The Long Struggle Against Equality in America (w/ Kim Phillips-Fein)
Summary
Hosts Matt Sim and Sam Hebell interview historian Kim Phillips-Fein about her new book, *Country of Lords*. They explore the enduring American counter-tradition that opposes equality, tracing its evolution from the Founding Era through Social Darwinism and scientific racism. The discussion highlights how figures like John Adams, Andrew Carnegie, and Lothrop Stoddard justified hierarchy and inequality across different historical periods.
Topics discussed
Introduction and overview of Kim Phillips-Fein's book
Historical context and consensus historians
The American Revolution and early egalitarianism
John Adams, hierarchy, and natural aristocracy
Social Darwinism, Sumner, and Carnegie
Scientific racism, eugenics, and Lothrop Stoddard
Taylorism, Fordism, and corporate hierarchy
Meritocracy, IQ testing, and Richard Herrnstein
Milton Friedman and equality of opportunity
Tech utopians, Musk, and Horowitz
Technological determinism and concluding thoughts
Listen ad-free on Castria