"The much-feared tyranny of the woke Left exists only in certain limited sectors of U.S. society—universities, Hollywood, and other cultural spaces, and it only touches on certain issues related to race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual identity. It can be bad in these spaces, but most Americans don’t live there."
This could not be more out of touch. It exists in HR departments and corporate boards across the country. It exists in elementary schools and in state governments that take minors away from their parents so that they can permanently mutilate themselves without parental interference. It exists in almost every online platform--nearly every major one (until Musk bought Twitter) vigorously censors speech that deviates from woke orthodoxy. This essay is just laughably clueless about the world in 2023.
Even though E. Musk bought Twitter, 'woke' orthodoxy is still the rule (at Twitter). Try offering even the mildest criticism of the craziest people, and you will be promptly banned.
My one question is whether this is anything new, or are they just dropping the pretense? The world has always been full of people who flip back and forth between being authoritarians when they approve of the authority and libertarians/anarchists when they don't, with no room for anything in between (such as liberal democracy).
Exactly. The only disagreement is over whether you are on the neck or the foot end of the boot. There are very few people who disagree with the existence of the boot.
What do we call people who still believe in individual liberty, a small but effective state, federalism, property rights and a healthy private sector? Are we "liberal conservatives"?
"The much-feared tyranny of the woke Left exists only in certain limited sectors of U.S. society—universities, Hollywood, and other cultural spaces, and it only touches on certain issues related to race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual identity. It can be bad in these spaces, but most Americans don’t live there."
This could not be more out of touch. It exists in HR departments and corporate boards across the country. It exists in elementary schools and in state governments that take minors away from their parents so that they can permanently mutilate themselves without parental interference. It exists in almost every online platform--nearly every major one (until Musk bought Twitter) vigorously censors speech that deviates from woke orthodoxy. This essay is just laughably clueless about the world in 2023.
Even though E. Musk bought Twitter, 'woke' orthodoxy is still the rule (at Twitter). Try offering even the mildest criticism of the craziest people, and you will be promptly banned.
My one question is whether this is anything new, or are they just dropping the pretense? The world has always been full of people who flip back and forth between being authoritarians when they approve of the authority and libertarians/anarchists when they don't, with no room for anything in between (such as liberal democracy).
Exactly. The only disagreement is over whether you are on the neck or the foot end of the boot. There are very few people who disagree with the existence of the boot.
And a good argument for liberal democracy is that it's rare for the boot to be confined to the people you want it used on.
What do we call people who still believe in individual liberty, a small but effective state, federalism, property rights and a healthy private sector? Are we "liberal conservatives"?