Відео

She's nuts - and deeply antisemitic.

"An artist is a servant of no one."

I learn something new each time I listen to Stephen speak.

Well finelly I got the answer why Niall is kind of pushing to hard the Putin=Hitler theme.. it all goes down to his old Russia -Weimar theory. Ok.apparently a briliant and fascinating historian can also be traped in a conseption. A wrong one for shure. I wonder how of all people he can't see the different between the persons and the backround exc..

Hello 'humans'? Try 'ladies and gentlemen' mate, or leave off boasting about 'dangerous ideas'. You're scared.

Listening to Stephen Fry speak is never anything less than a joy. His articulacy and insight on so many subjects is stimulating and like a balm for the... The bit of the mind that feels emotions... what's the word? Emotionarium?

I highly respect Stephen Fry, he's very intelligent and well spoken, but I do believe he's one of the many who's not seeing the forest for all the trees. Media has propagandized us all, and I actually believe Trump, Musk and RFK Jr will do good for USA and the bad-health-epidemic. Also stopping the war in Ukraine. Unfortunately not so sure about Middle East, but maybe they will surprise us. War = evil.

Everyone deserves their own homeland, where their ancestors evolved. The Jews reclaimed their land after two thousand years and I hope those people will do the same. Go humanity!!!

At least social media has provided a platform to ordinary people that they can come and expose lies of Fergusson. Otherwise you would have had never enough money to print a book against elitist writers like Fergusson. Publishers would not take your books. So, social media in a way has broken that monopoly.

Nial Fergusson says he is happy as long as his books are sold, no matter who buys it. This is his approach in other matters as well. He can flatter war criminals like Henry Kissinger or write things that are loved by the neo conservative. He can go to any extent to get attention of those who are in power

Please define woke. Pretty please.

How dangerous can our ideas be, and still be hosted on your channel? Curious about the idea of "freedom."

I genuinely believe that it's a choice. You choose to connect, you choose to care, you choose to be involved. When you ask people how's it going, people respond accordingly in Australia. We need to hold onto it. And not to make who we vote for part of our identity

Nial Fergusson's ancestors benefitted from the Empire, so he will definitely support it. This is very personal argument though I feel sympathy for him and his family who cannot enjoy that benefit any longer. Also recall the population of red Indians which was around 124 million, according to Roy Casandra of Austin School, over the several decades it was reduced to 25 million only. Howard Zinn said it was 59 million probably as big as that of Europe in 1492 and 0ver 90 percent perished, 12 million slaves were brought, 4 million perished in the Middle Passage. Zinnia asserted 55 million slaves were brought. According to Christopher Clark, a Cambridge historian, over 80 percent Red Indians decimated because of massacres, diseases etc. Zinn claims 55 million slaves were brought, one million Irish perished because of the British imposed famines while millions of Irish and other European served as indentured labourers in the new world while 35 million Indian also faced the same fate who died in British imposed Jamie's which were the result of British policies, over 40 percent British trade consisted of opium sale in the early 19th century, China was forced to buy opium, France killed millions in North Africa and other parts of the world, British introduced concentration camps in Kenya and other parts of the world, Germany played havoc with the lives of African colonies, Leopold of Belgium killed over ten million Africans , amputating over a million, Portugal and Spain looted silver and gold from South and Central America, Japan ruthlessly killed Chinese and people of other colonies. Nial talks about killings in China and Russia but he intends to ignore the brutalities of empires. By the way modern research claims one million were killed in the USSR. I am not justifying the brutality of Stalin and others but you tend to forget the oppression of western colonial powers---the genocides, massacres, plundering, imposition of opium, destruction of Indian and Chinese economy that would contribute over 40 percent to global economy. It is argued that the British laid railways to transport weapons. Shashi Tharoor has claimed that the entire education budget of British India was lesser than that of New York state or city and Fergusson has no answer to this. The British and other empires introduced protectionism and not free market as Neil claims. How many scientific institutions the Empire set up in India? The grim reality that agri tax would be waived off during the Mughal Time when a famine hit a certain area but the British, according to many historians, extorted this even during and after famines that complicated the situation. The USSR played a key in defeating Hitler losing 27 million people, over 30 million Soviets wounded and the country faced the destruction of over 34000 industries. Fergusson claims a lot about rule of law which principles of law allow a country to invade and subjugate others. Papers and guns invesnted in China and they made their way to Arab world and Europe. Agriculture was used by the Middle East first but it reached Europe as well. The life was brute in European continent which was overcrowded and impoverished. The America's were not overcrowded that is why they didn't face as many famines or diseases as the Europeans did. I can go one for hours

lol if Centre right = extremist nonce!

I wonder when the first original thought/idea was. Maybe it was the last one too?

It's interesting the he used the word 'contaminated' when talking about Trumps team and the institutions because that is exactly the claim of the 'team' about the far left contamination of the institutions. Two sides see the same problem with the opposite conclusion.

