Review: “The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality”
The Left - “Now, given that genetics matters for these things, which, in turn, drive inequality, we should take genetics seriously if we are truly committed to egalitarianism.” 10/7/2021
The Left - “Now, given that genetics matters for these things, which, in turn, drive inequality, we should take genetics seriously if we are truly committed to egalitarianism.” 10/7/2021Andrew Sullivan Invites Us All Out Onto the Limb
The Center - “That commitment to truth seeking made Sullivan one of the earliest advocates for gay marriage and one of the most potent and consistent critics of ‘wokeness’ today.” 10/5/2021
The Center - “That commitment to truth seeking made Sullivan one of the earliest advocates for gay marriage and one of the most potent and consistent critics of ‘wokeness’ today.” 10/5/2021If Anything Is Sacred, the Human Body Is Not It
The Center - “The body is certainly something we should appreciate, but it is not the most obvious thing to be considered sacred. A far better candidate would be consciousness.” 9/26/2021
The Center - “The body is certainly something we should appreciate, but it is not the most obvious thing to be considered sacred. A far better candidate would be consciousness.” 9/26/2021Review: “The Memeing of Mark Fisher”
The Left - “Located within the framework of the Frankfurt School’s critical theory, The Memeing of Mark Fisher boldly riffs on everything from conspiracy theories and memes to economic policy and election campaigns…” 9/17/2021
The Left - “Located within the framework of the Frankfurt School’s critical theory, The Memeing of Mark Fisher boldly riffs on everything from conspiracy theories and memes to economic policy and election campaigns…” 9/17/2021“A Certain Terror”: A White Male Perspective on Being an Ally
The Left - “But that raises another thorny question: Given all the excellent books by women and people of color, why am I writing at all? Why am I not simply recommending other people’s work to men and white people?” 9/16/2021
The Left - “But that raises another thorny question: Given all the excellent books by women and people of color, why am I writing at all? Why am I not simply recommending other people’s work to men and white people?” 9/16/2021The Political Import of Jonathan Rauch’s “The Constitution of Knowledge”
The Center - “Rauch takes as his subject how we know what we know in public life, and what the greatest contemporary threats to our shared public knowledge are.” 9/15/2021
The Center - “Rauch takes as his subject how we know what we know in public life, and what the greatest contemporary threats to our shared public knowledge are.” 9/15/2021A Culture War Worth the Fight
The Center - “The predictable consequence is that instead of striving together toward the ethereal glow at the top of the highest peak, we are coming apart and stomping each other and ourselves further down into the abyss…” 9/8/2021
The Center - “The predictable consequence is that instead of striving together toward the ethereal glow at the top of the highest peak, we are coming apart and stomping each other and ourselves further down into the abyss…” 9/8/2021Why We Should Love Democracy, with a Few Caveats
The Center - “But even if we should accept and defend democracy as an ideal, we should not make the mistake of forgetting that anti-democratic—or, at least, non-democratic—procedures and institutions are necessary for sustaining a liberal democratic society like our own.” 9/7/2021
The Center - “But even if we should accept and defend democracy as an ideal, we should not make the mistake of forgetting that anti-democratic—or, at least, non-democratic—procedures and institutions are necessary for sustaining a liberal democratic society like our own.” 9/7/2021The Psychology of Critical Social Justice
The Center - “Adherents of the Woke worldview disallow this more complex approach to social issues (psychologically, an ambivalent position) and, instead, succumb to the simplistic and often pleasurable permission to demonize entire categories of people according to immutable traits.” 9/2/2021
The Center - “Adherents of the Woke worldview disallow this more complex approach to social issues (psychologically, an ambivalent position) and, instead, succumb to the simplistic and often pleasurable permission to demonize entire categories of people according to immutable traits.” 9/2/2021Afghanistan and the West’s Failure
The Right - “Whether America likes it or not, the unipolar moment, Pax Americana, is over.” 8/31/2021
The Right - “Whether America likes it or not, the unipolar moment, Pax Americana, is over.” 8/31/2021It’s Time for a Two-State Solution…for America
The Center - “If a nation is an ‘imagined community,’ to invoke Benedict Anderson’s metaphor, then how can we live together when the communities we imagine are, at every level, incompatible?” 8/23/2021
The Center - “If a nation is an ‘imagined community,’ to invoke Benedict Anderson’s metaphor, then how can we live together when the communities we imagine are, at every level, incompatible?” 8/23/2021Politics: Not an End in Itself
The Center - “As such, politics has eclipsed its primary purpose—namely, to provide the means by which people can seek out and, in turn, live good lives, lives that have nothing to do with politics.” 8/19/2021
The Center - “As such, politics has eclipsed its primary purpose—namely, to provide the means by which people can seek out and, in turn, live good lives, lives that have nothing to do with politics.” 8/19/2021City of Thugs
The Center - “If, on the other hand, we as a society make excuses for thugs and use pretextual claims of racism to emasculate law enforcement, we will promote the continuation of our rapid race to the bottom.” 8/13/2021
The Center - “If, on the other hand, we as a society make excuses for thugs and use pretextual claims of racism to emasculate law enforcement, we will promote the continuation of our rapid race to the bottom.” 8/13/2021Hiding the Ball on Critical Race Theory
The Right - “Marcuse and Bell might not be on the reading lists at elementary schools, but CRT’s cynical mentality and Marxist tenets are still present in the pedagogical exercises being exposed by Christopher Rufo’s investigative journalism.” 8/11/2021
The Right - “Marcuse and Bell might not be on the reading lists at elementary schools, but CRT’s cynical mentality and Marxist tenets are still present in the pedagogical exercises being exposed by Christopher Rufo’s investigative journalism.” 8/11/2021Excerpt: “The End of the End of History”
The Left - “History ended in 1989. In 2008, the economic order was shaken. The political reckoning arrived in 2016. By 2020, the End of History was over.” 8/10/2021
The Left - “History ended in 1989. In 2008, the economic order was shaken. The political reckoning arrived in 2016. By 2020, the End of History was over.” 8/10/2021Tunisia and Egypt: Two Tests for Biden and Democracy
The Center - “The Biden administration has not yet decided whether to call Saied’s power grab a coup.” 8/9/2021
The Center - “The Biden administration has not yet decided whether to call Saied’s power grab a coup.” 8/9/2021