I have an op-ed in the Sunday, June 12, 2010 copy of the Philadelphia Inquirer that essays a provisional answer to this question. You may read the op-ed at http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/. It builds upon my previous blog posts on this question. Call it a further step in my nascent effort at political sociology on the...
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Mark Lilla has an article in the April 29, 2010 issue of the New York Review of Books titled “Tea Party Jacobins.” It is typical Lilla—very well written, philosophical, and witty. By Lilla’s take, the Tea Party movement is worth taking seriously. It is a manifestation of deeper social and psychological changes that the...
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The more difficult times are, the more intense the demand for simple solutions. This seems to be the case for both individuals and groups, be they corporations, religions, or nations. The February 25, 2010 issue of the New York Review of Books carried some short essays on Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997). Nicholas Kristof of the...
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The New York Times and CBS News conducted phone interviews of persons who identify with the Tea Party movement. The full results, all 41 pages worth, can be viewed freely at http://s3.amazonaws.com/nytdocs/docs/312/312.pdf. The results are fascinating, at least to a political scientist. The Tea Party identifiers believe deeply in free markets. An astonishing 92%...
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A Thoughtful Take on the Travails of Modern Conservatism, by Kevin R. Kosar, October 29, 2009 A cacophony of voices have taken up the topic of “what’s wrong with the right?” Sam Tanenhaus, editor of the New York Times Book Review, has written an engaging book on the subject. Tanenhaus’s stated interest is in...
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