Bite by Bite: The Value of Virtue Signaling
Don’t discount the effectiveness of a cheap signal.
Essays
The Hard-Won Lessons of Cold War Liberalism
Twentieth-century liberal intellectuals stood firm against the totalizing ideologies of left and right. Their insights remain valuable today.
Sports: A Training Ground for Liberal Democracy
Athletics socialize us into essential democratic habits and teach us what liberal institutions require to succeed.
Liberal Toleration and Ordinary Vices
Hypocrisy, snobbery, betrayal, and misanthropy are everywhere. Here’s what to do about it.
A Liberalism of Principle, Not Program
Slavery’s opponents knew how to keep things simple. Today’s liberals should do likewise.
Against Friends, Against Enemies
On the liberalism of productive ambiguity. And pineapples.
Liberalism and Christianity in the Age of Social Media
The liberal Christianity of the American founding came from authentic, in-person faith communities. Can it survive in a time of influencers and vertical video?
Why Liberalism Needs the Family
Liberalism does best when there are strong intermediate institutions between the state and the individual. The family is the oldest of them, and it still has no substitutes.
If Liberals Get Tougher, What Will They Become?
If American liberals deploy aggressive tactics against the right, will they lose what makes them good?