1) My defense of liberalism and criticism of where we're falling short has generated a lot of thoughtful and interesting responses -- thanks for that! -- so I thought I'd do a thread with a bunch of further reading on this topic.
2) @HelenaRosenblat's lost history of liberalism captures a lot of the neglected ways in which liberals sought to develop a conception of the common good, which liberalism is constantly (and wrongly) criticized for lacking:
@HelenaRosenblat 3) The great Stephen Holmes' "Anatomy of Antiliberalism" is a really useful cataloging of the criticisms thrown at liberalism over the centuries, and why they falter under scrutiny. Many critiques you hear today have their roots in these old arguments:
@HelenaRosenblat 4) Martha Nussbaum's great book "The Cosmopolitan Tradition" captures the immense contributions this tradition has made over the centuries:
@HelenaRosenblat 5) I just want to reiterate, the "conservative populist" habit of sneering at cosmopolitanism with silly caricatures is an ugly and stupid game. As I tried to argue, for many people, cosmopolitanism is a very deeply held value:
@HelenaRosenblat 6) On the anti-liberal arguments and the ways liberalism's shortcomings have given them an opening, see @zackbeauchamp's comprehensive piece, with a few added thoughts from @seanilling here:
9) On the idea of liberal democracy as something that reflects not just formal commitments, but also deeply held beliefs about the worth of fellow human beings and their capacity to execute intelligent/reasoned judgments and actions, see @willwilkinson: modelcitizen.substack.com/p/the-anti-maj…
Time to retire the wretched phrase "economic migrant."
Severe material deprivation is not somehow a "bad" reason to try to migrate. We need to lean harder into being part of actual regional solutions, for our own good.
Never forget: Trump told us that if Biden won, he'd fall prey to the radical left, driving us into depression. Instead, a broad Dem center-left is crafting ambitious solutions that are very popular, and Rs are the ones sinking into extremism. New piece: washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
The next phase of Biden's plan, the caregiving phase, will include another $1 trillion in spending.
This draws heavily on core insights of progressive economics, which is why I think @DouthatNYT is off in claiming Biden is primarily repurposing Trumpism:
Let's stop saying the 1/6 commission is the victim of "partisan infighting." Only one side wants a real accounting. The party of Trump, Stop the Steal and Marjorie Taylor Green cannot credibly pretend its objections are about its structure. My latest: washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
Until Republicans fully admit to these three things, they can't participate in a genuine accounting:
* Insurrection was incited by Trump
* Rioters were inspired by lies that Republicans themselves fueled
@RonWyden Some GOP senators want Democrats to do a separate bill focused just on "real" infrastructure. But Republicans won't raise corporate tax rates to pay for it.
Some Democrats see this as a trap. I gamed out how this might work here:
Trump's poison continues to harm our virus response. He suggested for a year that taking covid seriously constituted disloyalty that would lend aid and comfort to his enemies.
Vaccine-reluctant GOP voters recently interviewed by @ddiamond echoed Trump:
@JVLast Corporate defenses of voting rights are a problem for Republicans. They shed a harsh light on the GOP's slide into radicalization, which could alienate suburbanites and provoke a Dem countermobilization.