Category Archives: Middle Class

Robert Stark interviews Mark Mollineaux about Georgism & Urbanism

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to Mark Mollineaux about Georgist economic theory and its implications on urbanism. Mark is the host of The Henry George Program hosted by Stanford University’s Radio. Follow the show on Twitter.

Topics:

Ideological roots of Georgist thought
Georgist view on property ownership
How to better incentivize efficient land usage
How Georgism can facilitate better urbanism and prevent sprawl
The difference between a land value tax and general property tax
How a land value tax relates to zoning regulation
Concerns for land foreclosures
The issue of the middle class being forced to invest all their income into real estate
The Singapore Land Authority
The concept of having a local currency tied to the cost of living
Bay Area Housing Crisis
Disneyland as an urban model

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook pageTwitterInstagram, Stark Truth TV, and novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark and Matthew Pegas talk about Urbanist observations from trip to San Diego

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Matthew Pegas talk about their recent trip to San Diego and their observations on cultural and urbanist trends.

Topics:

San Diego’s reputation as a smaller, cleaner, nicer version of LA and its unique attributes
The layout of the city with a centralized downtown near the waterfront surrounded by suburban sprawl
San Diego and Orange County among the largest areas of upper middle class sprawl in the nation
Politics of San Diego as a historically Republican stronghold that has trended Democratic in recent years
Demographics of San Diego and how they relate to overall CA trends
The most stereotypical American City located in CA while the State is culturally drifting apart from the rest of the Country
After decades of suburban sprawl, San Diego eyes big shift to dense development
The historic Gaslamp Quarter which is the one section that feels truly urban
Horton Plaza: Will this PoMo wonderland in San Diego be saved?
Architect Jon Jerde’s inspiration for Horton Plaza from Ray Bradbury’s “The Aesthetic of Lostness” extolling the virtues of getting “safely lost”
Wealthy beach community La Jolla and it’s village layout
The importance of investing in communal places that the public can enjoy, particularly in wealthy areas
Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
The Victorian Hotel del Coronado
Friendship Park at the US/Mexico Border and political symbolism of the border wall
The Inland Empire
Heavenly Action by Erasure, the soundtrack of the trip with a message that friendship, love, and positivity can conquer anything

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook pageTwitterInstagram, Stark Truth TV, and novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark interviews Alt-Centrist Jonathan Edwards

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Matthew Pegas talk to Jonathan Edwards about the Alt-Center phenomenon and Andrew Yang. Check out Jonathan on Twitter.

Topics:

Background as a Democrat, Bernie Sanders/Jill Stein supporter, and parting ways with the Left due to the focus on identity politics and censorship
Angela Nagle’s book Kill All Normies
Interest in dissident centrism, which has unfortunately not taken off due to polarization
The need for the Alt-Center to become a sustained cultural and intellectual movement
Left Wing solutions to reactionary grievances
The decline in the dissident right’s enthusiasm over Andrew Yang
Yang’s out of the box stances, and his missed opportunity to be the dissident center candidate rather than a standard liberal democrat with a UBI
Why a UBI and automation may remove the incentive and justification for mass immigration
Deepfake technology
Observations as a California native on the State’s income inequality and lack of social cohesion
The Idea of Homonationalism as an alternative to left wing LGBT identity politics
The need for society to support both outsider artist and normative family values
How Woke Capital uses identity politics to distract from economic injustices
Robert’s novel Journey to Vapor Island
The need for grand aesthetic visions in politics
The need to invest in the arts and culture
Importance of environmentalism

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook pageTwitterInstagram, Stark Truth TV, and novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark talks about Andrew Yang and the Post-Nationalist Future

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Matthew Pegas talk about Robert’s Takimag article Andrew Yang and the Post-Nationalist Future

Topics:

