The past couple of weeks have been particularly tumultuous, both for the United States, and for me personally. I don’t need to contribute to the already massive commentary on the first Biden-Trump debate, whether Biden should pull out of the race, and the attempted assassination of Donald Trump (my answers would be completely unremarkable: yes the debate indicated that Biden is too old; yes he should drop out of the race; and yes, it was very bad that someone resorted to violence to affect the outcome of the election). The net result of these developments has been to greatly increase the likelihood of Donald Trump returning to the White House next January.
American Purpose is a great and necessary magazine, and it was an honor to write for you there. I'm looking forward to more thoughtful triumphs from the American Purpose community now that it's part of Persuasion here at Substack!
The internet is an exciting age, when barriers of communication simply drop.
I'm confused with your definition of liberalism.
"(1) asserts the equal dignity of all human beings and does not rank one group above others"
what does dignity mean here exactly? I imagine it means some sort of right of respectful treatment. But doesn't this need a multitude of qualifiers? An individual can lose their right to dignity through heinous and monstrous acts. (I'm assuming you agree, but not sure.) And if that's the case, doesn't that point to the fact that there is such room for small incremental losses of dignity? And if that's the case, doesn't that mean that an aggregation of people who all share the same vices are rightfully ranked lower than another group that is better?
I understand that it's messy and dangerous to give grades to groups. I fear not ranking is just as dangerous.
Excellent and welcome. I've come to the view that we need to double down on small-l liberalism while pushing harder on generational and institutional overhaul. I will read your Substack with interest.
Oh so history hasn’t ended then?
How disappointing 😂
American Purpose is a great and necessary magazine, and it was an honor to write for you there. I'm looking forward to more thoughtful triumphs from the American Purpose community now that it's part of Persuasion here at Substack!
Welcome to Substack!
“Frankly Fukuyama”
Nice
I challenge Mr Fukuyama to name ONE ACT of Narendra Modi that has "disenfranchised Muslims". This is a complete lie.
Welcome to Substack, Prof. Fukuyama. I was just thinking about you, and would welcome your response: https://outofbabel.substack.com/p/jews-antipathy-towards-66-118-148
Welcome to Substack!
The internet is an exciting age, when barriers of communication simply drop.
I'm confused with your definition of liberalism.
"(1) asserts the equal dignity of all human beings and does not rank one group above others"
what does dignity mean here exactly? I imagine it means some sort of right of respectful treatment. But doesn't this need a multitude of qualifiers? An individual can lose their right to dignity through heinous and monstrous acts. (I'm assuming you agree, but not sure.) And if that's the case, doesn't that point to the fact that there is such room for small incremental losses of dignity? And if that's the case, doesn't that mean that an aggregation of people who all share the same vices are rightfully ranked lower than another group that is better?
I understand that it's messy and dangerous to give grades to groups. I fear not ranking is just as dangerous.
Asking in good faith.
Excellent and welcome. I've come to the view that we need to double down on small-l liberalism while pushing harder on generational and institutional overhaul. I will read your Substack with interest.