Zach Carter: belief

Transcript context

…That some of these former punk rockers now support Donald Trump — is that a fluke, or is that actual consistency? It’s tough with Johnny Rotten and John Lydon. It’s hard to say. The Sex Pistols are not anarchy for the UK. I mean, which kind of anarchy? There’s anarchy from the right, from the left. I think “Bodies” is certainly conservative from abortion rights perspective. My next book is a look at populism in the 1890s. I do think you have to grapple with the way that these radical figures, radical ideas — there’s always an interpretation that makes them look good. But do you think you have to wrestle with the way that radical change is often flirting with stuff that’s really not great? I really came to appreciate the conservative streak in Keynes, writing this book. He is very afraid of social change in this way that contemporary progressives are not. He likes Edmund Burke, and it’s not a con. He’s not putting on some sort of act so that he can get more conservative subscribers to his Patreon. He really is worried about social change and social upheaval, and I don’t think people who haven’t lived through revolutions and war often appreciate how bad things can go. With the Sex Pistols, I’m not sure that Johnny Rotten loving Donald Trump is a huge change from 1977. I didn’t really follow Public Image Ltd and a lot of the stuff that he did in the ’80s musically. It’s not bad, but it’s not important, I think.…

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