Am. History & Culture
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The Historical Significance of This Moment
Over the years, [Ian Bassin] said, that kind of alliance has mobilized against autocratic movements in countries including the Czech Republic, France, Finland, and, most recently, Poland, where the center-right joined with its opponents on the left to topple the antidemocratic Law and Justice party. The chilling counterexample, Bassin noted, is that during the period
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The Oliver Anthony Dilemma
Good piece in the Atlantic about Chris Murphy and Oliver Anthony. Anthony's song, "Rich Men North of Richmond"… … which became an unlikely national hit, also took jabs at “obese” welfare recipients and high taxes. The right applauded and that turned off the left. Vox christened Anthony a right-wing breakout star; Variety floated accusations that
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Why I Prefer Trump 2
From a Firing Line interview with Charlie Sykes: HOOVER: So, Charlie, what happens in a general election then if it is Trump versus Biden? SYKES: Then I think the election becomes a referendum on Donald Trump. And I think this is the decision the Republicans have to make. HOOVER: A referendum on Trump? SYKES: Yes,
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Defending the Western Canon
A part of my mission at After the Future has been to save the Western Canon from being captured by conservative ideologues. That is a heavy lift these days, and it shouldn't be. There's a reason why people like Jacques Derrida and Hannah Arendt–and really anybody who is truly culturally literate–have spent so much time
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Plus Ca Change…
“The debate over the Ku-Klux never effectively silenced those who argued that the Klan did not exist at all,” Parsons writes. “Despite massive and productive public and private efforts to gather, circulate, and evaluate information about the Ku-Klux Klan and despite the federal government’s devoting attention and resources to the Klan as though it were
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Worshipping in the Temple of the Invisible Hand
“I tend to think that most fears about A.I. are best understood as fears about capitalism,” Chiang told me. “And I think that this is actually true of most fears of technology, too. Most of our fears or anxieties about technology are best understood as fears or anxiety about how capitalism will use technology against
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All the King’s Horses, etc.
Can anybody put Humpty Dumpty back together again? Sure secession would be crazy and irrational, but it was in 1861 as well. Lots of smart people then, Lincoln included, thought that saner heads would prevail. They didn't. On Election Day last year I wrote: I've been talking for years about how something has to give,
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Forcing Change vs. Inspiring Change
Over the years, social scientists who have conducted careful reviews of the evidence base for diversity trainings have frequently come to discouraging conclusions. Though diversity trainings have been around in one form or another since at least the 1960s, few of them are ever subjected to rigorous evaluation, and those that are mostly appear to
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David Brooks’s Lessons from History
David Brooks has a long think piece in The Atlantic about how things are not as bad as they seem. The argument he makes is a tired one: There's nothing new under the sun; we'll find a way to muddle through; the positives outweigh the negatives. So keep your chin up, America. Don't let the