocks’ Descriptions?
The word “Goldilocks” comes from a 19th-century fairy tale in which a girl tests three versions of the same thing and finds the middle option just right. The porridge is neither too hot nor too cold. The bed is neither … Continue reading
Posted in Elites, Expertise, Iran, Journalism
Comments Off on Why Are Journalists Embracing ‘Goldilocks’ Descriptions?
Elite Jargon Is The Modern Form Of Sumtuary Laws
Sumptuary laws regulated who could wear what. In medieval and early modern Europe certain fabrics, colors, or ornaments were restricted to specific classes. Purple silk, fur trim, gold embroidery, and so on signaled rank. The point was to make hierarchy … Continue reading
Posted in Elites
Comments Off on Elite Jargon Is The Modern Form Of Sumtuary Laws
Why Do Elites Love Talking About Dynamics?
Elites love the word dynamic because it solves several problems at once. It signals sophistication without committing to a concrete claim. “The dynamics of the region are shifting” sounds analytical but requires no specification of what is changing or who … Continue reading
Posted in Elites
Comments Off on Why Do Elites Love Talking About Dynamics?
The Jurisdictional Wars: Alliance Theory and the Battle to Define Legitimate Power in the Trump Presidency
Thomas Edsall writes in the New York Times: Trump’s Smash-and-Grab Presidency Reaches New Heights Moynihan agreed that “there are significant strategic motivations for the U.S. military action” against Iran. But for Trump, “the key point seems to be the impulsiveness, … Continue reading
Posted in America, Elites, Expertise, Stephen Turner
Comments Off on The Jurisdictional Wars: Alliance Theory and the Battle to Define Legitimate Power in the Trump Presidency
Decoding The Iran War (3-8-26)
01:00 Iran’s Grand Strategy: A Political History (2025), https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=17456111:20 Vali Nasr Exclusive: ‘War is being waged ‘: Vali Nasr on Israel-US campaign against Iran25:00 The First Gulf War, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=17460528:00 Understanding The Elite Frame On The Iran War, https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=17462535:00 Mark Halperin: … Continue reading
Why Do Elites Love Dubai?
I never hear my mates talk about how much they love Dubai, but I read elites extolling Dubai all the time. They love it almost as much as they love assisted suicide and gay marriage. Why? Those three things cluster … Continue reading
Why do elites and journos love the word ‘predicate’?
Per Alliance Theory, elites and journalists love the word “predicate” because it performs several social functions inside the professional class. It is less about grammar and more about status signaling, precision theater, and alliance language. First, it signals membership in … Continue reading
Posted in Elites, Journalism
Comments Off on Why do elites and journos love the word ‘predicate’?
Elites Don’t Like The Trump Rhetoric About The Iran War
The FT reports: “‘Cavalier and demeaning’: the Trump team’s hyper-aggressive war rhetoric” Per Alliance Theory, the current “War of Words” over Operation Epic Fury is not a debate about ethics—it is a status war over the “Sacred Language” of American … Continue reading