Archive

Published: First Merion West Collection

Finding Hope When All Seems Lost

“The alarming juxtaposition is that on the other side of this brick wall were patients dying from malaria and children being born with HIV. However, the sheer joy and optimism of this village was unbreakable and, in every sense, unexplainable.”

To Be a Caring Conservative

“All the while, the existing social safety net—combined with various anti-poverty programs—in the United States already provides for our nation’s poor by offering them an adequate standard of living.”

Synecdoche, New York and Synecdoche, Croatia

“Something very similar—and, only slightly less surreal—is currently happening in the Republic of Croatia.”

The Foundational Integrity of Imants Ziedonis

“In other words, Ziedonis, knowingly or not, recognized that for a state to be free, its people must recognize a shared tradition and must be themselves free to build upon it.”

The Dangers of Politicizing the Coronavirus

“It is not often that everyone in the country faces the same towering life-and-death challenge all at once, which is why we should drop the cheap partisan smears and start talking honestly about the greatest threat we have confronted in a generation.”

Interview with Oliver Strijbis: Swiss Lessons on Identity and National Unity

“Political ideas are too abstract. They are not enough to make people emotional about identity. Swiss identity has a cultural element.”

Anti-Racism Demonstrations That Are Just Too Much

“Those doing things like reenacting a slave raid may have noble intentions, but they are sending the wrong message.”

The Discrete Ideology of Thomas Piketty: Successes and Failures of ‘Capital and Ideology’

“Whereas Piketty’s earlier book was often accused of ignoring the role that political doctrines played in naturalizing inequality, he has here devoted an entire text to that very subject.”

The Puppet Masters of Yemen’s Humanitarian Crisis

“The question worth asking is: Who stands to benefit from the continual fueling, participation, and organization of a war that threatens to destabilize Yemen irreversibly?”

Running Wild: Hulk Hogan, God, and the Coronavirus

“While feeding on an unclean beast alone may seem like a trivial act, it is arguably symbolic of mankind’s time-honored bastardization of the natural order.”

Interview: How David Horowitz Sees 2020

“Our system in United States is set up in a way that forces us to compromise. The Founders thought the great threat to a democracy is factionalism.”

Allan Bloom at Harvard, a Lesson Reverberating through the Years

“ The university is nothing less than the institutionalization of Socrates. So the end of philosophy in the university portends the subversion of democracy itself.”

Herodotus and the Human Quest for Justice

“Herodotus, as we can begin to see, is a theorist of human action—and a theorist of justice. Justice, according to Herodotus, is the chief force of human action.”

Bo Winegard on Events Taking Place Across Academia: “I Am Terrified”

“I have never been more depressed about the state of truth in the world.”

And They’ve Come for the Founders

“However, as one watches the Founders find their way into the crosshairs of so many, perhaps the obvious needs to be restated.”

Interview: Elika Ashoori on Her Father’s Ten Year Prison Sentence in Iran

“His interrogators were telling him that we have gangs who could ‘stab your daughter or wife in London.’”

Are Conservatives “Virtue Signalling” Too?

“Of course, virtue signaling from the Right regarding the protests has come in many forms other than writing.”

Liberate the Other Half: Empowering the “Back Row” of America

“Rather than cracking down on higher-income Americans, it is past time to liberate the other half.”

Parallels Between the Coronavirus and Refugee Crises

“This is a perfect example of why a global problem needs a single multilateral response, and not various contradictory unilateral responses.”

Interview: Adrianna San Marco, Student Journalist Fired for Conservative View

“On her ouster from The Daily Orange, the student journalist says: ‘It also affects me as student because all my peers have banded together and tried to cancel me.’”

Does Jordan Peterson Misconstrue “Myth”?

“This, however, poses another problem because it presumes that mythical truth is somehow free from ideology.”

How Mexico’s Drug Cartels Have Exploited the Pandemic

“In Mexico, the most effective influencers are either politicians or drug lords.”

