is-america-a-shitty-country-excerpt
Since I'm on the road today, I'm going to try something a little bit different—a
more fractious accounting of what has been on my mind.
I love this country, but I am clear-eyed enough to know that it also kinda
sucks. What do they say about families? "Every unhappy
polarization-at-home-and-the-fight-abroad-excerpt
Are new alliances among populists on the left and right possible after Trump—and
after January 6? Is a realignment looming, or are we doomed to repeat the
foreign policy fights of the past? And why does Carl Schmitt keep coming up so
often?
Shadi and Damir continue their conversation
Excerpt Author
October 08, 2021
a-democracy-if-you-can-keep-it-excerpt
What is a democratic state? There are two ways to talk about it.
In one telling it is a set of institutions that, through the mechanism of
regular elections, manages the task of governing a polity with its consent. It
is legitimate because its citizenry consent to be governed while
Excerpt Author
October 01, 2021
snap-out-of-it-excerpt
Shadi and Damir continue discussing today's solipsistic politics, and talk about
how a focus on first principles can help strip away the kinds of received wisdom
that lead to complacency.
Excerpt Author
September 30, 2021
the-founders-didnt-believe-in-democracy-excerpt
The founders didn’t like democracy. Few things have received as much attention
as this, at least with the benefit of hindsight. But it is still striking to be
reminded of it. As John Adams put it in somewhat overwrought fashion, “There
never was a democracy that did not commit
Excerpt Author
September 24, 2021
the-missionary-position-excerpt
In 1995, Christopher Hitchens published a provocatively-titled book called The
Missionary Position, training his acid prose on none other than Mother Teresa.
The vivid unpleasantness of the title is owed not only to the fact that it
juxtaposes a revered celibate woman with the sex act, but that it associates
Excerpt Author
September 17, 2021
when-we-were-young-excerpt
I've been in a reflective mood lately. Or maybe I always think I'm in a
reflective mood. It could have been so much better. The counterfactual world
where the United States never invaded Iraq is one I would have preferred to live
in, for instance. But to have had such
Excerpt Author
September 10, 2021
a-more-repressive-world-excerpt
Shadi and Damir debate to what extent American rhetoric and action on human
rights actually deters bad actors around the world. Damir talks about becoming a
malign agent of influence in Russia, and Shadi explains how only top-level
leadership can unblock bureaucratic impediments to a more activist and engaged
foreign
Excerpt Author
September 07, 2021

America’s Maximalist Phase is Over. There May Not Be Another One
Afghanistan has dealt a fatal blow to our entire way of thinking about the world.
Excerpt Author
September 07, 2021
afghanistan-and-the-end-of-maximalism-excerpt
“Why do you think there has been such a furious focus on the pullout from
Afghanistan?” a friend asked me the other day. “Yes, the images were horrific,
the withdrawal has been ham-fisted, and the rhetoric has been callous. But all
of this has been a long time coming.”
It’
Excerpt Author
September 03, 2021