Michael Walzer’s admiration for American pluralism, always more than a bit romantic, turns out to have a dark side different from the one usually noted. The latter stresses the wages of abstract universalism: marginal groups are compelled to assimilate or face overt or tacit oppression. But there is a risk stemming directly from pluralism itself: […]

All the handwringing about waning trust in journalism obscures a crucial fact. Sure, the profit motive, the changing political economy of media, and lots of other factors are in play. But suppose journalism could live up to its ideal. What would this mean? The normative benchmark in the profession is investigative reporting. Think “Spotlight.” This […]

In “Jokes and their Relation to the Unconscious,” Freud writes: Two Jews met in a railway carriage at a station in Galicia. “Where are you going?” asked one. “To Cracow,” was the answer. “What a liar you are!” broke out the other. “If you say you’re going to Cracow, you want me to believe you’re […]