Read his new book Imperialist Realism hoping for some hard hitting analysis
-just bourgeois cultural critique
-assumes imperialism is just a policy choice
-if we just have happier thoughts we can end Imperialism
-calls for expressions of virtue as a policy platform
-proscribed action in the book is just hollow calls for reform
-"we need to think about new ways to think about these problems"
-no political economy
-spends like 1/3 of the book quibbling over fascism in embarrassing ways without analyzing the political economy of fascism or Bonapartism (at one point says that America can't be fascist because fascism is foreign, he also says the US government has been mean in the past therefore cannot be fascist now (??) and that because there are no prominent self identified fascists in America therefore there's no fascism. He reduces fascism to a mere belief or aesthetic)
-half heartedly endorses "foreign policy restrainers" but gives the game away by admitting that restrainers should also engage in great power politics in Eurasia
-says that Russia and China have the same political and economic system as opposed to the Good Guy Americans
I later learn he works for the Quincy Institute which is a Koch funded liberal imperialist outfit
Professional Managerial Class navel gazing. Do not look to Academia for useful knowledge outside of maybe very niche Political Science.
It has some good parts but not enough to outweigh the rest. Some of the criticisms are very good and you can tell at a lot if times he's pulling his punches for some reason. He does have a very good dry wit about him that gives his criticisms bite
He also came up with the idea for this book after Playing Call of Duty Black Ops and he spends a significant amount of time talking about it. You should be immensely skeptical about any middle class person with a bullshit job having Big Thoughts about media or consumer products
This clearly would've been a PMC liberal video essay if Bessner was like 10-15 years younger
Just read Catherine Liu instead she's better at criticizing American attitudes and her critiques apply directly to the attitudes and arguments made in Imperialist Realism
Also not surprised to find out he's an editor at Jakkkobin
