It's important to criticize ideas you generally agree with, and I don't think I do it enough. So I want to thread three brief points about what I see as problems in left-liberal discourse today. Not insuperable or fatal problems, but problems nonetheless.
The first is anti-rationalism on identity issues. Sometimes, debates over unsettled empirical questions — would defunding police increase crime? why does Trump seem to be gaining votes among Latinos? — are themselves declared illegitimate or out-of-bounds.
The second, relatedly, is intellectual insularity. Socialist and conservative critics often raise genuinely sharp critiques of liberal politics — particularly relating to class, credentialism and history — that don't get the serious consideration they deserve.
And the third is demonization. I stand by my claims that the threat from "cancel culture" has been radically overblown, but its critics are correct that there's a worrying tendency to dismiss people as irredeemable for venial sins — and to offer few options for forgiveness.
Again: I do not think these problems are devastating for the entire political project. But no movement is perfect, and self-criticism is an important and healthy part of politics.
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