There Is Way More To Kamala Harris Than You Think - Eric Weinstein
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Eric Weinstein opens his discussion with a deep dive into Karl Marx's *The Communist Manifesto*, specifically focusing on the German phrase regarding wiping out what has been to arrive at what can be unburdened by it. He connects this Marxist concept of erasing history and memory—exemplified by Mao Zedong in China—to modern political rhetoric, noting how phrases like AOC's "We Have a World to Win" echo these revolutionary roots. Weinstein argues that regimes seeking to impose a new order often target doctors, lawyers, teachers, and professors because they serve as tethers to the past; eliminating them creates a blank slate for the future. He illustrates this point with an anecdote from Hanoi, Vietnam, where he encountered a man severely deformed by torture yet possessing incredible musical talent who played Chopin on a guitar despite his physical limitations. The revelation that such individuals were destroyed for their principled stand against communism reinforced Weinstein's view of how authoritarian systems dismantle the mind and body to enforce conformity. The conversation then shifts to Kamala Harris, with Weinstein questioning whether she is as unsophisticated as critics claim or if her background suggests a different ideological alignment entirely. He highlights that her father, Donald J. Harris, was an economist from Jamaica known for applying post-Keynesian ideas to development economics, suggesting that the Democratic Party welcomes neo-Marxist thought more than many right-wing observers admit. Weinstein posits that while AOC is "straight up Marxist," Kamala Harris occupies a space between crony finance and Marxism, implying she possesses levels of complexity often overlooked by her detractors. He challenges his interlocutor to recognize these nuances, suggesting that dismissing Harris as simple-minded ignores the high-level metacognition required for political maneuvering in an era where time is scarce and global stakes are immense. Weinstein further explores the nature of public perception versus reality regarding political figures, using examples like George W. Bush's transformation from a sharp debater to a folksy figure during his Texas governorship campaign. He argues that politicians often adopt characters or personas—comparing them to wrestling icons like Triple H—that mask their true intelligence and capabilities, warning listeners not to be taken in at "level one." This skepticism extends to the media landscape itself; he notes how journalists and professionals can manipulate narratives, much like a character pretending to work in a mortuary while actually being an actor. He emphasizes that nothing in politics happens by accident, urging his audience to look beyond surface-level appearances and understand the strategic layers involved in political discourse, which requires a level of intelligence far exceeding what is commonly attributed to these figures. Throughout the dialogue, Weinstein maintains a tone of intellectual rigor mixed with personal anecdotes, such as promoting an eight sleep mattress that helps users achieve better rest by cooling the bed or lifting it during snoring episodes—a commercial break inserted into his broader philosophical critique. He expresses concern about potential repercussions for discussing these topics openly, jokingly noting he might end up on the Open Skies watch list due to this podcast. Ultimately, his core argument is a call for deeper engagement with complex ideas rather than accepting simplified narratives or dismissing political opponents as intellectually inferior. By weaving together historical analysis of Marxism, personal stories from Vietnam, and observations on modern politics, Weinstein concludes that society must recognize the sophisticated strategies employed by those in power and resist being manipulated by superficial characterizations.
Read the full video transcript
can you please try and explain to me
what you interpret by what can be
unburdened by what has been what does
that
mean I don't know if I should I don't
know if I should
say there's a line in
marks where
sometimes you hear certain phrases Like
A World to Win AOC uses the phrase We
Have A World to Win which comes from the
end of the ma communist manifest
originally written in
German it was the name I used to hang
out in the Revolutionary bookstore in
Cambridge Massachusetts with the
Communists because they print everything
in every language so if you're trying to
learn multiple languages they'll print
the same text in all of these languages
and you can compare
um it basically says you have to wipe
out what has
been to arrive in the new and where's it
from what can be unburdened by what has
been it's not a direct translation but
it occurs in Carl Marx now I could I
wasn't expecting this I could find you
the exact
reference if you think about what Mao
had to do to wipe out Chinese history
what pole pot had had to
do you're trying to wipe out
memory because the memory has all of
this
burden why do you why why is it
important to go after doctors and
lawyers and teachers and
professors because in some sense they
are going to
resist the New Order that you're about
to impose you're looking for a blank
slate they like a tether to the
Past okay I'm going to tell a story I
don't know that Ever Told Anyone maybe I
have maybe I haven't can't promise it's
original to you but I was in hoan in
Vietnam and I'm going to lose this
