一份由Samo Burja合作发布的现代政治基础问题课程已上线，旨在探讨西方文明如何维系公正有序的社会，并分析当前西方世界诸多方面的衰落。课程内容涵盖西方文化、文明衰退、管理型国家、开放社会及其不满、现代精英心理、无保障阶层、动荡的世界局势、产业与货币、社会政治、技术与文明以及复兴美德等11个主题。该课程鼓励以诚实清晰的方式探讨政治议题，主要阅读材料为非正式博客文章或随笔，而非学术论文。首期讨论小组现已开始招募，报名截止日期为10月27日，小组将每周讨论课程的一个章节，旨在为参与者提供一个理性务实的平台，共同探讨在未来动荡时期如何引导西方文明。

🌍 这门课程聚焦于西方文明及其如何促成公民在公正有序的环境中共处，同时也关注21世纪以来西方文明多方面的持续衰落。

🏛️ 课程指出，尽管科技进步，但当今西方国家在大型基础设施建设、维持低犯罪率城市和高效官僚机构运作等方面，已不如过去。更令人担忧的是，现代精英在历史标准下显得缺乏德行甚至不够严肃。

🤔 课程旨在解释这些变化的原因，并探讨如何适应我们所处的世界。它将对事实层面的讨论与培养健康情感和道德立场的阅读相结合，最终强调培养品德的重要性。

📝 课程强调以诚实和清晰的方式进行讨论，即使是常被认为是禁忌的话题。因此，大部分阅读材料选择非正式的博客文章或随笔，而非学术论文。

🚀 鉴于课程涵盖的主题广泛，其目的并非详尽无遗，也不提供解决文明衰退的具体策略。考虑到人工智能的快速发展，未来几十年极具不确定性，课程应被视为启动知情且务实的讨论的起点，探讨如何引导我们的文明度过未来的动荡。

Published on October 21, 2025 7:43 AM GMT

I’ve just released a curriculum on foundational questions in modern politics, which I drew up in collaboration with Samo Burja. I’ve copied the introductory text and the section headings below; you can find the full curriculum at www.21civ.com.

Sign up here by 27 October to join the first cohort of discussion groups (which will meet weekly to discuss each of the 11 sections of the curriculum).

This curriculum is about Western civilization, and how it enables citizens of the Western world to live together in a just, orderly way. But it’s also about the 21st century, which has been characterized by the continual decline of many aspects of that civilization.

Despite our superior technology, there are many things that Western countries could do in the past that we can’t today—e.g. rapidly build large-scale infrastructure, maintain low-crime cities, and run competent bureaucracies. More importantly, it feels like there are no adults in the room: modern elites often seem unvirtuous and even unserious by historical standards. This curriculum focuses on explaining what changed, and how to orient to the world we now find ourselves in.

Discussions of large-scale political issues can be unsettling or jarring. So the curriculum intertwines discussion of what’s happening on a factual level, with readings on how to develop a healthy emotional and ethical stance towards politics (culminating in the final week’s focus on cultivating virtue). It also strongly prioritizes honesty and clarity of writing (even on topics often considered taboo), which is one reason why most readings are informal blog posts or essays rather than academic papers.

Given the sheer scope of the topics covered by the curriculum, it does not aim at comprehensiveness; nor does it try to give detailed strategies for solving civilizational decay. Indeed, given the accelerating development of AI (as discussed in week 10) the coming decades are likely to be extremely unpredictable. Readers should instead think of the curriculum as a starting point for informed, realistic discussions about how we as a civilization can steer ourselves through the coming turmoil.

Contents

Week 1: Western CultureWeek 2: Civilizational DecayWeek 3: The Managerial StateWeek 4: The Open Society and its DiscontentsWeek 5: The Psychology of Modern ElitesWeek 6: The Unprotected ClassWeek 7: World on FireWeek 8: Industry and MoneyWeek 9: SociopoliticsWeek 10: Technology and CivilizationWeek 11: Reviving Virtue

Read the full curriculum here.

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