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It's funny to see people talk about Michael Lind as conservative or right-wing populist or whatever when he is obviously center-left under any definition that would be commonly understood just a few years ago. Obviously he doesn't share all of goals of This Thing of Ours, and
still less so people like Krein, Douthat, or Ahmari, who are, no mistaking it, conservatives (though still liberals, since American conservatives are of course also liberals). The reason why those people have all been able to write things recently that usefully describe some
essential features of what is happening right now isn't because of some kind of special analytical powers that derive from petit-bourgeois right ideology. It's simply that it's far easier to take an unflinching look at the left, if you stand outside of it. This is an indictment
of intellectual bankruptcy on the left but it's not to call into question the intelligence of every left writer or academic. There are obviously smart people--much smarter than me--who are capable of seeing things about the class structure of the left. Indeed many of them do,
which is why you will occasionally see someone like Moyn or Singh recommending an article by one of the above writers. But ultimately you can't be radically honest about this if you are still holding on to the notion that some part of the current moment signals an insurgent
wave of class struggle politics. Probably the thing that makes Aimee and Angela SO "bad" and that places them so far outside the realm of acceptability isn't any specific thing they advocate for but the willingness to call into question the whole enterprise of the Left™.
This is far more unpardonable than holding a few personally conservative views, or of pushing back on some specific proposals (defund the police, etc.), of advocating particular tactical strategies not currently in vogue, or being "anti-idpol," or whatever else. Any of those
will lead to denunciations from some quarters, but those disagreements are perfectly compatible with market segmentation and in many ways mutually beneficial. To extend @kboulos79's analogy of the hot air balloon the left is building to go to the moon, these are like advocating
for specific design changes, and doing so creates more opportunities for more little entrepreneurs to supply those demands for prototypes and materials. To circle back to the question of shared goals: it's almost completely irrelevant right now. Anyone who is trying to point
out the painfully obvious truth--"hot air balloons don't fly in space, chief"-- is an ally at this moment. We don't need prescriptions for "fully automated luxury communism" or debates about what the family structure should look like after the overthrow of capitalism. We need
more rigorous analysis about the trajectory we are on before we can even think about where the opportunities might be to do something different. Think--just think--about what it would honestly take just to build a movement that get something like Medicare for All.
Broadly, there's only two about it as far as I'm aware: either you go outside of existing legal/political structures (some kind of revolution or dual power scheme, I guess) or you work through them. Is the left building something capable of doing either of these? The first barely
merits discussion. On the second, whether you are trying to build a new party or think you can work through an existing party structure, what would it take to win a majority that could enact M4A or larger "socialist" goals? You would need to elect "socialists" to a majority
of the seats in the House, a supermajority in a Senate, and the presidency. These people would have to support your goals in actuality, not just as abstract proposals with no current hope of passing. You would need to win not just in Brooklyn, but in some places that are
extremely rural and that, like it or not, have disproportionate representation in the system we have inherited. And no you can't talk about "fighting dirty," packing the court, abolishing the Senate, etc. You would need to win FIRST before doing those things and if those are your
goals, guess what, you're not going to fucking win. Again, ask yourself, is the left building something that is capable of doing this? Is there even any kind of left that has this as its objective? Stop, think, pull your head out of your ass.
