Punditry is an accountability free occupation. In today's New York Times, the grizzled warrior David Brooks performs a chest-beating war dance over Afghanistan of the type he and his tough guy comrades perfected in the run-up to the Iraq War. It's filled with self-glorifying "war-is-hell" neocon platitudes that make the speaker feel tough and strong. No more … Continue reading The eternal present of the New York Times
Does some of the criticism directed at Obama have to do with race? Undoubtedly. Does that mean the people from whom it issues are frothing at the mouth KKK-style racists? No, obviously not. Someone please tell David Brooks. Here he is describing his experience last week at the 9/12 protests: You wouldn’t know it to … Continue reading The world in black and white
In case one is interested in how philosophers have reacted to David Brooks' piece (mentioned here yesterday), then they can go over to the Leiter Reports and comment. In case one is interested in bad arguments in general–as we are–then one can go badarguments.org to practice identifying them. Have fun. Finally, if one has been … Continue reading A couple of items
General philosophical post today. It doesn't seem David Brooks has read Aristotle. Had he read Aristotle, he would have not written this: Socrates talked. The assumption behind his approach to philosophy, and the approaches of millions of people since, is that moral thinking is mostly a matter of reason and deliberation: Think through moral problems. … Continue reading Phronesis
The other week I was going to post something about how Obama reads criticism closely and takes it seriously. This, I think, is a praiseworthy intellectual habit. Perhaps the following item, however, means that he is taking it too far: Barack Obama took the next big step in his Republican charm offensive on Tuesday night, … Continue reading Opposition party
The low cost of energy, federal subsidies in the form of expressways (but not public transportation) fueled (!) a migration of people out to that land of autonomy, low taxes, and self-sufficiency, the suburbs and exurbs. Now of course people have realized that those place are soul-crushingly monotonous places to spend one's days. David Brooks … Continue reading Foro Italico
Oftentimes, there's something inspiring about a person so rigidly dedicated to a particular ideology that not even the existence of contrary facts can sway them. In that vein, there's a movie line that's always stuck in my mind: "Uncompromising men are easy to admire." Nothing could be more apropos of that sentiment than today's sycophantic … Continue reading Blooming Idiocracy
Everyone is familiar with the argument trope which has it that the strongest and most plausible voice of criticism is someone on the side of the one criticized. This is why people are now listening to the likes of Kathleen Parker, George Will and David Brooks. Everyone likes a conservative defector (or a liberal defector, … Continue reading Palinization
David Brooks, Sunday, on the state of the conservative movement: "World of pain," Brooks said. "A generation of pain. 1964, it was so much better than now. In '64, they had a coherent belief system. They lost, they didn't persuade the American people about it, but they understood where they wanted to take the country. … Continue reading That’s what she said
Whining that conservatives have lost touch with their intellectual roots, David Brooks inexplicably writes: Modern conservatism began as a movement of dissident intellectuals. Richard Weaver wrote a book called, “Ideas Have Consequences.” Russell Kirk placed Edmund Burke in an American context. William F. Buckley famously said he’d rather be governed by the first 2,000 names … Continue reading Counterestablishment