Daily Archives: February 27, 2021

Are conservatives more afraid of threats than liberals? Political psychologists have long found evidence that people on the right are more sensitive to scary stuff, on average, than people on the left, a basic psychological difference thought to drive some political disagreements between the two groups.

But new research suggests that's overly simplistic.

In a new international study, conservatives and liberals both responded to threats but they responded more strongly to different kinds of threats. And to make matters more complex, those responses don't always map nicely onto the political divide, or stay consistent from nation to nation.

Related: Why did the Democratic and Republican parties switch platforms?

"This link between threat and conservative beliefs, or conservative ideology, is just not simple," said study leader Mark Brandt, a psychology professor at Tilburg University in the Netherlands. "It depends on a lot of different things. It depends on the type of threats that we study; it depends on how we measure political beliefs and what kind of political beliefs that we measure; and it depends on the precise country that we're looking at."

Let's rewind to 2012, well before the 2016 election and the dramatic political fallout that's happened since. That year, psychologists reported that conservatives responded more strongly to scary images than liberals did on a basic biological level: They literally started sweating more. This tracked with earlier research suggesting that conservatives were more prone to disgust, on average, than liberals. Multiple studies reached similar conclusions.

It made for a neat story. People physiologically prone to fear and disgust would pay more attention to threats and thus turn to a conservative political ideology that promises safety and the status quo. But there was a lingering problem. Seventy-five percent of the research cited on the topic in one influential 2003 meta-analysis was done in the United States, and only 4% was conducted outside of Western democracies. Another problem? The definition of "threat" in most studies on the topic was usually narrow, focused on threats of violence or terrorism. Political persuasion was often defined narrowly too, without accounting for differences between social ideology and economic ideology.

"Many of the studies cited in support of this conclusion use threat measures or manipulations that exclusively tap threats emphasized by conservative elites," said Ariel Malka, a political psychologist at Yeshiva University who was not involved in the new study, referring to politicians and media figures.

This is a problem because the link between threats and politics can run both ways. For example, a recent POLITICO poll found that 70% of Republicans thought the 2020 election was marred by fraud, compared with only 10% of Democrats. Before the election, only 35% of Republicans thought the election would be fraudulent, and 52% of Democrats did. The post-election shift makes it pretty clear that people's fears of fraud are driven by party affiliation and messaging from party elites, not the other way around. If studies on threats focus on fears usually emphasized by conservatives, they're likely to find a connection between threat and conservatism.

Brandt and his colleagues wanted to broaden the scope. They turned to a dataset called the World Values Survey, which asked people from 56 different countries and territories about their perceptions of six different categories of threats, including war, violence, police violence, economics, poverty and government surveillance. Economic threats were broad-based worries about the job market and availability of education; poverty threats were more personal concerns about being able to put food on the table or pay for medical care. The survey also captured people's political beliefs in nuanced ways, ranging from whether they called themselves conservative or liberal to their individual opinions on immigration, government ownership of industry and abortion. Data on 60,378 participants was collected between 2010 and 2014.

The results were messy.

Economic fears were slightly associated with some left-wing beliefs, but not all. For example, a fear of personal poverty was linked with more acceptance of government ownership of industry, but fears about the wider economy weren't. The fear of war or terrorism was sometimes associated with right-wing beliefs, but reporting worries about violence within one's neighborhood was associated with left-wing beliefs, as was fear of police violence.

Related: How to actually stop police brutality, according to science

And there were many unexpected findings. The threat of war or terrorism was linked to left-wing beliefs on government ownership, for example, and economic worries were linked to left-wing beliefs on social issues. The threat of personal poverty was associated with right-wing views on social issues and on protectionist job policies that would reserve the highest-paid jobs for men and non-immigrants. What was clear was that threats and right-wing beliefs weren't married. There were six statistically significant associations between certain threats and conservative beliefs, nine associations between other threats and liberal beliefs, and 15 potential relationships between threat and belief that didn't turn out to correlate at all.

Making matters more complicated, the relationships between ideology and threats weren't consistent from nation to nation. For example a fear of war or terrorism was associated with left-wing beliefs in Kazakhstan just as strongly as a fear of war or terrorism was associated with right-wing beliefs in the United States. Likewise, Brandt told Live Science, experiencing the threat of poverty leads to left-wing beliefs in the U.S., but in Pakistan and Egypt, the threat of poverty is linked to right-wing belief.

If you look only at the United States, the researchers report, it's true that right-wing beliefs and a fear of war or terrorism go hand-in-hand. But expanding to other threats shows an inconsistent mix of associations. In other words, even in the U.S., conservatism and a physical sensitivity to threats aren't clearly linked.

It's not clear from the study which comes first, the political belief or the focus on a threat. It's possible that experiencing a particular threat moves people to adopt a certain political belief, but it's also possible, as with voter fraud in the 2020 election, that people adopt a political identity first and focus on specific threats as a result.

The new work is likely to be influential, said Bert Bakker, a political scientist at the University of Amsterdam who studies the relationship of personality and political ideology. Bakker was not involved in the current study, but his work has shown that the difference in disgust between conservatives and liberals may also be overstated.

"I am less certain about what we know about this now than I was a couple years ago," Bakker told Live Science.

It's still possible that people gravitate toward political beliefs for deep-seated psychological reasons, Brandt said.

"It's definitely plausible that people experience some threat or some event and then adopt this attitude," he said. "But what 'this attitude' is and the best one to address that threat might be different depending on the particular context."

There may also be other psychological reasons to associate with a political group, Malka noted. People have a social need to fit in, and may adopt attitudes that help them do so. Future research should focus more on how pre-existing political affiliation leads people to focus on different threats, he told Live Science.

