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Temptations of Tyranny
Rod Dreher’s conflicted support for President Trump illustrates a broader crisis among intellectual conservatives who fear the "soft totalitarianism" of liberal institutions yet embrace the hard authoritarianism of executive overreach. Drawing on Hannah Arendt’s political thought, the essay contends that true freedom is preserved not through charismatic leaders but through the multiplication and decentralization of citizen power. Revitalizing democracy, it argues, requires stubborn, local acts of collective governance rather than the dangerous temptation to concentrate authority in a single figure.04-27-2025
Articles
Civil Disobedience and the Spirit of American Democracy
As fear and retaliation become tools of political control, this piece calls for collective dissent to defend democratic norms and constitutional freedoms under increasing pressure from the Trump administration.04-20-2025
Act like universities, not like businesses
Masha Gessen offers an example of how universities can and should resist the attacks on them. Their answer: Act like universities.04-20-2025
"Something has happened to the fabric of society"
This essay contrasts Mister Rogers' vision of neighborliness with the harsh treatment of legal immigrants in the United States, focusing on the case of Kseniia Petrova. It explores how class resentment and institutional silence have enabled arbitrary cruelty toward those who came here to contribute.04-13-2025
It’s Political Power, Stupid
Today’s populist revolts against globalization are not only economic in nature—they are fundamentally political. As Hannah Arendt warned, the elevation of economics over politics, especially under imperialism and globalization, leads to the collapse of political judgment and self-determination. Her historical analysis now reads like prophecy: we are witnessing the return of politics in its most raw and terrifying form.04-06-2025
On Misinformation
Audrey Tang, the Digital Minister of Taiwan for nearly a decade, is one the leading thinkers and practitioners of using technology to enhance public discourse.03-30-2025
Hannah Arendt and the Constitution of Freedom
This week I gave a lecture at the University of São Paulo in Brazil that asked, Why Law Alone Can’t Defend Democracy—and why Only Power Can Check Power.03-30-2025
When We Choose Knaves
The Alien and Enemies Act gives the President nearly unfettered power to expel non-citizens in times of war and the Supreme Court has given the President great leeway to determine what is and what is not a war. What we are witnessing is less a constitutional crisis than a cold and cruel manipulation of existing laws to stoke fear that is shocking to our humanist sensibilities. 03-23-2025
Democracy and Dissent
Today, it is worth recalling Arendt’s foundational defense of public dissent as well as her outspoken resistance to legalized denaturalization based on political opinions.03-16-2025
Public Memorial for Jerome Kohn
This Saturday March 22nd from 2 to 4 pm there will be a public memorial in New York City to honor the life and legacy of philosopher and Arendt scholar Jerome Kohn (1931-2024). Kohn’s influence on American public culture was felt through his monumental contributions to the reception of Hanah Arendt’s thought.03-16-2025