Episode 2167: George Gilder on the Israel Test

I have to admit that I’m always a little uncomfortable with non-Jews fetishizing the supposedly unique gifts & accomplishments of the Jewish people. A century ago, Winston Churchill did it. And now George Gilder, the influential tech futurist, picks up that Churchillian mantle in a new edition of his 2012 book The Israel Test. Israel’s “genius”, Gilder argues, “enriches” the world to such an extent that anyone who questions it is, by definition, a critic of innovation, freedom and progress - not to mention, of course, a rabid anti-semite. I’m not convinced. But then, as a secular Jew who would fail Gilder’s Israel Test, what do I know?GEORGE GILDER‘s books have sold more than two million copies worldwide. In Wealth and Poverty, one of the most influential works of our time, Gilder made the moral case for capitalist creativity. In Spirit of Enterprise, Microcosm, Telecosm, Life After Television, Life After Google, a bestseller in both the US and China, and Life After Capitalism, Gilder achieved renown as a stunningly accurate prophet of the direction of technology development and enterprise, including Israel’s promethean contributions. With Men & Marriage, republished in 2024, he maintained a half century of rare insight in social theory. Long a contributing editor to Forbes magazine, Gilder has produced the annual Gilder/Forbes Telecosm Conference, now called COSM, offering leading edge forecasts and analysis from the world’s top technology firms and research centers. Gilder also heads Gilder Technology Group, focusing on breakthrough technologies, and writes or edits four investment letters for Eagle Publishing. In 1986 President Ronald Reagan presented Gilder the White House Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence. A founding fellow of the Discovery Institute in Seattle, he writes for such national publications as The Wall Street Journal, Wired, National Review, The New Criterion, The American Spectator, and Claremont Review.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe