Are We Heretics?

The General Eclectic

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. Links:

• Zarofsky piece:The Viktor Orban Effect: Why U.S. Conservatives Love Hungary - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
• Christoper Caldwell: https://www.amazon.com/Age-Entitlement-America-Since-Sixties/dp/1501106899
• George Nash: https://www.amazon.com/Conservative-Intellectual-Movement-America-Since/dp/1933859121
• JD Vance piece: Stop Treating Left-Wing Advocacy Groups Like Charities | Opinion (newsweek.com) Shrier: When the State Comes for Your Kids | City Journal (city-journal.org)
• National Conservatism Conference: National Conservatism Conference
• Bari Weiss: Opinion | Meet the Renegades of the Intellectual Dark Web - The New York Times (nytimes.com)