Recent links of note:
“Making Europe Safe for Nationalism, and Vice Versa”
Jeffrey Gedmin, The American Interest
The halls of power in downtown Brussels may be the last corner of the continent in which Euroskepticism isn’t yet on the rise, but Jeffrey Gedmin of Georgetown University believes that the days will be numbered for these EU get-togethers unless European elites wake up to the trend. Writing in The American Interest, Gedmin cites monetary and migratory woes to proclaim that the dream of an integrated Europe is over, and urges leaders throughout the continent to start planning for a “soft landing.” The toughest task will be sorting through the different styles of nationalism that are vying to replace the Pan-European spirit, some of which are compatible with cooperation and free trade, but some of which are protectionist and outwardly aggressive. Persuading the arbiters of the EU to look forward with frank sense will be no small task itself—Gedmin points out that integration plays as much a part in elite European thinking as independence does in American politics. But for those who believe that there’s something worth saving in Europe’s Postwar order, it would be wise not to choose a daydream of unity over a stable and practical new status quo.
“Atlas Aggregated”
Walter Kirn, Harper’s Magazine
An international wave of populist movements has turned the world’s attention to the democratization of politics, but, as Up in the Air author Walter Kirn points out, democracy has crept into every corner of modern life. Kirn starts his discussion of the new anti-elitism with a surgeon’s tale of how his patients’ feedback was increasingly allowed to override his professional opinion. Kirn himself admits to having only taken offense at the discarding of elite opinion when he saw that the masses had stormed the gates of his own profession with a website that assigned numerical ratings to works of literature. The essay mounts a rare defense of the role elites play in creating and critiquing culture—Kirn openly pines for the days when titans of industry struck out in bold directions, rather than focusing on “systems to please everybody all the time” à la today’s tech geniuses. Prestige, not popularity, spurs true geniuses to produce excellence—excellence which leaves us masses more enriched than if we had handcuffed genius with our own demands.
“Why Tories are so excited about Theresa May”
James Forsyth, The Spectator
When David Cameron announced his plan to resign in the wake of the Brexit vote, Britain’s Conservative Party seemed poised to suffer nine weeks of torment as members vied for the top spot. Now, just three weeks after the competition began, the Tories are not only relieved to have dodged a self-massacre, but are also delighted with the winner that emerged. The Spectator’s James Forsyth, a vocal Brexiteer and proud Tory himself, raved about Theresa May on the day after Queen Elizabeth officially granted her the premiership. Forsyth seems to have been moved to praise May from every possible angle, from her middle-class roots and long path to 10 Downing to her transparent, duty-driven style of leadership. As Britain approaches its first days of independence, May’s supporters and skeptics alike will be hoping that Forsyth’s profile rings true.
From our pages:
“What does it matter?”
James Bowman
On Black Lives Matter and what truly matters in the public sphere.