Yang’s objective is not to dismantle neo-liberalism but rather create a more humane version of it
Potential for cross pollination between right and left Yang supporters towards a dissident center
Trump’s failed last chance for American nationalism
Future political paradigm of neo-tribalism vs. enforced loyalty to mass society
How a UBI will lead to the formation of neo-tribes
Political campaigns as neuro-tribes
Pursuing one’s group interest as a minority in a Post-American future
How a UBI treats everyone equally, bypasses the middleman, and a step towards smart socialism
Unlike both capitalism and socialism, UBI is the only solution that is viable in an atomized society
How a social safety net combined with freedom of association is the only thing that can hold this nation together
Whether a UBI will solve issues such as declining birthrates and the sex recession
Yang Claims Universal Income Can Curb the Racism of His White Nationalist Fans
The personality of the technocratic engineer vs the lawyer in politics
Yang’s view of politics based on an understanding of psychology and human nature
Yang’s comment predicting anti-Asian violence which was taken out of context by conservatives
Materialist vs. idealist views on the roots of group-group violence
The UBI’s impact on class dynamics and danger of a neo-feudalist technocracy
Rethinking the American dream in terms of alternatives to the suburban home such as an arcology or self contained city
Whether smart socialism and urban renewal need a strong centralized state

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings, Stark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark interviews Marcus Ruiz Evans of Yes California

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marcus Ruiz Evans is President and Founder of Yes California, an initiative for California Secession. Check out Yes California on Twitter and Facebook.

Topics:

Robert and Marcus’ radio background on AM1680 and conspiracy theories about conservatives being behind Calexit
Marcus as one of the first to popularize California secession in his book California’s Next Century
The financial burden of the United States on California
California values
The impact of the election of Trump on Calexit and why he will win re-election
The Russian conspiracy theory about Calexit and anti-establishment candidate Tulsi Gabbard
Examples of California acting as an independent nation
The concern of California becoming a one party nation and the need for an alternative party such as the California National Party
Who moves to California? The wealthier and better educated, mostly
The housing crisis, need for infill growth rather than sprawl, and importance of investing in infrastructure
Immigration policy
The tech oligarchy and need for regulation
The legal precedent of secession and likelihood of America allowing it

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s PaintingsStark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Urbanist Lessons from Trip to the Southwest

Robert Stark and Matthew Pegas discuss their trip last fall to Las Vegas(Vegas Strip and Downtown), The Grand Canyon, and Zion.

Topics:

Las Vegas as the quintessential Post Modernist City
Creating an other wordy aura that does not exist in mundane consumerism
Creating something noble or grandiose out of consumerism
Las Vegas as an economic rather than geographic concept
Nothing permanent because architecture only survives if profitable
Vintage Vegas and Neon Signage
Irony of historic preservationist dismissing architecture of value because it is a product of capitalism
The pros and cons of private zoning
Casino Resorts functioning as an arcology or self contained city
Theme parks as models for urbanism
The potential for an urban alternative to over priced West Coast Cities
St. George Utah, sprawl layout, and high trust homogeneous middle class demographic
Alt-Urbanist solutions that seek to recreate those attributes in an urban setting
Southern Utah and Northern Arizona as one of the most scenic and geologically diverse regions in the world

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s PaintingsStark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Russian Rendezvous with Anatoly Karlin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Constantin von Hoffmeister talk to Anatoly Karlin.

Topics:

The State of The Altsphere, Anatoly’s brand of Centrism, and the Alt Center
Moscow’s Demographics
Hate speech and anti-secessionist laws in Russia
The victim hierarchy in Russia
Putin’s liberal stance on immigration from Central Asia
Putin’s economic policies as a hybrid of neoliberalism and nationalization
Inequality in economics and human capital between Moscow and the rest of Russia
Russia welcomes South African Refugees
German migration into Eastern Europe in response to the Migrant Crisis
The brain drain from countries that are rivals but culturally compatible
Limits to Cognitive Elitism
The Global Baby Bust and Anatoly’s prediction of a future increase in western fertility

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s PaintingsStark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark talks to Joshua Zeidner about Bobos in Paradise

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Matthew Pegas talk to Joshua Zeider about the cultural phenomenon and book by David Brooks Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There.