Understanding the Reactionary Outlook

“One of the defining features of the reactionary outlook is how thin its conception of life’s meaning is, and this, in turn, explains why reactionaries tend to be so anxious about it all falling apart…”

Against the Concept Creep Of “Racism”

“This is why I was dismayed by a recent essay published at Arc Digital (on June 9th) by Akiva M. Cohen, entitled ‘Systemic Racism Is Real. We Need To Fight It, Not Deny It.’”

Columbus Belongs Not Only to History

“And one example of this—among others—is how prominently he features in a particular tradition of philosophy: that of philosophical pessimism.”

No, Antifa Is Not Synonymous with “Anti-fascism”

“So, in the same way that a country with the word ‘democratic’ in its name tends to be anything but, Antifa appears overwhelmingly to be anti-fascist in name only.”

The False Dichotomy in Kimberlé Crenshaw’s Intersectionality

“Why is this important? Because grammar shows that Crenshaw’s distinction between identity politics and liberal universalism is artificial.”

Interview: Curt Jaimungal, Director of “Better Left Unsaid”

“They reject ideas of the extreme, so that’s why there needs to be a delineation between what’s extreme and what’s not extreme.”

In Place of Columbus’ Statue, Build One for Francisco de Vitoria

“Perhaps the strongest argument considered by Vitoria relied on what today we might call “humanitarian intervention.”

The Fuzzy Logic Behind the Movement

“But this discrepancy makes perfect sense if we consider the tone of racial discourse in the United States for half a second.”

Why People Hate Jordan Peterson So Much

“Peterson continued, ‘So the Soviets really implemented and perfected the idea of class and ethnicity based guilt, and it’s a very bad road to walk down, and it’s something that we’re very much engaged in at the moment.’”

When Josh Hawley Overplays His Hand

“But that is no reason to allow Senator Hawley to misrepresent history in the service of a political narrative that will cause even greater damage to an international system that is already under immense strain.”

Interview: Spike Cohen, Libertarian Nominee for Vice President

Listen to our conversation with the candidate to hear how his platform can tackle the greatest problems facing the United States today.

Finding Common Ground in Times of Anguish

“My progressive friends and I are united in wanting to see an end to police brutality, even though we may differ when it comes to the means to bring that about.”

Interview: Johann Hari on Mental Health During the Pandemic

“There has been a huge transfer of wealth to the rich and gradual collapse of the middle class. That’s made a lot of people anxious.“

How Close We Are to Unravelling

“The religion of Social Justice is redolent of the old paganism but without even the mortal transcendence of its pantheons.”

Is “the Long Peace” Sustainable?

“Furthermore, one of the most—if not the most—crucial contributor to the Long Peace is the spread of democracy.”

Navigating Whiteness: Between White-Shaming and White Indigenous Rights

“White-shaming is a political tactic aimed at invalidating the opinions and experiences of people of European descent. Premised on a belief in collective guilt, it judges white folks not by the content of their character but by the color of their skin.”

Libertarian Presidential Nominee Jo Jorgensen on the Issues

“The police issue here now is a local issue, and we will let them work it out. If I was a president now, I would say no, we not not need to do something.”

Where Is Spike Lee?

“Lee has already proven that he is one of the greatest film directors of all time; now is his time to prove that he is also a responsible influencer upon society at large.”

Liberty and the Left

“Prominent proposals by left-wing parties such as democratizing the workplace or introducing universal public healthcare (in the United States), they argue, are best framed as positions that further the cause of freedom.”

The Dangers of Campus Speech Codes: Revisiting the Water Buffalo Affair

“The history which preceded the magazine’s shutdown and resurgence involved a controversy sufficient for the Red and Blue to be ‘expelled from the Student Activities Council (SAC)’ and to have ‘archives…trashed by the University.’”

The Cultural Imperialism of Protest

“Yet I see it more as yet another form of cultural imperialism. It takes an American victim to be brutalized in order for the whole world to come out and protest.”

