The Poverty of Progressivism: A Response to My Critics

Two brief anecdotes: (1) For two months I eagerly awaited the Fall Dissent, pleased as could be about the excellent symposium that my essay spurred. When it arrived I immediately phoned my uncle, a staunch, lifelong trade unionist and a genuine New York liberal. “Pick up a copy of Dissent!” I urged him. “Dissent?” he replied. “What’s that?”

(2) I am currently teaching a senior undergraduate seminar at Indiana University on the decline of liberalism in America. I have placed the symposium on “The Poverty of Progressivism” on reserve. I ask the class if any of them has ever heard of Dissent. I expect at least a few of them to know of the magazine, since one of the students is a very libe...