Why Democratic Compromise Died
This 45-page essay explains how an obscure Christian theology gradually became central to American political culture and now appears to be running the show.
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None of the links to the featured article went to the same opening paragraph and did not allow one to read the entire article.
My apologies. I have updated the link to an alternative location. Not everyone has access to Academia.org. Please try again.
I just downloaded the 45 page doc. But can’t tell you exactly how I did so. I tried under Discussions the link there, then tried link in All Discussions, and went back to see if any on the initial page had hidden links attached.
Finally got it.
As usual, I have a disagreement with the premise that that the “radical left” inherently does not support democracy. The term “radical left” is now being used interchangeably with “liberals” and “Democrats,” when it used to mean socialists, and that’s a problem. It’s making real socialists invisible. In my opinion, the people you are critiquing are among a wing of liberalism lodged primarily in academia that, like many liberals, are too cowardly to defend democratic rights for all because such defense might backfire on them. The radical left that I have belonged to for 50 years is not anti-democracy. Rather,… Read more »
Thank you, Millie. That’s a fair criticism. There is a problem here with the definition that you have put your finger on, which I think is partly due to the fractious nature of what we’re calling the radical left. Your description of the left that you have belonged to for many decades suggests to me, Democratic Socialists. If that is what you mean, I agree, and I did not have anything like Democratic Socialists in mind. What I had in mind is covered in our book, “Used to Be UU,” and in the writings of Helen Pluckrose, the post-modern, post-truth,… Read more »
Great 1st part Frank! I learned a great deal, as some of these groups and Amendment discussions, are a bit foreign to myself as a Canadian – but we can see the same things happening here. Millie makes a good point. I too have friends who have for decades considered themselves to be the “radical left”. An excellent analysis of this issue is the book Woke is Not Left by Susan Neiman or a shorter CBC Ideas Podcast In the podcast she notes struggles she had using the term ‘woke’ which many on the right and left have problems with,… Read more »
What “radical left?” “The left” somehow got assigned to unusual lifestyles instead of larger economic, democratic, and environmental concerns. The very term “neoliberal” is an Orwellian trick, as if it’s the liberals making corporations newly rapacious rather than open-minded and generous. Where is the “left” they resent and fear? Is Putin even a socialist? Per your Republican theocracy, remember Frank Schaffer’s story. He’s the black sheep in the core Christian family taken over by Republicans to push the uncomfortable topic of abortion as a divisive political tactic. Claiming “God is on our side” is an old devilish tactic. From the… Read more »
Frank, there are now no active links to your article on the homepage.
Ooops. I found it: it’s the word “essay”. Tricky.
“Where have all the Democrats gone?” is my recent read. Gets into how the Left has shot its own feet and put a bullet into the foot of the Democrats. Identity politics among other things has not helped discourse. Please remember what happen to Tod Eckhof when he published “The Gadfly Papers”. What I have read so far in the featured article and comments makes good sense and provides guidance. The far Left that may not believe in god still believes in absolutes and in that sense just as nutty as the far Right!
hentairead Good post! We will be linking to this partspacelarly great post on our site. Keep up the great writing