Modern WisdomThe War On Men Isn’t Helping Anyone - Scott Galloway
At a glance
WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT
Scott Galloway: Why Demonizing Men Hurts Everyone, Not Just Men
- Scott Galloway and Chris Williamson discuss the current cultural and political climate around masculinity, arguing that there is a real crisis for young men that is minimized, politicized, or framed as a threat to women. They explore how education, economics, dating dynamics, and online culture have combined to make men less attractive partners, more isolated, and more vulnerable to extremism and despair. Galloway proposes an aspirational model of masculinity built on being a provider, protector, and procreator who creates ‘surplus value’ for others, and he emphasizes the critical role of male role models and national service. They criticize zero-sum identity politics, the performative focus on DEI over class, the misalignment between stated and revealed female preferences, and the way MeToo-era messaging plus porn and social media have sterilized healthy male risk-taking in relationships.
IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING
5 ideasYou can’t help young men effectively if you frame them as the problem.
Galloway argues that much progressive rhetoric treats men as the enemy rather than a struggling group, which alienates them and pushes them toward coarser right‑wing visions of masculinity instead of constructive solutions.
Male educational decline is real and politically inconvenient to address.
Women now outnumber men roughly 60/40 in college, perform better academically, and drop out less, yet any formal ‘affirmative action’ for men is seen as unacceptable, so universities quietly adjust standards while publicly denying a male-specific problem.
Economic stagnation for young men is driving a mating and meaning crisis.
Because women strongly prefer economically viable partners, falling male wealth and opportunity—amplified by tax and policy transfers from young to old—shrinks men’s dating prospects, which in turn fuels loneliness, substance abuse, and susceptibility to conspiracy and resentment.
Online culture has suppressed healthy male risk-taking in dating.
MeToo-era messaging plus viral ‘red flag’ and harassment narratives made cautious men even more avoidant, while porn offers low-risk sexual gratification; the result is fewer approaches, fewer relationships, and more room in the market for boundary‑violating men.
Masculinity can be a positive “code” built on contribution, not domination.
Galloway frames healthy masculinity as being a provider (economically viable or responsibly contributing), protector (physically and emotionally safeguarding others), and procreator (channeling sexual drive into growth and connection), culminating in creating ‘surplus value’—adding more to others’ lives than you extract.
WORDS WORTH SAVING
5 quotesThe right recognized the problems facing young men first, but they filled the void with voices that conflated coarseness and cruelty with masculinity.
— Scott Galloway
Women aren’t going to continue to thrive and the country won’t continue to prosper as long as young men are flailing.
— Scott Galloway
If you don’t know the difference between harassing somebody and expressing interest while making them feel safe, you’ve got bigger problems.
— Scott Galloway
Masculinity isn’t the problem. Violence, cruelty, and oppression are the problem—and those are the opposite of masculinity.
— Scott Galloway
True equality will be when you can talk about men struggling without a disclaimer at the beginning.
— Chris Williamson (paraphrasing Douglas Murray’s idea)
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