Fear: The Glue that Holds Non-Consanguinated Groups Together

On Yakov Rabkin (his website)

Timestamps: 

00:00:00 Russophobia and anti-Semitism 

00:07:11 Nazi racism and colonial thinking 

00:13:25 Racism, essentialism and inequality 

00:19:29 Demodernization and private anger 

00:24:46 Why elites need enemies 

00:35:04 Stereotypes, diplomacy and deterrence 

00:46:51 Anti-Semitism, Israel and public debate 

00:54:09 Empire, culture and racism

The Heart of Love

Oikophobia: Internal Group Factional Fears and Scapegoating (Constructing the Internal & External Enemies)

Fear: The Kayfabe Pathos that Trumps Logos

Essentialism + Irrationality + De-Modernization

from Google AI:

Yakov Rabkin defines Essentialism, Irrationality, and De-Modernization as interconnected symptoms of a contemporary global regression, where societies abandon rational, civic development in favor of tribalism, emotionalism, and structural decay. 

As a prominent historian and author, Rabkin—alongside co-editor Mikhail Minakov—developed these concepts primarily in their foundational volume, Demodernization: A Future in the Past (Columbia University Press). 

1. De-Modernization: The Core Framework

For Rabkin, de-modernization is the reversal of the achievements of modernity, demonstrating that human progress is non-linear and reversible. 

• The Concept: Modernity promised that reason, science, and civic structures would eliminate oppression and chaos. De-modernization occurs when these structures break down, leading back to forms of traditionalism, structural cruelty, and rising inequality. 
• The Shift: It represents a pivot where civil nationalism gives way to tribal, ethnic, and confessional conflict. Instead of navigating geopolitics with rational diplomacy, modern states slip into primal, us-versus-them standoffs. 
• Scope: Rabkin notes this is not isolated; it is a global trend visible "from the banks of the Neva to the banks of the Euphrates... and all the way to the city of Detroit." 

2. Irrationality: The Weaponization of Emotion

In Rabkin's framework, irrationality is the displacement of objective, evidence-based reasoning by raw emotion, self-righteousness, and moral superiority in political discourse. 

• In Geopolitics: Rabkin argues that modern international conflicts are increasingly driven by emotionalism rather than rational compromise. For example, he critiques actions like building diplomatic walls or excluding belligerents from peace summits as acts of "self-righteousness" that bypass practical crisis resolution. 
• Mass Behavior: Irrationality manifests when public policy and media narratives favor predictable, knee-jerk emotional reactions (such as fear and collective blame) over critical structural analysis. 

3. Essentialism: The Reduction of the "Other"

Essentialism is the intellectual engine that drives both irrationality and de-modernization. Rabkin views it as the reduction of complex geopolitical or social issues down to fixed, unchangeable cultural traits. 

• The Concept: Rather than evaluating individuals or states by their distinct political actions or legal context, essentialism groups entire populations under static labels (e.g., viewing conflicts purely through the lens of a "clash of civilizations" or religious texts).
• Dehumanization: Rabkin shows that essentialism naturally facilitates the weaponization of prejudice. It allows societies to dehumanize the "Other"—whether through modern Islamophobia, Russophobia, or the rehabilitation of colonialist mindsets—by framing entire cultures as inherently incompatible with Western values. 

Summary of the Interconnection

According to Rabkin's critique, when a society encounters crisis, it often lapses into irrationality (reacting with pure emotion and a sense of moral superiority). This triggers essentialism, forcing people to retreat into rigid ethnic, religious, or national identities while dehumanizing outsiders. The ultimate structural result of this cycle is de-modernization—the unraveling of civic progress and a dangerous return to a more volatile, tribal world. 

Woke Neo-Racism (Allyship): The Expanding Dark Progressive Project to Preserve White Racial Essentialism.  

When Socialism's Fear of Loss of the Good Society Outweighs Love of Profit (Gain of the Good) as a Group Binding Motivation.

"Now, of course lovers of profit must love profit?... And by profit you mean the opposite of loss?... And is it a good thing for anyone to suffer loss?... Rather an evil?" 

— Socrates (Plato, "Hipparchus")

"Then the valuable is what produces gain, whether it be small or great, and the valueless produces no..." 

— Socrates (Plato, "Hipparchus")

"Do you then mean by the expression—It is worth while to make a gain—anything else than to think that one ought to make a gain?" 

— Socrates (Plato, "Hipparchus")

from Google AI:

Socrates traps his interlocutor in a logical circle to prove that making a profit is identical to pursuing the "good". Because no one knowingly seeks evil or loss, he concludes that everyone desires gain and profit. However, this leads to the realization that it is only good profit that benefits a person, whereas bad, ill-gotten gains ultimately result in a net loss to one's soul. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Group Essentialism: Quantitas prae Qualitate!

(Quantities before Qualities/ Stereo-types)

The "Privatization of Anger" - Identity Politics replaced Marxism as a logos to Pathologize rational Marxist Class-Struggle and replace it as an irrational explanation for capitalist exploitation (race).  This is the re-birth of race essentialism that had died after the US Civil War & German WWII in Europe so as to protect capitalist exploitation and wealth extraction (Thanks Edward Bernays!)

Divide et Impera!

Prejudice - The internally sourced rationalization of ones internal pathological fears.  Trauma Therapy - The externally (economically based) sourced "essentialist" rationalization of one's internal pathological fears.  The sins of the Verstanders (Un-Pathologized/ Un-'Enlightened' aka - Populists) vs those of the "Virtuous" Elites aka 'Wissen'

Salvador Dali, "The Atavism of the Angelus of Millet" (1957)