Thread by @HeatherEHeying

So the ideological-right does the same kind of half-assed journalism as the ideological-left does. I am not surprised, but once again, I am disappointed. The conservatives whom I know do better, and think better, than this. By a lot. (A thread.)
thefederalist.com/2019/05/30/int…

Also, by the way, the liberals whom I know do better, and think better, than is represented in the mainstream liberal media these days. We’ve got some equal opportunity low-quality thinking going on here. If you’re an ideologue, maybe you don’t do first principles thinking?

In the case of this @FDRLST piece, four of the issues that strike me are:

1. The author dislikes the IDW because it has no fixed rules, no (gameable) ideology. He would have an explicitly non-ideological aggregation be more…ideological. Okay then.

2. The author writes: “there’s quite some distance between the values of Heying and Peterson…on abortion.” Maybe. I don’t know that this is true. But I do know that Jordan and I can sit in a room together, with mutual respect and admiration for one another, and discuss ideas.

He continues: “The only centrism possible, therefore, in this context, is one of methodology, and not of epistemology or ontology.”

Umm…I don’t think he knows what many of those words mean.

I grant that I’m not being as nice as I was with Saramandi.
areomagazine.com/2019/05/16/a-v…

I had hoped (wrongly, as it turns out) that Saramandi was reachable. This guy, though? His piece is incoherent, “look at me” rambling. He’s getting his clicks. His profile shall be raised. But has he made a cogent argument? If so, I don’t see it.

3. It’s a little bit fun to watch various outlets try to push the thing, the IDW, whatever it may be or become, into boxes. This author claims it’s “mostly leftist.” That’s news to me. Others have claimed it’s obviously right of center. Also wrong.

4. Saving the personal for last: the author claims that I have “recently understood the limitations of utopian liberalism.” Where even to begin. I encourage anyone interested in the job to find any evidence that I have ever touted utopianism. (Hint: you’ll be wasting your time.)

An understanding of evolution and trade-offs assures us that utopia is not in the cards for anyone. We should seek society-level Evolutionarily Stable Strategies. ESS’s are not invariant, and do not equalize outcomes, but do move us towards equality of opportunity.

I’m pretty sure there’s not a single utopian affiliated with the IDW. Nor any bigots. There’s your lack of ideological diversity, then. We are neither naïve lunatics nor angry haters. And that’s just fine by me. /end