Topics:

Bobos as Bourgeois Bohemians or Capitalist Hippies
Concepts that emerged after the French Revolution
How all three of us overlap with this group(interconnected yet outside)
Those who know the inner workings of the privileged class yet not quite in it
David Brooks, his political ideology, and Mid Atlantic old wealth culture
The Boomers’ transition in values
How the elites reinvented their cultural image
The blurring of cultural class as a mask for growing economic inequality
How Bobo culture coincided with the Neoliberal restructuring of our economy
Silicon Valley’s “socially conscious” cutthroat capitalism
Fake social climbing, virtual signaling, and self appointed moral leadership
Historic parallels to using Christianity to justify slavery and imperialism
Paying high prices for cheap looking merchandise
Hipsters as the Millennial offshoot of the Bobos
Political dissidents and cultural outsiders’ fascination with the culture of past elites
Alt-Subcultures and Alt-Urbanism as positive alternatives to Bobo culture

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s PaintingsStark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Alt-Center Solutions to LA’s Urban and Social Dynamics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and  Matthew Pegas discuss their recent trip to Downtown LA, Matthew’s experience as a newcomer to the city, observations on the regions cultural dynamics, and solutions to social and urban problems.

Topics:

Skid Row, “ruin porn” and the Creepy History of the Cecil Hotel
Gentrification of the Historic Core
Broadway, neon signs and historic theatre marquees, and plans to revitalize and light up Broadway’s signs
Historic landmarks including the European style Spring Arcade and Art Deco Eastern Columbia Building
The Arts District, art bros, and the chadification of the hipster scene
The South Park highrise boom and new tallest skyscraper the Wilshire Grand
80’s Art Deco revival and new highrises influenced by Mid-Century aesthetics
John C. Portman’s Retro Futuristic Westin Bonaventure HotelInterior Urbanism, and Fredric Jameson’s Postmodernist review
The pros and cons of diversity and issues of social cohesion
The appeal of enjoying diversity from exclusive enclaves
The LA County Jail, Donny the Punk, and Jail as a metaphor for the problems of American society
The extreme social, economic, and aesthetic inequality in LA
Social problems caused by mass immigration, Neoliberal economics, and sprawl oriented development
Robert’s article Building a Based Urban Middle Class SWPL Utopia
Sane urbanist solutions to right wing grievances such as White flight
The political ironies of gentrification as re-colonization of urban areas
Family formation and reasons for declining demographics such as housing and education
How these social problems are now impacting the upper middle class demographically
An Alt-Center must offer solutions that cater to urban needs
Building a political movement based on aesthetics with visions for new urban communities
The hypocrisy of pro-immigration liberal elite NIMBY’s
How combining YIMBY policies with immigration restriction will gradually rebuild the urban middle class

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s PaintingsStark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Alt-Urbanism: Building a Based Urban Middle Class SWPL Utopia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Robert Stark: Originally Published on Alt of Center

Prior to the 1950’s, the urban core of LA, centered around Downtown, was relatively small. It was also much more compact and vibrant, however, than it became in the second half of the 20th Century. In recent years, there has been renewed interest in urbanism and walkable communities, and LA’s downtown, historic core is now revitalized and booming with new highrise construction.

While LA is just in the early stages of creating an integrated metro system, the region once had a vibrant street car system connecting the urban core with extensions to street car suburbs such as Santa Monica and Pasadena.

According to Curbed LA : “in 1945, a sinister corporation called National City Lines took over the thriving Los Angeles Railway, which served most of the sprawling region. Then, over the course of the next two decades, LA’s extensive streetcar network was eliminated and the iconic Red Cars that Judge Doom mentions were replaced with shiny new buses.

Continue reading Alt-Urbanism: Building a Based Urban Middle Class SWPL Utopia