JD Vance & the crisis of the West

I have a confession to make. I actually like listening to political speeches — at least the good ones.

But in recent years the quality of political speeches has rapidly declined; I can remember speeches by Tony Benn, Alex Salmond, Michael Gove, Margaret Thatcher, Michael Foot, Ronald Regan, George Galloway, Dennis Skinner and Charles Kennedy. But it’s been a long time since I have heard a speech that I would regard as culture-changing — or perhaps emblematic of a culture change. Until just recently. For there is no doubt that JD Vance’s speech to the Munich conference was a game-changer.

Vance is an excellent speaker. He is clear, intelligent, measured, respectful and stimulating. He speaks as well as he writes — his book Hillbilly Elegy is a wonderful and inspiring read. This is not to say that I would agree with everything he says — but he is certainly someone to be taken seriously.