Ever since I was young, I have enjoyed reading science fiction. Some of its attraction is the escapism it offers, but also the artistry of those who can envision a world where some things are very different but which seem to make enough internal sense to suspend disbelief and care about the characters. It also sometimes connects to or echoes recent “real world” circumstances (see my “The Road Back from Interstellar Serfdom,” for example).
[Defending Dixie: Essays in Southern History and Culture by Clyde N. Wilson (Shotwell Publishing, 2025[2006]; 474pp.)]
AI doomerism and neo-Luddite sentiments have become increasingly prevalent in recent discourse. Given the remarkable things that technological progress has made possible for us, one would think that the Luddite fallacy would have died by now. Nonetheless, it is alive and well.
Reactionary theocrat and commentator Matt Walsh has been no exception to this trend. In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), Walsh wrote:
Whether we like it or not, the Progressive Era and its mainstream historical interpretation—even when fictional—has virtually defined our last century. The dominant, though false, narrative is basically that unfettered free market capitalism led to negative outcomes, “robber barons” monopolized the market to their benefit, and that disinterested federal regulation brought discipline to this system, keeping its benefits while curbing its excesses.
