#45 - Dominic Cummings - Stagnation, Corruption & Rebooting The System
Dominic Cummings is one of the most polarizing figures in Britain. He's a political strategist who masterminded the main campaign for Brexit. He was also Chief Advisor to Prime Minister Boris Johnson for some of his term, including through COVID. He even had Benedict Cumberbatch play him in a movie! He's also a student of systems, having worked in or around government and civil institutions all his life, which is why I wanted to talk to him, because he's someone who has seen the depth of systemic rot pervading not just the UK, but the whole West. In this wide-ranging, no-holds-barred conversation, Igor and I hear why our governments are collapsing under their own weight, the rise of algorithm-driven politics and civil service monopolies, and the general systemic dysfunctions hollowing out the West's institutions. We also explore whether scientific and technological leadership and a whole lot of radical transparency can save us — or if we’re already past the tipping point.So if you’re craving real talk about power, governance, and what it might take to rebuild from the rubble, you'll enjoy this conversation!Chapters: 01:51 - Is Dominic competitive?07:30 - First Interest in Politics 12:18 - Beginning of his Euroskepticism16:50 - The current state of the British regime23:04 - His Time in No.10 Downing Street 33:00 - Who is actually in charge?36:38 - More COVID screwups40:05 - The Consciousness of the System45:15: Avoiding Future pandemics1:01:27 - Isn't the role of the government to provide stability?1:07:17 - The Issue of Bureaucracy1:11:57 - Machiavelli And Escaping the Wheel1:15:53 - Singapore1:19:34 - Digitizing the Government?1:22:00 - Moloch, Incentives & Political sacrifice1:25:28 - The Media Is A Simulation of Reality1:29:12 - How to design better social media platforms1:31:05 - Sensemaking in the AI age1:37:24 - UK Grooming Gangs Coverup1:48:21 - Political Gaslighting, Freedom of Speech & 2nd Amendment1:50:38 - Blasphemy and Islamophobia Laws in UK1:56:10 - The Sacred Cow of Multiculturalism2:02:22 - Core Principles To Live By2:07:48 - Smart vs Dumb Approaches to Regulation2:17:05 - Rapid fire PredictionsLinks: ♾️ Dominic’s X: https://x.com/Dominic2306 ♾️ Dominic’s Substack: https://dominiccummings.substack.com ♾️ Simulacra and Simulation: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22613.Simulacra_and_Simulation?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_6♾️ Moloch explainer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRz54V7rU4U♾️ Brexit The Movie: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8425058/♾️ Mary Wakefield (Dominic’s wife) response to the movie: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/benedict-cumberbatch-on-playing-my-husband-dominic-cummings/Credits:♾️ Hosted by Liv Boeree♾️ Produced by Luca de Vico♾️ Intro by Perry SinclairThe Win-Win Podcast:Poker champion Liv Boeree takes to the interview chair to tease apart the complexities of one of the most fundamental parts of human nature: competition. Liv is joined by top philosophers, gamers, artists, technologists, CEOs, scientists, politicians and more to understand how competition manifests in their world, and how to change seemingly win-lose systems into. Win-Wins.Podcast links:♾️ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWgq0OZMtwtOIyMsVM_vksqdfWcM-b68S♾️ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/03bGVUaFZmJUmEvSHNDPdI?si=64379cc23696454f ♾️ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/win-win-with-liv-boeree/id1724791350 ♾️ Pocketcast: https://play.pocketcasts.com/podcasts/7f708340-d17c-013b-f46e-0acc26574db2 #winwinpodcast #systemchange #politics
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