This post is a recent op-ed by Ezra Klein from the New York Times. Here's a link to the original. It draws on his terrific new book, Abundance, coauthored with Derek Thompson. It's about a core problem facing the country and the Democratic Party, which is that we have made it near impossible to build major … Continue reading Ezra Klein — You Try to Build Anything, and You’re Stepping into Quicksand
This post is an essay about the formation of the US common school system, which was responsible for forming the American republic during a period in the early 19th century when its survival was in doubt. The essay is an extended excerpt from the second chapter of my book, Someone Has to Fail. I'm posting … Continue reading Formation of the US Common School System
This post is an essay by Frank Fukuyama that was published recently in Persuasion. Here's a link to the original. And here's a link to a PDF of the original. Here he explores an argument I strongly support, namely that liberals have forgotten that we used to deploy the powers of government to build things. More … Continue reading Francis Fukuyama — Our Hamiltonian Moment
This post is an essay by Francis Fukuyama that recently appeared in Persuasion. Here's a link to the original. Societies are built on trust, and the most successful ones have the broadest foundation of trust. The US has long been seen as a high-trust society, from the time that Tocqueville toured the country. But, as … Continue reading Francis Fukuyama — The Crisis of Trust
This piece was published in Inside Higher Ed in June, 2020. Here’s a link to the original. It speaks for itself. The argument here seems particularly pertinent in light of the current conflicts on campuses across the country over free speech and the war between Israel and Hamas. DOCTORAL DYSFUNCTION Many doctoral students today are tending to fall into … Continue reading Doctoral Dysfunction
This post is an essay by Francis Fukuyama in the latest issue of American Purpose. Here's a link to the original. It's part of a series of pieces he wrote for the magazine in defense of the Deep State, the specialized bureaucracies that allow the modern state to function effectively while political leaders come and … Continue reading Francis Fukuyama — Balancing Bureaucratic Autonomy and Political Control: Covid Lessons
This piece was published in Inside Higher Ed in June, 2020. Here’s a link to the original. It speaks for itself. It also appears in my new book, Being a Scholar: Reflections on Doctoral Study, Scholarly Writing, and Academic Life. DOCTORAL DYSFUNCTION Many doctoral students today are tending to fall into one of two disturbing categories: academic … Continue reading Doctoral Dysfunction
This post is an essay by Michael Ignatieff published in the most recent issue of Liberties. Here's a link to the original. What he's talking about is independent thinking. Universities are supposed to be places where we teach people how to think for themselves, he says, but all too often we teach people to think like … Continue reading Michael Ignatieff: Epistemological Panic, or Thinking for Yourself
This post is a lovely op-ed by Walter Parker, which appeared recently in the Seattle Times. Here's a link to the original. Walter is an emeritus professor of civic education at University of Washington. This essay draws on his forthcoming book, Education for Liberal Democracy. The topic could not be more timely. Democracy dies without … Continue reading Walter Parker — Democracy Dies without Trust or Truth: Shore Up Civics in Schools
This post is a lovely analysis by David Brooks that appeared in a recent column. Here's a link to the original. He's talking about a major problem facing liberal democracies, which relates to the analysis by Francis Fukuyama in his new book, Liberalism and Its Discontents, which I discussed in my post on May 19. … Continue reading David Brooks — How Democrats Can Win the Morality Wars
David Labaree on Schooling, History, and Writing 