Virtue, Politics, and The Preparation

A conversation with Michael Farris

Michael Farris interviewed me for his Coffee and a Mike podcast recently. We discussed the election, political saviors, virtue, and we had a detailed discussion about the education program I'm developing with Doug Casey and my son Maxim Benjamin Smith called The Preparation.

For those interested in skipping to specific topics, here are some timestamps:

Education & Young People:

[00:47:00] - Detailed discussion of "The Preparation" program and how it's helping Max develop practical skills and character

[00:54:00] - Be, Do, & Have. How focusing on being and doing leads to better outcomes than focusing on having

[00:57:00] - Why asking "who do you want to be?" is more important than "what do you want to do?"

Current Events & Politics:

[00:19:00] - Discussion about the recent election and why 88 million eligible voters chose not to participate

[00:24:00] - Analysis of how formerly anti-state voters have embraced the system again

[01:13:00] - Thoughts on debt slavery and how it traps young people

Practical Philosophy:

[00:26:00] - The importance of frontier virtues and personal responsibility

[00:31:00] - Why focusing on local action matters more than national politics

[01:11:00] - Discussion about debt and why it's "stealing from your future self"

Family & Society:

[01:20:00] - Thoughts on decline in birth rates and what it really means

[01:29:00] - Discussion about raising daughters vs sons

[01:34:00] - Why family responsibility is actually the path to fulfillment

For those who enjoy Mike's work as much as I do, he accepts support through Venmo at @CoffeeandaMike. He's doing some of the most thoughtful interviews out there, and I encourage you to support his work if you find value in it. [FYI - I sent him $500 after our conversation].

A book about The Preparation is in the works - Doug is back in Uruguay next week and we'll be working on it together with Max. More updates on that soon.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts & feedback about these topics.

Best,

Matt