one hoan is one of the only beautiful
places that I found you know like hu and
hoan a lot of things were really ripped
up in that
war
and there is a an unbelievable
and difficult
instrument which the Vietnamese language
is very hard so I'm going to say it
wrong called it would be written as Dan
ba it's one
string in a giant lever and you pluck
the harmonics and it's supposed to be an
intimate in instrument I think sometimes
played by the blind where only the
person who's intended is the recipient
of the
music
okay I see this in a window in hoan and
I become transfixed by it and a woman
says I see you looking at this in
English would you like to come in I said
I don't want to impose she says no no no
it's not mine so she invites me
in and there's this guy who appears to
be brain dead he's like
deformed I'm not going to get through
this
and he's speaking very haltingly and I I
don't know who he
is and something about music something
about journalism something about a
professional I can't really make out
what's happening I'm asking about the
instrument and this woman brings him a
guitar and this deformed
man starts playing
some transcri like chopan or some some
piano conero on the guitar at some
incredible level and I can't even
imagine that his body can do
it and so I I have no idea where I am or
what's
happening and then he motions for like a
book and she brings a
book and it has all of these articles
about this man tortured for his
principled stand against communism
this man has been destroyed
Mind
Body to the point
where it's just painful to watch him and
I realized that basically he just do you
know what a nailhouse
is if you Google nailhouse under Google
Images do it you can't do it or you off
the internet no I can do
it tell me what
see it's a toall building an individual
Standalone structure in the middle of a
road there are these people who will not
give up their homes when a shopping mall
goes in or a road is put and for some
reason they'll build a highway to screw
over the person who stands up and says I
will not move
and the idea is that that road is the
future unburdened by what has been and
then there's some hold out who won't go
along with the
program if Kamala Harris is as
unsophisticated as we think she is do we
really believe that she is quoting from
the dark depths of why do you believe
she is as unsophisticated as you have
just claimed what did her father do I
don't know look it
up and by the way I am assuming that I
will end up on the open Skies watch list
as a result of this podcast that is
crazy by the way what happened to telsey
the trip the quades on her boarding pass
Donald J Harris the father of camel
Harris Jamaican American Economist
professor emeritus Stanford University
originally from St an's Bay
Jamaica what kind of
Economics known for
applying post kinan ideas to development
economics what's post keian I don't
know post Kian economics is a school of
economic thought with its origins in the
general theory of John mayard kean's
subsequent development influenced to a
large degree by a name I can't
pronounce I think that there was a lot
of marxist thought and I as a as a man
of whose family comes from the
farle you recognize certain sorts of
commonalities I'm sure she would see
them in
me
um the Democratic party is not
communist I don't think that that's
right that's the critique of many of my
right-wing friends but it is welcomed in
a lot of neo- marxian
thought I would say AOC is straight up
Marxist I don't know I think comma is
both is everywhere
between crony Finance
and
Marxism you're talking about things for
which you do not have language so the
reason that I said I don't think that
Kam can be as sophisticated as perhaps
this obscure reference
said hundred times apparently according
to the archive who's Charles Mingus I
don't know Carl is a lot smarter than
you're giving a credit
for I mean this is the uh your point
about how many levels through it do you
go this is the first one this is the
second one this is the third one but in
order to be able to do the Ukraine is a
country it is a small country Russia is
a big country they are a bigger country
this is bad time is all around us in
order to be able to do
that self-referentially with agency
knowing what you're doing the
metacognition to be able to do that and
play a role to me seems that's like 200
IQ stuff to be able to do that I don't
think so I think it's 130 IQ
stuff I think you could do it better
than you think we we could have a
pretend all right I'm going to talk to
you in a way you haven't heard before
son I'm going to school you on a few
things you can stop that silly grin and
wipe it R off your
face we can sound like however we want I
could affect some sort of Oxbridge
accent or I could do Cockney it doesn't
matter um you're looking at characters
this is why I wrote the 2011 kayab essay
because you're looking at professional R
do you imagine that the iron
Chic you know who is the iron Chic who
is Triple H who is the Undertaker do you
think he actually works in a in a
mortuary these are
characters George W bush as a debater in
Texas for the governorship was really
really smart and suddenly he got real
dumb and folksy
and do you imagine he actually says
nuclear he knows it's
nuclear you
know I would learn to say nuclear I
could say
nuclear I got to be careful with that
nuclear physics and I can I can get
Democrats to correct me and look like
every time this is there's an
old FDR line which is nothing in
politics happens by accident
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