Sargon Of Akkad | Why Are We Facing A Crisis In 2020?
Carl Benjamin (Sargon of Akkad) (guest), Chris Williamson (host), Narrator, Narrator
In this episode of Modern Wisdom, featuring Carl Benjamin (Sargon of Akkad) and Chris Williamson, Sargon Of Akkad | Why Are We Facing A Crisis In 2020? explores sargon of Akkad warns 2020 unrest mirrors a soft cultural revolution Carl Benjamin (Sargon of Akkad) and Chris Williamson discuss 2020 as an inflection point, arguing Western institutions are in a late-imperial style crisis driven by radical ideology and social media dynamics.
Sargon of Akkad warns 2020 unrest mirrors a soft cultural revolution
Carl Benjamin (Sargon of Akkad) and Chris Williamson discuss 2020 as an inflection point, arguing Western institutions are in a late-imperial style crisis driven by radical ideology and social media dynamics.
Benjamin describes his experience of demonetization and algorithmic throttling as part of a broader clampdown on heterodox voices by “corporate” or “approved” media and tech platforms.
He frames Black Lives Matter, intersectionality, and contemporary activism as a quasi‑communist moral crusade that pathologizes Western individualism and capitalism as "whiteness," and increasingly dominates institutions and culture.
Both wrestle with how to communicate honestly in a climate of performative virtue, cancel culture, polarized information ecosystems, and heightened social anxiety from COVID and the U.S. election cycle.
Key Takeaways
Expect platform risk and build independent infrastructure.
Benjamin’s repeated demonetizations and throttling on YouTube and other services lead him to build his own website and diversify away from any single host, highlighting the need for creators to own distribution channels.
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Recognize that ‘mainstream media’ now means ‘approved media’, not reach.
They argue that legacy outlets retain institutional status and political access despite often smaller audiences than large podcasts, suggesting ‘mainstream’ is about being ratified by power structures rather than view counts.
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Understand the ideological framing behind contemporary activism.
Benjamin contends that elements of Black Lives Matter and intersectional theory are explicitly anti-capitalist and anti-liberal, treating individualism and meritocracy as forms of ‘whiteness’ that must be dismantled, which changes how policy demands (e. ...
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Avoid purely performative communication—substance and sincerity matter.
Both criticize corporations and public figures who issue formulaic statements and overcorrect in fear of backlash, arguing this erodes trust, obscures who genuinely cares, and makes nuanced dialogue about race and justice nearly impossible.
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Deliberately expose yourself to competing narratives and facts.
To counter self‑radicalization and echo chambers, Benjamin recommends systematically consuming media from opposing sides (e. ...
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Recognize that social media incentivizes outrage and distorts reality.
They note research suggesting Twitter triggers fight‑mode responses, turning it into a perpetual ‘fight club’ that rewards moral grandstanding, viral misinformation (e. ...
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Be cautious but not naive when speaking publicly.
Benjamin advises not to ‘be a hero’—acknowledging real professional and personal risks from online mobs—while still supporting alternative voices, challenging simplistic slogans (e. ...
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Notable Quotes
“It’s totally valid to feel like we’re in sort of Fall of the Republic territory here, because we are.”
— Carl Benjamin (Sargon of Akkad)
“We can say things that they can’t say. We can challenge narratives they don’t dare challenge. And they’ll punish us for it.”
— Carl Benjamin (Sargon of Akkad)
“None of that stuff sounds to me like the best way to progress black people in this world.”
— Chris Williamson
“Communication should be honest, not performative, because as soon as you start to do that, you can’t tell where the truth’s coming from, who actually cares, who doesn’t care.”
— Chris Williamson
“While you can raise yourself up by doing nothing else than tearing other people down, you’re never going to be safe.”
— Carl Benjamin (Sargon of Akkad)
Questions Answered in This Episode
To what extent is it fair or accurate to characterize current social justice movements as a ‘communist revolution’, and what alternative frameworks might better explain them?
Carl Benjamin (Sargon of Akkad) and Chris Williamson discuss 2020 as an inflection point, arguing Western institutions are in a late-imperial style crisis driven by radical ideology and social media dynamics.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
How should platforms and advertisers balance moderation, brand safety, and free expression without empowering ideological gatekeeping or opaque throttling?
Benjamin describes his experience of demonetization and algorithmic throttling as part of a broader clampdown on heterodox voices by “corporate” or “approved” media and tech platforms.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
What practical steps can an ordinary viewer take to build a healthier information diet that resists echo chambers and viral misinformation?
He frames Black Lives Matter, intersectionality, and contemporary activism as a quasi‑communist moral crusade that pathologizes Western individualism and capitalism as "whiteness," and increasingly dominates institutions and culture.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Is there a realistic path toward an ‘aracial’ society, as Sam Harris imagines, when so much current activism is explicitly race‑conscious and identity‑based?
Both wrestle with how to communicate honestly in a climate of performative virtue, cancel culture, polarized information ecosystems, and heightened social anxiety from COVID and the U. ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Where should we draw lines on cultural censorship and retroactive content warnings—what principles, if any, could guide consistent decisions about past art and comedy?
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Transcript Preview
It's totally valid to feel like we're in sort of Fall of the Republic territory here, because we are. I mean, this is, uh, you know, probably something like crisis of the third century if we're comparing Western civilization to Rome. Uh, so we've pro- we've- I think we probably do have a couple hundred years left to go. Uh, but I think it's evident that whatever we've been doing to bring us to this point is leading us on a path to destruction. (wind blows)
Are you the most demonetized man on the internet?
Um, (laughs) possibly. Uh, well, I mean-
(laughs)
... a lot, a lot of people have also been demonetized, so, uh, y- not including The Federalist, though, apparently.
(laughs)
They just had to turn off their comments section at Google's behest, otherwise they would've been. But yeah, Zero Hedge, Steven Crowder, myself, and a bunch of other people, Count Dankula, you know, we've- we all get demonetized because we say things that are not very politically correct, I suppose.
It's happened twice-
But-
... to you now though, right?
It has. Yeah.
So what- what was the-
Three times, actually. Actually, four times now I think about it. (laughs)
(laughs) You are- dude, that's the title. That title is yours to take.
I know. (laughs) It's happened a lot. Um, it's- it's just because I talk about things that the progressives also talk about, but I don't talk about them in a progressive way. And so, I'm a bad person.
So what's the current make up of your YouTube-iverse at the moment?
Uh-
'Cause you've got multiple channels, right?
Yeah, the only one I really use at the moment is a Cad Daily, 'cause I'm currently setting up a website, um, to do the same sort of things through. Um, and I'll start a podcast and other things after I've done that, so I'm just using this one at the moment.
Got you. And then you've still got the- like, the old archived-y one, the grandfathered one?
Yeah, yeah, but, um, YouTube have, uh, quarantined it in some way. So w- and- and I tested this the other day. On my new channel, uh, I've got 300,000 subscribers, and if I put up a video, within the first, like, 18 hours, I'll have a million impressions and something like 200,000 views. Um, and on my old channel, I put it up, and in the first 18 hours, I had about 100,000 impressions. And- and that's got nine hund- that's got three times the subscriber base as my new channel, and yet it'll get something like, you know, a tenth of the views. And it's crazy, 'cause I'm- I'm- my content isn't, I don't think, markedly different. My audience still seems to be there. So it seems very much that the channel itself has been throttled in some way. So I guess I just have to leave it, you know?
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