A Values Proposition
This week, the Los Angeles Review of Books published a piece that includes the following sentence, about a man whom the author does not like: “He posts things on Heather…
Politics
341 posts
Two Concepts of Representation
The idea of representation has been enjoying a boom of late. Of course, our modern democracies are representative ones, and the idea that our governments and parliaments should be representative…
Death to Fascism: A Qualified Defence of the War on Terror
I am a leftist and I do not look back on George W. Bush with much fondness. The attacks on civil liberties, the torture, and all the other abuses sanctioned…
The Philosophy of Slavoj Zizek
My recent article on Slavoj Zizek deliberately eschewed more extensive engagement with the philosophical underpinnings of his work. Given that his recent debate with Jordan Peterson—which I analyze here—concerned politics…
What Connects the “Intellectual Dark Web”?
As soon as the Intellectual Dark Web (IDW) appeared in the culture wars, so did accusations that its members are all closed-minded and politically partisan. Recently, in Quillette, Uri Harris…
Modern Monetary Theory and the End of History
In his seminal essay “The End of History?”, Francis Fukuyama argues that liberal democracy and capitalism have triumphed over communism and fascism, that it is no longer necessary to consider…
White Fragility Theory Mistakes Correlation for Causation
As I have noted before, Robin DiAngelo, the sociologist and critical race theorist who authored the bestselling book White Fragility, does not hold the “presumed neutrality of White European enlightenment…
Give Them An Argument: Logic For The Left. Book Review.
When I was eighteen years old, I went to a party with some of my political friends. Despite being a leftist, I mostly hung out with conservative-leaning people during my…
A Veteran in College: The Problem With Identity Theories
Cultural Studies in the Military My fifteen-year career in the military seemed to last an eternity. At twenty years old, I found myself involved in the initial push into Iraq…
Yes, The Intellectual Dark Web Is Politically Diverse
A Response to Quillette’s Uri Harris One of the most common criticisms of the Intellectual Dark Web from the mainstream progressive left is that they are merely a group of…
The Internet Is Making You Less Free
Our current age is defined by the internet. The internet—a technology that allows the decentralized, globalized dissemination of information—has become so thoroughly entrenched in human life that access is now…
Irshad Manji’s “Don’t Label Me”: Book Review
It’s hard to know how to respond to the culture wars, which are raging all around us. Of course, we all know how we should respond: by practicing mutual respect,…
The Student Snowflake Stereotype is Counterproductive to the Cause of Free Speech
Are students intolerant, overly sensitive snowflakes? Yes, according to broadcasters like Tucker Carlson in America and right-wing commentators James Delingpole, Brendan O’Neill, Toby Young and Julia Hartley-Brewer in the UK.…
The Politics of Slavoj Zizek
Slavoj Žižek recently debated Jordan Peterson, in a conflict that was somewhat dramatically hailed as the intellectual duel of the century. One of the most amusing moments came when Peterson…
Be Like Bernie: Give Them An Argument
In my forthcoming book Give Them An Argument: Logic for the Left, I make the case that we leftists should spend more time formulating explicit arguments for our positions. Too…
Britain’s Activist Royals
By some measures, the future of the British royal family has never looked so bright. Last month, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, amassed one million followers…
Whiteness Studies and the Theory of White Fragility Are Based on a Logical Fallacy
As I have argued elsewhere (see here, here, here and here), the theory of white fragility suffers from numerous flaws. First, it relies on the premise of implicit bias, despite…
Intersectionality is Wrong for the Right Reasons
Intersectionality is right for the wrong reasons. Or is wrong for the right reasons. Originally designed as an analytic framework to better understand the nature of human oppression, intersectional theory…
