0:00 | -1:32:32 |
On today’s episode, first-time guest of The Remnant, Shadi Hamid joins Jonah for a comprehensive discussion on religion, identity, and the bizarre wokespeak favored by Twitter’s blue checkmark crowd. Have wokeism and ethno-nationalism superseded religion on the left and right respectively? Are Islam and classical liberalism compatible? And, crucially, can Jonah contain the annoyance that consumes him at the mere mention of Adrian Vermeule?
Show Notes:
- Shadi Hamid - Brookings Institution
- Shadi: “America Without God”
- Shadi’s podcast, Wisdom of Crowds
- They’re always eating candy at Brookings…
- Jonathan Haidt on moral psychology and religion
- Shadi on the “Church of Woke”
- Jonah: “The Definition of Dogma”
- Trump’s improved Muslim support in 2020
- Just 3% of Hispanics use Latinx
- 25% of black Democrats identify as conservative
- Shadi’s latest book, Islamic Exceptionalism
- Catholics vs. Libertarians in the 1960s
26 | 36 |
When you describe Nazism and Marxism as political religions, do listeners a favor, and remember that liberalism is equally so, even if there are very large differences in the nature of that religiosity.
(Under a microscope, everything is religious, and everything is political.)
On the "esprit de l'escalier" note - anytime someone tries to make the comment that "if you think abortion is wrong, don't get one" I always want to ask if they would say the same to an abolitionist. If you think slavery is evil, is it enough to simply refrain from owning slaves? If you think that abortion evil and is the immoral taking of an innocent human life, simply not engaging in the practice yourself is not enough.
Curious as to your thoughts, Jonah. I seem to remember that you're a bit ambivalent on the issue. But this is the response that pops into my mind when I hear that cliché - somewhat similar to your response to the Rawlsian "veil of ignorance" that nearly everyone would prefer the society where you actually get to be born.