Definitely Ordinary and Not At All Weird
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Definitely Ordinary and Not At All Weird
Tyrannopopulism, the truth about horse racing, and more
May 18, 2023
In this week’s issue of Public Seminar, our contributors explore the politics of camping, the courage of E. Jean Carroll, the appeal of liberalism, and much more.
State Power
Geoffrey Kurtz reviews Patrick J. Deenen’s Regime Change: Toward a Postliberal Future (Sentinel, June 2023) and challenges the political theorist’s vision of “common good” conservatism. “What if Deneen’s ‘ordinary people’ don’t want to be led by Aristotelians devoted to virtue and stability? If the ‘social pathology’ and taste for ‘brusqueness’ of Trump’s voters run as deeply as Deneen suggests, then the political style that best matches that electorate’s mood may well be the tyrannopopulism (as Deneen might call it) of Trump and his imitators.” (May 16, 2023)
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Language Matters
“Horse racing activates ‘best in breed’ thinking. Pursuing the best, most perfectly bred animal is not a new concept. It has its roots in the Renaissance, another heyday for horse racing, and contributed to the evolution of the idea of race.” Behind the dust of the Kentucky Derby, Mackenzie Cooley finds a tradition with quasi-eugenic ideals. (May 10, 2023)
Like viruses, the keywords of our debates mutate as they spread, writes Harold James. “For instance, the terms capitalism and socialism describe continually evolving ways of understanding how the world was, and should be, organized. But now both have just become scare terms.” (May 15, 2023)
#MeToo
“I wanted to meet people. I just … the music had stopped.” After Donald J. Trump assaulted her in a dressing room, E. Jean Carroll’s life changed forever. Claire Potter celebrates the candor and courage of Carroll’s civil suit against the former president. (May 11, 2023)
Here Comes Summer
In the latest episode of the Past Present podcast, Nicole Hemmer, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, and Neil J. Young unpack the history of camping as an American pastime. (May 16, 2023)
Definitely Ordinary and Not At All Weird
One of the best things about Thursday, apart from its proximity to Friday, is that it means the arrival of another issue of Public Seminar. Always a pleasure to read.