Thread by @AcadFreedom

Some praise for the Intellectual Dark Web @JacobKishere @ConatusNews

conatusnews.com/intellectual-d…

"The question of good faith dialogue is not peripheral, it is the essential one from which all others must follow."

"If we are to envision a future for Western civilisation, we must strive to diagnose the present, a task to which the ‘progressive’ herd that dominate our media institutions and academy has proven itself unfit...

... Electing to double down on moral outrage and self righteousness in the face of its polar opposite in Trumpism, the underlying illiberalism of progressive discourse has become plain to see. The possibility that hope for the future might come not from them but a ragtag group...

... of transgressive thinkers has proven a blasphemous one indeed. Yet there are many indications that this is exactly what ‘The Rise of The Intellectual Dark Web’ (IDW) represents, with many of its most vocal themselves excommunicated from the church of liberal orthodoxy."

"Surviving the ever-looming threat of cultural assassination from the left, these transgressives – not unscathed – are striving to develop a new form of dialogue which increasingly challenges the hegemony of the existing media sense-making structures."

"The IDW today, with its diverse digital constituency offers the best vehicle, outside of the tech titans, to build momentum for a significant shift in incentives and structures..

.... Its unique financial independence and potential access to investment pools make it a viable support base for the launch of alternative platforms."

"Whilst this landscape for democratic culture is bleak, the birth of the long-form podcast offers hope. Gaining traction rapidly on traditional media, this new medium heralds a renewal in the social value of real conversation...

.... Its emergence marks the beginning of a broader conversation about the re-alignment of digital communications with the health of our democratic culture."

"The significance of this seemingly marginal discourse cannot be understated. As Andrew Sullivan sets out pointedly in his recent column, the drive for meaning did not depart with the death of Christianity. Inherited moral frameworks remain, albeit in sublimated form...

..., and the religious drive is channelled into identitarian political struggle. The righteous instinct persists and a new Kingdom of God is promised in the endless ascent of ‘progress’. New blasphemies, cultish support for populist leaders and condemnation...

... without the prospect of redemption all speak to larger forces at play in the Western mind. Finding meaning independent of sectarian and tribal identities is essential to the future of dialogue."