The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg Vice Week | Interview: Charles Fain Lehman
Sep 4, 2025
Join Charles Fain Lehman, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a writer for The Dispatch, as he dives into the murky waters of drug addiction, legalized gambling, and the implications of unrestricted access to vice for young men. The conversation highlights the rising concerns around sports gambling and its mental health effects, while also addressing the societal risks linked to rampant access to online porn and marijuana. Lehman brilliantly connects these topics to broader themes of urban governance and public policy, making for an enlightening discussion.
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Low-Hanging Fruit Of Past Social Policy
- Early social programs helped where basic needs, like nutrition, were unmet.
- Today’s poverty-related problems are more complex after low-hanging public-health fruit was picked.
How Cities Become Politically Parasitic
- Cities can sustain extractive politics when intrinsic capital and federal funds reduce voter exit pressure.
- That creates a parasitic equilibrium where officials needn't provide quality services to retain residents.
Cities Need Informal Social Control
- Cities rely on loose, overlapping social networks ('eyes on the street') for informal control.
- Restoring that informal surveillance helps integrate residents and reduce visible pathology.
