Introduction to Abundance Politics (MNY10)

MNY10 will run for four weeks in July 2023 // taught virtually for anyone in America // it's a general intro to the field of American politics // focused on abundance politics // applications open!

MNY10 is a virtual, four-week class that provides a basic introduction to the field of American politics, with emphasis on the local and state levels. Extra meetings and sections (including in person) will be added as logistics and interest permit.

Summary class details:

• Applications are open from June 12 through June 25. Class begins July 5th

• Class will meet each Wednesday in July, for four total meetings

• Each meeting will be at 8pm, EST, and last one hour

• 1-3 hours of homework a week

• The class costs $180, which includes the paid version of this newsletter

CONTENTS:

1. The politics of abundance

2. Who should take the class

3. Class structure

4. Class expectations and etiquette

5. About your instructor

6. Class syllabus

The politics of abundance

Abundance politics needs better education.

¹

But, contrary to what most might think, that doesn’t just mean knowing the organs of government, or even the law—although those are essential.

It means understanding the underlying cultural and memetic blocks that have prevented you (a smart and wonderful person) from entering the political realm up until now. Chief among these are the anti-politics meme and the anti-concreteness meme, although their siblings are legion.

Without understanding these forces, you will likely fail to successfully enter the political realm yourself, or inspire others to enter it.

So: I’m creating a class that directly addresses these forces. I’ll teach you what they are, how they manifest, and—by the end of the class—you’ll be well prepared to take The Foundations of New York (if you’re in NYC), or to start/join your own abundance working group wherever you are.

This is not a class of theory built on abstraction. It fundamentally orients you toward action, and toward understanding what kind of thing politics is. Is does not work the way you, or most people, think. Reality is stranger than fiction. The good news? It’s all learnable. And seeing the detail reveals beauty more often than you’d think.

Who should take the class?

When you think about politics, do you feel like you're on the outside looking in? Like there's no way into the arena?

This class is a general introduction to the field of American politics (with special emphasis on local and state) for anyone seeking to understand the nature of the field before diving in more deeply.

If you want to be more optimistic, informed, and agentic about politics—and to detect bullshit—take this class.

More people must understand the reality and political demands of abundance:

• In order to create more citizens who build,

• In order to courageously perpetuate the American experiment,

• and in order to leave our progeny a practical, flourishing political inheritance.

Class structure

Applications are open from June 12 until June 25 (5pm EST); they will be accepted on a rolling basis, and sooner is definitely better.

I’ll inform all applicants of their status, successful or not, by June 26 or sooner. I aim to answer each application within a week of its submission.

I will add a second section of the class at a separate time if there is demand. If you can’t make Wednesday at 8pm, apply and let me know when you’d prefer.

The details:

• Meeting time: class will meet on Zoom once a week for one hour.

• Class will meet every Wednesday evening in July, at 8pm EST, in order to accommodate most American timezones.

• Structure: class will be structured as a seminar, not a lecture.

• Class preparation: There will be readings and/or small class projects each week. Plan to allocate at least 1-3 hours a week for this work. Unlike the Foundations of New York, there is no final exam. But I encourage you to produce and do several things during the class that will move you forward politically.

• Class participants will be added to a Maximum New York Discord server, which will be our primary mode of communication for coursework, office hours, and general discussion. There will be a code of conduct you need to review to join the Discord, similar to the class expectations and etiquette outlined in the next section.

• The class costs $180, which includes future paid posts of this newsletter for the next year.

Class expectations and etiquette

The class is open to anyone who wants to improve the abilities of governments across America, with an end toward making America larger, more wealthy (both absolutely and per capita), more opportunity-rich, and more enjoyable for everyone. If those are your goals, you are welcome.

The classroom environment I encourage is one of exploration, curiosity, playfulness, and charity/tolerance; if you have dug-in political ideas, you need to let those go, at least for the duration of the class. We are here to learn how things work first and foremost, although larger questions of political philosophy absolutely come into play at various points. You should think about politics as a systems problem with no perfect solutions, but still plenty of good ones.

This class has two formal rules of etiquette that you must follow:

1. Politics is a good word, and a potentially beautiful thing. We are here to learn how to do government as friends, in a chill fashion, even while dealing with weighty issues.

2. No bullshitting, aka be concrete. We’re all here to learn together, but we’re doing it in a rigorous fashion. You must always strive to deeply understand the reality of governance that underpins your political thought.

About your instructor

Hello, my name is Daniel Golliher (goll- as in the gall, the nerve, and the audacity; iher- as in how they say “your” where I come from: Gol-yer). I’ve lived in New York City for 4+ years. Besides my writing on this website, you can learn more about me on Twitter or my personal Substack. I’ve written a few books, play the piano and sax, enjoy all manner of physical fitness, and can’t wait to meet you.

I graduated from Harvard College in 2014 with a degree in Government,

²

and since then I’ve worked in the legal industry, a coffee shop, higher ed, the legal industry again, and now I dedicate my time to Maximum New York.

Class Syllabus

The class will cover most of the themes presented below, although I will likely make alterations to order and emphasis depending on the class composition.

Session 1: Defining the nature and domain of American politics

• The is/ought political trap

• Affordances

• Anti-concreteness meme

• Anti-politics meme

• Taking politics seriously

• The government: local, state, special-purpose, and federal governments

• The law: constitutional, statutory, administrative, case

Session 2: Political Capital Part 1

• Political capital: what is it, how to get it

• Laptop politics

• Dirt Politics

• The political realm as a group of friends, as a social club, as a vocation

• The role of historical knowledge in contemporary politics (why learn history)

Session 3: Political Capital Part 2

• Continuing with the previous topics of Part 1

• Atlantis on the Hudson

• Social technology

• Politics in community, politics as an individual

Session 4: how to think about politics, how to discuss politics going forward

• B-minus politics

• Concreteness briefs

• Political knowledge and effectiveness time horizons: how soon should you expect mastery, and in which ways?

• The speed of building, government vs. private industry (there are surprises!)

• Two two rules of etiquette for abundance politics:

  • Be concrete / no bullshitting (outcompete the anti-concreteness meme)

  • Politics is a good word (outcompete the anti-politics meme)

• How to have a good time doing politics, even with weighty issues

• The role and place of electoral politics (as opposed to governing politics)

• Guiding ideas

• Going from here: resources, readings, and networks

1. See the most recent course announcement for The Foundations of New York for elaboration on the problem and promise of abundance politics.

2. See this post for more commentary on that credential. I am proud of the work I did for it, but it is a mixed bag.