Colin Kaepernick and a False Dichotomy

“It probably also guarantees he will not be standing anytime soon, given that these are highly charged social issues which are deeply complex and are probably not going to be ‘fixed’ in the foreseeable future.”

Why Trust Prevents Nations from Tearing Themselves Apart

“The last time a leading Danish politician was murdered was 1286. It’s not war with your foreign enemies [that matters]; it’s internally, in political stability.”

What Cormac McCarthy Saw When He Saw Evil

“When asked to describe Chigurh, the few people lucky enough to have encountered him and survived claimed he that ‘looked like anybody.’”

Mattis Biographer: Why General Mattis Is Wrong

“Wouldn’t a simple statement of solidarity with the protestors and his personal commitment to help heal the nation be the right use of the General’s reputation and leadership?”

These Are Not “Peaceful Protests”; Their Violent Rhetoric Incites Violence

“If that is the result of George Floyd’s killing, he will have not only died in vain but, more, died as a critical girder supporting the enemy’s battlements.”

Republicans Do Still Buy Sneakers

“And so, in an age of divisive politics, Nike had suddenly found a way to embrace and commodify protest; they would have a free marketing base like no other…”

The Protests Are Not About Police Violence

“Racism and racial inequality are barriers for many non-whites, but viewing these disparities as a morality play between powerful whites and enraged minorities is a recipe for untold conflict.”

As the Word “Racism” Loses Its Meaning

“Ambiguity, however, is the name of the game when it comes to defining racism, while Whiteness Studies is similarly plagued with ‘critical’ obfuscation.”

Liberals Are Not Immune from the Pull of Authority

“My two cents is that respect for authority is neither a particularly conservative nor liberal trait. Rather, conservatives and liberals hold reverence for different categories of authority and the actors that operate within those spheres.”

Amid Widespread Unrest, Conservatives Must Respond Correctly

“When criticizing this violent upheaval, will [conservatives] go for the low-hanging fruit and come up with absurd, cheap explanations for what is going on? Or, will they engage in serious reflection to prevent this from happening again?”

Why Wendy Brown Remains as Relevant as Ever

“Brown makes the bold choice of echoing conservative critics in scrutinizing left-wing variants of identity politics from a Nietzschean perspective; however, she takes a far more nuanced and less polemical approach.”

Leaving Washington D.C. Behind—and a More Wholesome Life

“I think people want to know the story behind things. And I think part of what they’re buying into is the story of our family on our ranch. And so it’s beautiful to be able to share that in some small way.”

Will Words Win the Day: Jargon and the Pandemic

“So, how do doctors, scientists, and everyday people traverse the COVID-19 landscape, where each passing day seems to provide new information and new “theories” about our current predicament?”

A Few Questions for My Social Justice Colleagues

“What I left out of that piece are the many questions my immersion has raised whose answers, if I could find them, might help what I’ll call the reasonable unwoke better assess SJ/DEI claims. I would like to air those questions here.”

Excitement about the Coronavirus’ Effect on Emissions Obscures the Big Picture

“Should individuals collectively decide to make radical changes to lower their carbon output, they—and the economy at large—will suffer. As a result, individuals won’t. And, their individual choices would not be enough, regardless.”

Can Free Speech Help Us Beat the Coronavirus? 

“We must remind those like Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, and Susan Wojcicki that they should not silence ideas from the get-go because they fear that people are incapable of evaluating information for themselves.”

Joe Biden’s “You Ain’t Black” Comment Is Deeply Concerning

“I can only hope that in this election African American voters cast their ballots on the basis of what each candidate proposes—and not on the basis of what they think their racial essence ought to be. That is what real liberation is all about.”

How Feasible Is Mexico’s Re-Opening Plan?

“According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OCDE), Mexico is the country within the organization that has the lowest levels of testing: at 0.4 tests per thousand inhabitants.”

Bhaskar Sunkara’s “The Socialist Manifesto” and Understanding Millennial Socialism

“What has become ‘millennial socialism’ arguably got its start in 2011, with the founding of Jacobin, a proudly left-wing magazine that was trendy, readable, and erudite.”

