“No one people, nation or culture has a monopoly on the shadows of human nature. Historians influenced by Zinn and the story he tells should try to remember this.”
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Tag: Essay
A Reply to Matt McManus: The Last Man
“There appear then to be two kinds of people: those who presume history has ended and those who do not presume history has ended.”
The Case for Humanity (Part II)
“And this is the rub of Kant’s political critique of nationalist-type arguments. If the nationalist allows too much deviation from the shared identity of the nation, then his society risks becoming one of liberal individuals.”
Analysis: Why Is Iowa a Purple State?
What factors make Iowa in play for both Republicans and Democrats?
The Case For Humanity (Part I)
“We needn’t regard internationalism as a failed or misguided project, which the 20th century demonstrated was destined for the ash heap of history. Rather we should regard it as our first, clumsy, and tentative steps towards establishing a more complete global union.”
What Can Machiavelli Teach Us About the Midterms?
“For it is through political conflict that greater representation is born, more interests come to the table, and the expansion and development of liberty and order comes about.”
Is Steven Pinker Wrong About Violence Declining?
“In many parts of the world, the anarchy came, and those like Pinker who insist otherwise should reflect on whether their claims really reflect reality, or whether they are simply bromides used by those thought-leaders who see the horror and turn away, looking to statistics as consolation against the tragedy.“
Book Review: “Fashionable Nonsense” 20 Years Later
“Moreover, this also implies postmodern writers should be far more modest and careful when criticizing the virtues of science and reason, since it is not clear that they fully appreciate what it is that scientists actually do and believe.”
Why the Left Needs to Think About Religion (And Other Big Questions)
“The political right has long been better at playing the Nietzschian game of values than the political left.”
Can Carl Schmitt Explain How We Got from the Cold War to Trump?
After the fall of the Soviet Union, the United States and the West lost their common foreign enemy. Would the sense of rivalry that characterized these tensions abroad then turn inwards, once no common enemy remained?
The Rebirth of History: Part II
While post-modern conservatism is not doomed to failure due to some immanent dialectical process, it is utterly unable to rectify the social and political problems of the day.
A Reply to Henry George: “The Virtue of Nationalism”
“Unless there are certain universal mores, then a preference for the national values of the United Kingdom over those of Iran seem purely aesthetic, not moral.”
Where the Alt-Right Really Comes From
“As Ross Douthat says, you may have hated the religious Right but wait until you see the post-religious Right.”
The Rebirth of History: Part I
“Proponents of identity politics tended to push for these historically marginalized groups, in all their intersectional complexity, to have a greater say in the cultural and political dynamics of the day.”
What the Left Can Learn From Søren Kierkegaard
“I believe the Left has a great deal that is can learn from these arguments. For too long we have left problems of meaning to the Right, while largely focusing on issues of material equality and political participation.”