I like to check in on Hugh White from
time to time, as one of the more prescient and insightful Australian observers of the developing contest between the United States and China and the choices that portends for us. Still, I certainly did not expect to come across a
four hour book club discussion:
Entertainment for the TikTok generation this is not. Hugh really is a wonderful communicator. He has the patient and cautious air one associates with academic types, but without the verbose and convoluted language that often comes along for the ride. Above all, the impression is of a learned conversation, rather than an ideologue pushing a particular narrative. I particularly appreciated his comments towards the end of their discussion on Donald Kagan's
The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War on maintaining a sense of human moral agency in the face of narratives that X is inevitable or that Y is the only path available (~5 minutes from
).