Why The Culture War Matters | Matthew Goodwin

In this interview, John speaks with British political scientist @drmatthewgoodwin. Matthew recounts the emergence of a new class of elites and the ways in which they have diverged from the more traditional British ruling class, and more importantly, from the general public. They are distinguished by their elite education, lack of real-world experience, and a tendency to refuse engagement with the cultural issues that matter to the everyman. This phenomenon, Goodwin argues, is global and causing both sides of the political establishment to drift further from their constituents. The framework Goodwin presents offers a compelling explanation for the recent rise in populism around the world, marked by the democratic success of leaders such as Donald Trump, Nigel Farage, Geert Wilders, and Javier Milei. Matthew Goodwin is an academic, bestselling author, pollster, and speaker known for his research on: politics, populism, elections, voting, public opinion, Brexit, Europe, academic freedom and more. He is Professor of Politics at Rutherford College, University of Kent, recently served as Senior Visiting Fellow at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, at Chatham House, Senior Fellow with the UK In a Changing Europe, Senior Fellow at the Legatum Institute, and Senior Advisor to the UK Education Committee. In 2022, Matt was appointed Social Mobility Commissioner. The author of six books, he wrote the No.2 Sunday Times bestseller Values, Voice and Virtue: The New British Politics, and the Sunday Times bestseller, National Populism: The Revolt Against Liberal Democracy, which was translated into multiple languages and listed among the Financial Times and Times Literary Supplement as one of the books of the year. He is also co-author of the 2015 Political Book of the Year, Revolt on the Right, which was long-listed for the Orwell Prize and listed among the Financial Times and Guardian books of the year. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 00:49 Introducing Matthew Goodwin 01:34 People are turning against the ’new-elite’ 03:37 The aftermath of Boris Johnson 08:30 Labor and Conservatives are closer to each other than the average voter 13:27 We need to move on from Margaret Thatcher 19:35 1:9 conservative to liberal academics 23:30 Nationalism and what’s deferent with the new elites 29:05 Were the old elites kinder? 31:30 Why have Universities declined so much? 36:00 Does diversity and inclusion makes us less inclusive? 40:48 If you don’t believe in God, you’ll believe in anything 43:50 How do people reconcile the contradictions of critical theory 49:36 BLM and other Marxist movements 54:44 How do we encourage people to come forward? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Conversations feature John Anderson, former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, interviewing the world’s foremost thought leaders about today’s pressing social, cultural and political issues. John believes proper, robust dialogue is necessary if we are to maintain our social strength and cohesion. As he puts it; “You cannot get good public policy out of a bad public debate.“ If you value this discussion and want to see more like it, make sure you subscribe to the channel here: And stay right up to date with all the conversations by subscribing to the newsletter here: Follow John on Twitter: Follow John on Facebook: Follow John on Instagram: Support the channel: Website: Podcast: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Website: X (Formerly Twitter): Substack: @mattgoodwin