If the differences are from institutions rather than culture, what's the explanation for differences between people who live in Virginia vs. West Virginia? Or people in the San Joaquin Valley vs. people in the Bay Area? Why did the institutions of the British Empire produce such different results in Pakistan and India, but such similar results in Canada and Australia? Did the 1 day-old State of Israel have an institutional advantage over the Arab countries in 1948, or was it instead a cultural advantage? The Eastern Poland vs. Western Ukraine argument also doesn't make sense - it's not the geography that houses the culture, but the people. The Poles moved west, and took their culture, and thus their institutions (existing and potential), with them. I am an admirer of Niall Ferguson, but trying to divorce a society's culture from its institutions seems wrong. If an institution is a system of incentives, but a culture is a system of values, then the culture will determine the acceptance, effectiveness, and durability of the institutions.

This is great work Josh. Thank you for sharing. Deeply inadequate responses from Daniel here.

I believe Stephen Fry is right about the illusory nature of power. The analogy I prefer to use to explain goes like this: A Pope, a President, and a Soldier are alone in a room. "Kill the Pope, Soldier,' says the President. "Do it for your country." The Pope turns on the Soldier. "For the love of God kill the President." Which among these three have the power. The Soldier, or the man he listens to? It cannot be the Soldier because he acts upon the will of another, yet it also cannot be anyone else because it is on account of some ineffable thing, some vestige of instinct, intellect, loyalty, or integrity, which lies within the Soldier that ultimately compels him to act. Power does not exist. It is a way in which individuals absolve themselves of responsibility over their actions by attributing agency to some external factor or condition. In the final analysis each of us it ultimately alone and we are what we choose to be regardless of whether that choice is arrived at through indifference or determination.

The face of racism.

Enjoying the conversation but the amount of vocal fry is annoying

The host talks over Mr. Fry. Not good.

57:41 who are they referring to?

Brilliant what a mighty man he is, thank you mr Ferguson.

What a great interview.

Very good discussion. Ferguson often sounds like he's on autopilot because he is interviewed so often. Here he was prodded out of his comfort zone and had to start growling a bit, which makes him much more interesting to listen to .

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Great guest. Great interview.

And this is why the right is making waves, the authoritarian left is out of control

It's not helpful to bag "Scandivia" as something homogeneous. Norwegians, Finns, Swedes and Danes have much less in common than the Irish, Welsh, Scots and Brits. Scandians don't even have a common language. The whole "Scandivian' thing that academics talk about is absolute nonsense.

Obviously institutions are critical. But does anyone believe if you imposed Western institutions on the Afghans or Syrians, their societies would accept and flourish under them? Culture is the context in which institutions operate.

its quite heartening to realise stephen feels so negative about the future. thats how i feel too. not happily so but as kurt vonnegut said "so it goes"

i love stephen very much

Frederick Remington, the famous American Western artist proposed that the most warlike tribes of the late 19th Century be incorporated into the US Army as light cavalry. He argued that for self respect becoming farmers or clerks would demean them, but they would happily put their lives on the line as warriors and they would retain the respect of their families. He envisioned them as sort of American Gurkas. Sacajawea, the young woman who guided Lewis and Clark, had been kidnapped as a child and sold to a French trapper as a wife before the expedition arrived. Would Jim Thorpe been happier to be known as the best athlete among a few dozen tribal children? No outrage of often well-meaning British or American was not commonly exercised before the arrival of Anglo people, except children sent to Indian schools were thought to be doing them a service in integrating them, while, stolen children in more primitive societies were just slaves.

Min 55

I'd say that Fergy makes too much of the Scottish civil law vs English common law difference. Sure, it was historically significant but for a long time now the majority of law is just statute law.

While modernity has been originated from western europe, it needed the rest of the world to be fully born and not always in the best way. Without european expansion, you would have a world cyclically filled with roman-like empires with wild fringes while waiting for religion sophisticated like christianity to pacify and show them a new way that would have possibly end up to technical progress and human life inprovement. These latters have indeed precedes modernity.

While modernity has been originated from western europe, it needed the rest of the world to be fully born and not always in the best way. Without european expansion, you would have a world cyclically filled with roman-like empires with wild fringes while waiting for religion sophisticated like christianity to pacify and show them a new way that would have possibly end up to technical progress and human life inprovement. These latters have indeed precedes modernity.

Finally someone put into words about what I loathe when people put 'Gen Z' or 'Millennial' on a generation. Fuck off with that American grouping of shit. We're all individuals

The far left is more nuts than the right

The first 20 mins Ferguson seems to waffle a load of contradictory nonsense - and ups his 'middle class west scotland protestant' accent to cover it up

Trump was the best option. Fact.

_'One thing's for sure, it wouldn't have been Wakanda.'_ You walked right into that one. Ludicrous claim that it could have looked like that. And it is, there's not a 'million different ways this could go'. There are few viable ones. If not European imperial expansion, the most likely invaders of Australia would have been from what is today Indonesia, likely Javanese as they were exceptional seafarers and had a very large population. The Maori are another candidate. The Ming dynasty certainly had the technology to do so as well plus the wealth and population to fund and man mass voyages, but they were not open sea mariners for extended periods, preferring to hug the coastline. Certainly, they could have worked their way through the Indonesian or Philippine archipelagos.

Excellent conversation ! Kudos!!!

This was one of the bests conversations I have seen with Niall. To see his historical repertoire on display was epic. Josh really did well on bringing this out. Excellent

The canon! You Nazi...you white supremacist...gibber...fulminate...eurocentric...patriarchal...aaagh...ghdd...yfdd...hjklydsd...

He’s so far up his backside he cannot see simple sh*t

Brilliant work!

Fabulous is the word.