To “The Last Dance’s” Critics, At Least Michael Jordan Isn’t a Hypocrite

“Basketball fans endlessly discuss whether Michael Jordan or LeBron James is the greatest basketball player of all time. The jury may still be out on that one, but in my book, off-court James is definitely the lesser man.”

The Limits of Political Reasoning

“However, regardless of it being mathematically the same task, the politically-charged task’s results came out in a polarized fashion…”

Lessons from Antiquity for Our Current Pandemic

“Thucydides subsequently goes on to say, ‘In other respects also Athens owed to the plague the beginnings of a state of unprecedented lawlessness.’”

Psychoanalytic Darkness and Reflections on the Coronavirus

“The ‘viral’ aspect of the Coronavirus pandemic and the disproportionate effect on the aged similarly suggests a Jungian reading of systemic breakdown and a lurch towards either symbolic or literal death.”

Why Jordan Peterson Is Worth Defending

“And, in the midst of it all, a Canadian psychologist told people to clean their rooms before trying to change the world and has not ceased to be excoriated for his efforts years later. History will be kinder to him than his opponents.”

Has Dave Rubin Found His Intellectual Stride?

“I do want to give Rubin the fairest shake I possibly can. As such, instead of commenting on the book generally, I will look at some of the book’s arguments in detail and break them down…”

Is the Recent Coup Attempt in Venezuela Just the Beginning?

“So, it may seem as if the recent failed expedition against Maduro is a major blunder. However, I would like to think that this is only the beginning, and that those Rambo wannabes may have actually sparked a greater desire for liberation among Venezuelans.”

If There Were Ever a Time for Bipartisanship, It Is Now

“COVID-19 presents a unique opportunity for governments to build trust. According to a recent update of the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer, trust in government around the world spiked by 11 points between January and May 2020.”

The Irrelevance of the Intelligence Debate 

“By contrast, those on the Left tend to prefer more transparently social determinants, such as ethnic or economic background and push against anything which seems to ‘naturalize’ inequality by explaining it biologically.”

Lacan’s “Real,” Jung’s “Psychoid,” and Jordan Peterson’s “Dragon of Chaos”

“It may hearten aggrieved fans of Jordan Peterson, whose status as representative of Jungian thought I took umbrage with in a previous article, that I recognize some value in this aspect of Peterson’s work from a psychoanalytic or psychotherapeutic perspective.”

Conservatives Are Not the Only Ones Who Ignore “Facts and the Science”

“…this and countless other scientific findings led the President of the American Sociological Association—in his 2005 presidential address—to call upon members to, ‘Prepare to defend against the genomic data juggernaut heading their way down the pike.’”

The Coronavirus Must Alter Our “Normal Way of Life” Going Forward

“If the global social discourse continues to be one where we ignore what does not directly affect us, then when the next global emergency occurs, governments will fail people again.”

The Book-Length Critique of Jordan Peterson Isn’t Perfect, Either

“The authors have done well in providing the substance for a critique of Jordan Peterson, but they need someone to spice up their style, which is precisely what Jordan Peterson, himself, did in his own career.”

Given Tara Reade’s Allegation, the Left Should Reconsider Support for Biden

“It should be deeply disturbing for voters on the Left of the Democratic Party to vote for a candidate who, not only is likely to have sexually assaulted a woman—but who used a position of power to do it and get away with it for years.”

America’s Pastime in the Age of Coronavirus

“Embodying much of the American spirit, baseball once again finds itself on the frontline, being utilized for political gains, with any rebuke of the MLB’s return likely to be chalked up as un-American or—worse still—shouted down as a commie act.”

