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"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
Decoding Andrew Sullivan
Decoding Andrew Sullivan through Alliance Theory reveals a man who has spent forty years navigating the high-stakes coordination problems of the American elite. In David Pinsof’s framework, Sullivan is a “homeless” political athlete. He possesses a high level of prestige … Continue reading
Posted in Andrew Sullivan, Elites
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Why You Should Believe Your Eyes, Not Elite Descriptions
Elite institutions routinely advance narratives that clash with what people can see and feel. This happens when official data, approved language, or moral framing require citizens to discount their own sensory experience to remain socially compliant. The result is not … Continue reading
Posted in America, Elites, Epistemics, Journalism
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Populist vs Elitist Moral Signalling
Animals signal. People signal. We all signal. Why? Because signalling is adaptive and virtue signalling is virtuous. ChatGPT says: Elite moral signaling is procedural and sanitizing. It produces roles, committees, standards, funding streams, and a public performance of care. It … Continue reading
Posted in Australia, Bondi Beach, Elites, Ethics, Islam, Journalism, Populism
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Decoding Those Useless Sign Language Interpreters
The ubiquity of sign language interpreters at modern press conferences, even when high-quality closed captioning is universally available, reveals how a “profane” communication tool is transformed into a “sacred” ritual of institutional purity. The Shift from Profane Utility to Sacred … Continue reading
Posted in Alliance Theory, Elites
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Decoding Sports Illustrated’s Bathing Suit Issue
When I was young, I looked forward to the Sports Illustrated bathing suit issue so that I could see gorgeous women way out of my league having fun in minimal clothing. In real life, intimacy is often frightening and I … Continue reading
Posted in Alliance Theory, Dallas, Elites, Sex, Sports
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Decoding The Jeffrey Epstein Scandal
The Jeffrey Epstein scandal provides a stark illustration of how elite alliances maintain their “pure” status through strategic silence and, when exposed, through rituals of purification that protect the broader institutional center. 1. The Shift from Profane to Sacred (Jeffrey … Continue reading
Posted in Elites, Jeffrey Epstein
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How Did Racism Become A Thing?
Prior to the 1920s, nobody talked about racism. How did racism become a moral category when it wasn’t used in Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and the pre-20th century philosophers and ethicists? Who invented the great evil of “racism” and how did … Continue reading
Posted in Alliance Theory, David Pinsof, Elites, Nationalism
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Decoding The Problematic
In Alliance Theory, words function as coordination signals rather than mere descriptors. The word “problematic” serves as a vital tool for elite alliance maintenance because it lacks a fixed definition. It acts as a low-resolution alarm that alerts the group … Continue reading
Posted in Alliance Theory, Elites, Tucker Carlson
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The Sacralization of Israel & Ukraine
The wars in Ukraine and Israel have become moralized and are rarely discussed as vital to America’s concrete interests. Why? Jeffrey Alexander’s model of democratic ritual explains that political life typically operates at the mundane or “profane” level of goals, … Continue reading
Posted in Alliance Theory, Elites, Israel, Ukraine
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Decoding Influence
ChatGPT says: Alliance Theory says this distinction is not confusion or modesty. It is strategy. Elites say they want influence, not power, because power requires legitimacy and accountability, while influence does not. Here’s the logic. First. Power is visible and … Continue reading
Posted in Alliance Theory, Elites
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