2023 round-up
It’s the end of 2023, so here’s a round-up of some pieces from this year.
Realignment: Readers know that one of my big interests is the prospect of a broader political and policy realignment. For instance, I’ve been tracking the evolving structure of the major American political coalitions. Drawing on a new political science study, I discussed how the Democratic coalition is now thoroughly “U-shaped” (dependent upon a coalition of the rich and low-income voters). John Judis and Ruy Teixeira’s Where Have All the Democrats Gone? further illustrates how and why Democrats have lost ground with working-class voters and the cultural middle.
The bigger political “realignment” has implications for the Republican coalition, too. I think, for instance, that even polling showing the importance of cultural issues for Republican voters does not mean that pro-worker economic policies are not also important for revitalizing the GOP. While GOP voters are mixed on economic policy, many elected Republicans (such as Ron DeSantis) are trying to create a fusion of populist elements and more traditional policies. This new fusion may be a way of finding new alliances within the political right, as some new thinking on immigration may demonstrate.
A domestic political realignment is in part a response to bigger changes that can also be seen on the global stage. Japan, for example, has also announced a pivot toward resilience in the post-pandemic era.
Events, Events: As usual, I also wrote on current events this year. In addition to National Review and City Journal, I started contributing to UnHerd and the UK Telegraph. I wrote on the many battles within the Republican majority (?) of the House of Representatives. I surveyed the Republican primary—including the idea of a “normie insurgency.” (We’ll have to see whether that insurgency gets any traction next year.) I wrote on the potential third-party runs of RFK, Jr. and Joe Manchin. I looked at the struggles of the Biden administration, from its border policies to the paradox of its battle for the “soul of the nation.”
I also commented on these issues and more for the new media company CenterClip, which offers a feed of mini-podcasts.
Some other highlights:
I really enjoyed recording this podcast with Enduring Interest on Norman Podhoretz’s classic memoir Making It. (Each episode of Enduring Interest is organized around an important work or figure, and I’m glad to see that the podcast is now hosted on Ricochet.)
Digging into intellectual history, I sketched out the various traditions of freedom in American culture (part of a bigger project of mine).
How do we preserve the distinctively human in the digital age?
How the upsurge of antisemitism reveals the hazards of the “reckoning.”
What would loneliness policy look like?
Biden’s “guns and butter” predicament.
On the different flavors of American political economy.
Whose democracy, which authoritarianism? (A piece that unfortunately has grown only more relevant as partisans have leaned into a politics of crisis.)
What the Barbie movie is really about. (Far from my most-read piece, but one of my favorites this year.)
I’ve got some exciting projects in the works for 2024, so stay tuned.
Thanks so much for reading over the past year, and I wish everyone all the best in the year ahead!