One of the more maddening aspects of the rise of wokeness in the last decade was how some of the younger advocates for “social justice” responded to criticism. “Read a book,” they’d tell me, and roll their eyes. I was twice their age, had relevant degrees from Oxford and Harvard, but I could obviously only believe what I believed because I had never “read a book.” No discussion was possible until I had “educated” myself — a task they refused to expend any “emotional labor” on. A few exasperated huffs, a slight panic in their angry eyes, and they were gone.
The same almost-Pavlovian response would arise during the BLM madness if you challenged for a millisecond the idea — shared by 44 percent of liberals in 2019 — that cops were gunning down over a thousand unarmed black men a year (the empirical answer was 29 — compared to 44 white men). Was I not aware of the fact of white supremacy, the self-evident systems and structures that Jon Stewart was an instant expert in? Or that sex and race were entirely social constructions? Sheesh. What rock had I been hiding under?
It wasn’t the differing opinion that upset me. One of my queerest character traits is that I love differing opinions. It was the assumption that none of this was opinion at all, but merely established empirical fact — of which I was blissfully unaware, probably because I was a bad-faith bigot, or had never picked up a book. This absolute certainty was also generally correlated with higher levels of education — just as “liberals” and “very liberals” were far more likely to have a college degree than those to their right. Over time, my friends began to wither among the educated classes, especially the newly minted and humorless “queers”, as I gravitated to normies, who had some strong views, were open to some others, and enjoyed a good chat and smoke sesh.
A new study tells me little I didn’t suspect already about my educational peers and how this strange correlation emerged between higher education and epistemological certainty. But it does prove something empirically important.
(Read the rest of that piece here, for paid subscribers.)
Arbitrary Power Watch
The core trouble with tyranny, Ben Franklin believed, was its arbitrariness. A polity that was determined by the whims of one man would be incapable of functioning as anything other than a monarchy, and embrace irrationality. “I am a mortal enemy to arbitrary government,” Franklin declared — and it might be one of the more succinct descriptions of liberal democracy you can find.
You can see the actual system we now inhabit — a de facto elected monarchy where the Congress is a rubber stamp (if in session) and SCOTUS deliberately AWOL for now — by the arbitrary nature of Trump’s policies. We have the mindless war on wind power, the military’s sudden murders of suspected gun smugglers in the Caribbean, the ineffably corrupt pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, the open bribe of a 747 from Qatar, the demolition of the East Wing, the random zigs and zags in talks with China — well, take your pick from the long list of kingly edicts.
But last week’s tariff increase on Canada by another 10 percent stands out. It’s almost lost in the news cycle, as the king lurches hither and thither, and is only significant for what it reveals is now routine.
(Read the rest of that piece here, for paid subscribers.)
(Note to readers: This is an excerpt of The Weekly Dish. This week’s edition also includes: my talk with David Ignatius on liberal democracy in decline; reader dissents over my column on Mamdani; lots of listeners commenting on recent pods; eight notable quotes from the week in news; 16 pieces on Substack we enjoyed on a variety of topics; a cinematic supercut for the Mental Health Break; an industrial window from Spokane; and, of course, the results of the View From Your Window contest — with a new challenge. Subscribe for the full Dish experience!)
From a longtime Dishhead:
I just renewed as a loyal subscriber. You and I often crossed paths as young men in DC at many dinner parties and not yet out. I admired your courage and nuanced philosophy. I’m glad you found your way back to being a public intellectual through this medium that allows you to speak in your own voice!
Another reason for subscribing: “The Dish has helped me understand this complicated world.” And another: “You published my dissent.”
New On The Dishcast: David Ignatius
David is a journalist and novelist. He’s been at the WaPo since 1986, serving as editor of the Sunday Outlook section, foreign editor, assistant managing editor for business, and now a foreign affairs columnist. He’s also written 12 espionage thrillers — including Body of Lies, which became an A-list movie. He and I discuss the signs of our failing republic; and we could all use David’s equanimity to get through the Trump emergency.
Listen to the episode here. There you can find two clips of our convo — on the extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean, and David calling out the Biden coverup very early. That link also takes you to commentary on our recent pods with Karen Hao on AI, Charles Murray on religion, and Katie Herzog on booze. We also hear from readers on Mamdani, Israel, beagle cruelty, and how my memoir could affect the Dish.
Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy. Coming up: Cory Clark on feminized culture, Mark Halperin on US politics, Michel Paradis on Eisenhower, Fiona Hill on Putin’s war, and Arthur Brooks on the science of happiness. As always, please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.
I think you err in focusing too much on the issues that Mamdani supports. Almost all of what he proposes is not doable, as you pointed out. So this is all about a vibe.
A certain junior Senator from Illinois won with Hope, Change, and “I was against the Iraq War before it was cool.” A real-estate developer from New York won with borrowed slogans and lacking any filter. There are throngs of young people for Mamdani because he’s a young, fresh, handsome face with a winning smile and lots of positivity. The fact that Schumer hasn’t endorsed is probably a plus for those young voters. And you yourself pointed out the dismal candidates he’s running against.
Whatever policies Mamdani manages to implement will probably be no different than any other left-of-center Democrat. And the pearl-clutching (gotta retire that phrase) from moderates like you is way out of proportion.
Well, we’ll see, won’t we? Read two more dissents here, for paid subscribers. Please keep the criticism coming: dish@andrewsullivan.com. You can follow more Dish debate in my Notes feed.
This is a feature in the paid version of the Dish spotlighting about 20 of our favorite pieces from other Substackers every week. This week’s selection covers subjects such as the useless Congress, the redistricting wars, and gooners. Examples:
Hannah Spier details “the moral appeal of the bipolar label.”
Three cheers for the Notes algorithm — the anti-X.
Here’s a list of the substacks we recommend in general — call it a blogroll. If you have any suggestions for “In the ‘Stacks,” especially ones from emerging writers, please let us know: dish@andrewsullivan.com.
The View From Your Window Contest
Where do you think it’s located? Email your guess to contest@andrewsullivan.com. Please put the location — city and/or state first, then country — in the subject line. Proximity counts if no one gets the exact spot. Bonus points for fun facts and stories. The deadline for entries is Wednesday at 11.59 pm (PST). The winner gets the choice of a VFYW book or two annual Dish subscriptions. If you are not a subscriber, please indicate that status in your entry and we will give you a free month sub if we select your entry for the contest results (example here if you’re new to the VFYW). Contest archive is here. Happy sleuthing!
The results for this week’s window are coming in a separate email to paid subscribers later today. Here’s a sleuth from last week (and one who often marks his window guess with an image of Butters):
I’m busy with conference season and was actually just in Vegas last week for the same. Fairly confident this is in Vegas looking over an EoS gym, but I don’t have time to track down the specific one, much less paste Cartman as “BEEFCAKE!” on top of a window.
Speaking of beefcake:
As a Phoenix resident, I recognized the EōS Fitness sign right away, since that’s my gym. I’ve been a member there for nearly a year, ever since I decided to enter a Men’s Physique competition this past summer. I’ve always stayed active, but finally stepping on stage in board shorts and a spray tan just two weeks before my 58th birthday was something I had thought about for years. After months of focused training, I was in the best shape of my life and proud to prove to myself that I could still do it.