Why Thomas Piketty Thinks We Should Not Naturalize Inequality 

“Piketty wants to re-orient the political left away from cultural and educational issues, which dominate the mindset of the elitist ‘Brahmin left’ in his telling, and back to the economic concerns that were once the Left’s bread and butter”

Review: Bart Ehrman’s “Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife”

“Bart Ehrman, ever loyal to his engaging style, approaches this topic in Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife. As expected, he delivers the goods, covering religious texts from the Epic of Gilgamesh to the writings of Augustine.”

Myth and Mayhem: A Leftist Critique of Jordan Peterson—Sample Chapter

“One can see here that Peterson, while even less convinced of the equitable distribution of competences than Hobbes, clearly shares his view that life outside the confines of society would necessarily be ‘solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.’”

Higher Education Was Already in Trouble Before the Coronavirus

“The pandemic, while it has undeniably worsened the outlook for many institutions, has only exacerbated and brought into sharper relief some of the extant forces threatening to pop the higher education bubble.”

Viral Truths and the Mouthpieces of Unreality

“What I want is to praise Hunt because what he had done has been incredible—and to praise those whose truths Hunt was in a position to make go viral.”

The Problem with Edmund Burke and Defenders of “Tradition”

“The problem here is that one man’s stable hierarchy and proud tradition is another’s tyrannical oppression and ideology.”

Palmar de Troya and a Broader Question: Cult or Religion?

“A religion becomes mainstream simply because of its sheer demographic power—not because of the reasonableness of its beliefs and practices.”

Speaking with Bo Winegard: from the State of the Academy to the State of Twitter

“My sense is that most people—even people who truly abhor a lot of the stuff that I write—were supportive and were sort of horrified by the decision and by what happened.”

Jordan Peterson and Carl Jung’s Worldviews Have Been Greatly Oversimplified

“With respect to McManus and Hamilton, who have admittedly produced a very interesting article, there are characterizations and theoretical points within their article that I feel need to be addressed.”

Herodotus and Long-Standing Problems in Anthropology

“Regrettably, in more recent times, anthropology (and the humanities in general) has placed excessive, imbalanced value on emic.”

Interview: Georgia State Rep. Vernon Jones on Endorsing President Trump

“And I have a choice right now: Do I vote for Joe Biden, a white guy who locked black people up? Or do I vote for President Donald Trump, a white guy who happens to be a Republican, who let black people out of jail and gave them a second chance?”

The Coronavirus Response Does Not Take Place in a Vacuum

“Similarly, University of Zurich researchers in 2015—using data from the time of the Great Recession—estimated that unemployment causes 45,000 suicides per year.”

The Time Has Come for the Left to Sink the Democratic Party

“If the Left were to abstain from participating in this election en masse, the consequences would be deep.”

Thank you for Taking Our Thoughts on Jordan Peterson Seriously

“But good or bad, the extent of discourse around Myth and Mayhem at Merion West would have been edifying for any author, and we are very pleased the book has generated such interest and strong feelings, even before its release.”

Principles and the Virus

“I know of no law forbidding our vanquishing of COVID-19; the knowledge of how to do so is therefore discoverable, and our foe is extinguishable.”

Why the Inequality Debate Just Goes ‘Round and ‘Round

“And here, perhaps lies the problem: the single tax’s indiscriminate generosity is its undoing. You cannot offer both sides what they want without dissolving the distinction between them.”

Has the Media Been Partner to a Widespread Mishandling of the Coronavirus?

“Reports about do-not-resuscitate orders being contemplated by hospitals began overwhelming the airwaves until Dr. Deborah Birx directly and publicly disputed these claims.”

To Stand up to China, the West Must First Re-Discover Itself

“The lack of backbone displayed by Western leaders when dealing with China is symbolic of the malaise that has been gripping Western culture for decades.”

The New York Times’ “1619 Project” Was a Long Time Coming

“More recently, The New York Times’ Nikole Hannah-Jones has gone on an antiracism crusade by coming up with the 1619 Project.”

Coronavirus Blood Tests May Bring a Reckoning

Antibody testing will soon clarify how many have contracted COVID-19, and its real mortality rate. Those results could determine who survives the political fallout.