Rod
and Kale talk about Elizabeth Zerofsky's piece in the New
York Times about the postliberal American Right. In the
conversation, they wonder out loud if the "normie" reaction from
center-right and center-left stems from a disgust-reaction to the
Heretic. Rod and other writers like TAC's Sohrab Ahmari dare to
critique the capital "L" Liberalism of American Conservatism, and
look to someone like Viktor Orban who is not squeamish about the
business of Statecraft.
Despite
Rod being called "An Aging Hipster," the piece is quite fair.And
though Rod considers himself largely "un-cancelable" due to The
American Conservative, he was initially nervous. Fortunately, she
accurately portrayed what these figures on the postliberal Right
think. Wokeness has become the default operating system of the
Cathedral, and having a fair hearing in the most significant
platform is a big deal. What leaves classical liberalism so
vulnerable to the illiberal left? State power is a fact and
conservatives need to take it seriously as Statecraft.
The
left has moved into "Error Has No Rights" territory, so that anyone
in opposition to their desires is a Heretic, a kind of left-wing
Integralism.
Rod
will be speaking about these topics at the upcoming National
Conservatism Conference.
A new podcast from The American Conservative, presented by Kale Zelden and bestselling author Rod Dreher, exploring faith, culture, and public affairs.