Carlson Interviews Victor Orban: Very Much Worth Watching

Very much worth watching, that is, if you are as ignorant as I was (am?) about Orban. I've read things in the MSM painting him as an evil, reactionary autocrat...and, despite knowing what I know about the MSM, I tended to guess that there must be significant truth in it. I know that Hungary under Orban has passed legislation that sounds sketchy. But the guy comes across as extraordinarily smart and reasonable in this interview. If he's bullshitting, or an evil, reactionary autocrat, I couldn't detect any signs of it in this one interview.

   Interview starts at 3:00. Orban's most interesting and important claim--which is similar to points I've made, FWTW--hits its stride around 5:00, but the whole thing is worth watching. The point is: the progressive left's post-national and post-Christian aspirations (and one might say: post-European, or even post-Western) is extraordinarily risky. No one knows what the outcome of implementing this vision will be. But it's risky. So every country has the right to make its own decision about whether it will take that risk. And Hungary has declined. This is a very simple and straightforward argument, and I think it's exactly right. This is gambling with our very civilization. In my view, it's a very bad bet because it's been poorly thought-out, and we have everything to lose. If you live in Somalia, betting the future of your nation on one roll of the dice might make sense. It does not make sense if you live in Hungary--or the USA. Incrementalism is the only thing that make sense in such cases. And I won't even say "IMO" about this. It's the only thing that makes sense. At worst, cautious incrementalism delays changes that it would be better not to delay. The worst case for radical, non-instrumental change is the destruction of society and the culture. Even short of the worst-case outcome, incautious, poorly-thought-out radical chance can still be disastrous. See, e.g., the French Revolution. See also: the entire history of communism.