The sheer military dominance of America is shocking.
We spend more on our military than most developed countries combined. We’ve been the global superpower since WWII, And with all our nukes, money, and technological superiority, people feel pretty comfy.
And yet, if there was another global conflict, whether it’s with Russia, China, or the whole Islamic world, I think America would have a rough go.
(on camera) I’m not here to celebrate war or the collapse of American society, I love america, but something is deeply wrong with our culture. Global tensions are heating up, and the US seems intent on devouring itself. We’ve lost the one thing that defines a healthy nation.
Without it, we’ll contine to be self-destructive in peace and vulnerable in conflict.
The one thing we lack is Assabiyyah—an old Arabic concept of shared group feeling or the social bond that holds people together. Ibn Khaldun saw it as the core force behind thriving states.
IBN KALDUN
Ibn Khaldun was a 14th-century Arab historian, sociologist, and philosopher whose work laid the foundation for several modern social sciences. Im surprised his work is not more widely studied. He is Best known for his book “Muqaddimah” which offered radical new insights into the rise and fall of civilizations. For Ibn Khaldun, assabiyyah was the driving force behind the civilizational cycles.
And his work was so influential that it inspired the likes of Peter Turchin who is doing groundbreaking historical work in this field. As well as authors like Frank Herbert, who we will soon talk about.
Khaldun argued that strong Assabiyyah is what brings people together, helps them overcome enemies, and builds successful empires. For Khaldun, the true strength of a nation wasn’t in wealth but in Assabiyyah—how much shared group feeling and cohesion the people have. It’s powerful Assabiyyah that allows smaller forces to stand against mighty empires. And it is weak Assabiyyah that leads to the fall of nations.
The best example of strong Assabiyyah can be seen in small nomadic tribes, which inspired much of Khaldun’s insights.
Khaldun studied the Bedouins, who exemplified high Assabiyyah forged by harsh desert life. Their struggle for survival built unmatched loyalty and group sense.
Imagine being born into a nomadic tribe like the Bedouins or Scythian horse warriors. You grow up in a tight-knit community always on the move. You train, hunt, and fight with the other boys. You care for your elders and endure hardships together. You compete, trade, and sometimes fight other tribes. You’re not an isolated individual—you’re one with your tribe. You feel immense pride, expect the best from your comrades, and are ready to sacrifice for them.
This kind of tribe is sky-high in Assabiyyah. No wonder nomadic tribes like the Mongols, Huns, Bedouins, and Scythians repeatedly withstood and even conquered old empires. Even the Taliban resisted America for decades—it all comes down to Assabiyyah. Khaldun noted that sedentary populations, especially the wealthy, often have weak Assabiyyah, if any at all.
ASSABIYYAH AS POLTICAL POWER
Ibn Khaldun recognized strong Assabiyyah as the essential factor for real political and military power. The stronger the Assabiyyah, the stronger the nation. Without it, you don’t have shit.
When you have strong Assabyah, the population voluntarily observes the law, and fights for the whole. When theres weak assabiyah,, people follow the dictates of states purely out of habit or coercion. Which is a very fragile system. Especially against strong assabyah foe.
We saw Assabiyyah at work when small bands of German barbarians repelled Roman legions for centuries and then sacked Rome in 410 and 445 AD.
The Greek city-states alos displayed high assabiyah in the short time they united against the Persian invaders won a victory against enormous odds. They were fighting for everything they cherished, while the persians didn’t want to be there. This decisive vitory, started by the 300 spartans, and ushered in the Athenian golden age.
A few generations Later, Alexander the Great emerged from the rough and tumble macedonia north of greece. His band of 30,000 men, who were convicted by a destiny and godlike leader, conquered the entire known world. I don’t think people understand how inconcievable that was. Darious, the great king, was in possession of 2+ million troops, not to mention the tremendous amount of gold.
When Assabiyyah is united with royal authority, whether it’s a king or a messiah, even small bands can overcome empires—The german tribes did it, the scythians, the macedonians under alexander, and Mongols under Genghis Khan.
Assabiyyah is even woven into our myths and stories. Frank Herbert’s Dune, inspired largely by Islamic and Berber cultures, is a story of Assabiyyah. Herbert most definitely read Ibn Khaldun and used his ideas as the foundation for his work.
Paul Atreides represented the Royal authority. When claimed his role as the messiah, he became the figurehead for the immense Assabiyyah of the Fremen. These desert nomads then conquered the universe.
Imagine if Muslims today received a divine leader or believed a messiah had come. every 12-year-old with a knife would fight to the death in their holy war.
Not trying to be a doomer or stereotype anyone. nor do I even think that will happen.
We are just so sheltered today, it’s been so many generations since war, we forget that across history, war is the norm, peace is the exception. And the state was designed for a very specific purpose. To protect the life and liberty of its citizens.
AMERICA:
My dad was an Air Force fighter pilot stationed overseas for 12 years. He and my mom both say they miss the camaraderie of the military most. It felt like a family—a family they’d fight for.
This assabiyah was something my parents struggled to recreate ever since.
The demise of American values and society, especially the lack of strong community, makes civilian life very hard and alien for returning veterans. This is well documented in the book Tribe by Sebastian Junger.
Today, social bonds are almost gone. People walk alone, disconnected from anything outside of work and a few close friends. They all want more, but something is deeply broken within the heart of the nation. This is America’s real disaster.
Assabiyyah is just as important in peacetime as in wartime. It’s the most primal human need—to feel part of something larger. We need tribe, belonging, and shared purpose.
Americans once had this—especially in the beginning and through WWII. But since the 1950s, Assabiyyah has plummeted, and now we’re openly hostile to one another.
Phones, technology, and COVID have made us isolated. Most people lack close friends and community entirely. They are citizens of nothing. Our tribal instincts are directed into superficial pursuits like performative social justice or watching sports.
To make matters worse, most men feel hated and discriminated against in society. In a recent video about citizenship, some of the top comments were, “men won’t fight for a nation that hates them.” I couldn’t agree more.
I know men who are built to be soldiers. They idolize it. They wanted to be special forces operators since they were boys. Now, at 21, they refuse to enlist because they don’t believe in the nation anymore. And they definitely don’t believe in the military industrial complex that has siezed power and these uninspiring puppet leaders.
AMERICA HAS ZERO ASSABIYYAH. ACTUALLY, WE HAVE NEGATIVE ASSABIYYAH. And I don’t see it getting better without a major change. I have ideas on how to create it again—you can watch my other videos on citizenship for more.
Bottom line ism We need to get serious about tribe again. Not just for war, but for peace. It’s time to rebuild the close-knit communities that once defined America.
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