Originally published on Live Science.

See the original post here:

Conservatives aren't more fearful than liberals, study finds - Livescience.com

A handful of collegeshave debuted health-related programs during the pandemic, and Salem College just joined their ranks.

The smallwomens liberal arts college in Winston-Salem, N.C., announced Wednesday that it will begin to offer three new health-related majors -- health sciences, health humanities and health advocacy and humanitarian systems -- beginning next fall. The college will also unveil a curriculum revamp that centers on leadership and health.

Despite what the announcements timing would suggest, Salems curricular changes were in the works long before the pandemic roiled colleges last spring. Susan Henking, interim president, said that the college's board and the campus worked together todevelop the new curriculum.

Several years ago, the college'sBoard of Trustees sought to differentiate Salem from other liberal arts institutions. Choosing a focus area helped the college resist the homogenization of American higher education, Henking said.

Its critical for liberal arts institutions to differentiate themselves and show students why the education they offer is relevant, said Rick Hesel, principal at Art & Science Group, a higher education consulting firm.

If they dont, I think their survival in the long term is in question, Hesel said. Weve done a number of studies on the liberal arts, and just the mere words give institutions a disadvantage, we found.

Salem is not the first liberal arts institution to try to break away from the pack. Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Ga., has its students focusing on leadership and global dynamics through a signature experience program called SUMMIT. Mills College in Oakland, Calif., also created a signature experience program several years ago.

Health is a particularly good focus area, Hesel said. Many colleges are currently looking to expand their health care and health-related programs. Saint Josephs University in Philadelphia recently announced a plan to acquire the University of the Sciences and along with it a slate of health sciences programs. A few years ago, Wheeling University in West Virginia gutted its liberal arts programs but left its health-care programs intact.

The handwriting is on the wall, Hesel said.We have an aging population.Theres a genomics revolution going on that provides encouraging promise for health care, so a lot of places are moving in this direction.

But many colleges are only looking to add health-care programs, and Salem is distinct in choosing to incorporate health into all its offerings, Hesel added.

Before it settled on health leadership, the board examined county-level data that answered questions about what career paths most interested high schoolers.It found that many potential college students were looking at health care. The new focus area fits the skill sets of current Salem students, too -- nearly 90 percent of Salem students who graduate with a degree from the natural sciences or mathematics departments are accepted into health-related programs, according to the college.

The board created a set of parameters for the curricular changes and then handed the reins over to the faculty.

The board has established a set of guiding expectations in terms of an overall trajectory for health leadership, said Daniel Prosterman, vice president for academic and student affairs and dean at Salem. In terms of the development of the majors, the decisions with regard to the curriculum and the co-curriculum, that was then completed by a campus-designed team thats composed of faculty leaders as well as a variety of members of staff from different sectors of the college.

Faculty members and college boards are notorious for clashing over curricular and programmatic changes, but that hasnt been the case at Salem, Henking and Prosterman said.

Faculty governance adjusted itself to be able to act more quickly -- without being asked to do so -- and has really taken a leadership role in a way that I think challenges that narrative that boards are fast and presidents are fast and faculty are slow, Henking said.

The new majors will not require any additional funding at this time, and the college doesnt plan to hire any new faculty or staff members to support the changes. Instead, Henking described funding for the new programs as a redeployment of resources. The college hopes to build on the new programs in the futureand may end up adding a few more employees. It will not cut any programs or employees in order to make room for the new majors.

We wish to build a lot more things over time that will require fundraising, and we are in the process of moving that forward in a fairly aggressive way, Henking said.

The new focus will hopefully attract new students as well as external partnerships, said Lucy Rose, a former Food and Drug Administration executive and global health-care consultant who isvice chair of Salem's board.

We expect this transformation to attract more students, partnerships and funding, Rose wrote in an email. Were excited that our plan, which will be implemented in phases, will offer us an opportunity to work with new partners and organizations that share in our values and will have a direct benefit in developing a new pipeline of women leaders in health.

Salem College's undergraduate enrollment has dropped in recent years. During the 2018-19 academic year, Salem enrolled only 677 full-time undergraduate students, compared with nearly 1,000 during the 2015-16 academic year. The college also enrolls some graduate students and adult learners who are older than 23.

Read the original post:

Salem College refocuses its curriculum on health and leadership - Inside Higher Ed

On a packed, sun-drenched oval at the University of Western Australia's "O Day", thousands of boisterous first-year students wander excitedly from stall to stall, signing up for as much fun as possible.

The euphoria is palpable. The pandemic is forgotten for now. The future is theirs for the taking.

Amid the sea of tents, the political parties are out in force, hoping to boost their young membership and win some votes, ahead of the WA state election on March 13.

A bizarre cardboard cut-out of the Queen is propped precariously against the Young Liberals' stall while just around the corner, at Young Labor's tent, a similar life-size model of Labor Premier, Mark McGowan, is attracting a lot more attention.

Selfies with "Markie", who has been experiencing rock-star treatment over his handling of COVID-19, are definitely a thing for these first-time voters.

But, pressed on what they care about as the election draws closer, almost all of the students who spoke to the ABC turn a little more serious, nominating "secure jobs" and "climate change" as two of the most important issues.

Molly Standish, a computer science student, said she was excited to be voting for the first time.

"Climate change is a very important thing to me," she said.

"I think I'd like to have an environment that is around for my kids and my kids' kids."

That brings us to one of the more remarkable aspects of the highly unusual election campaign unfolding in the west.

The WA Liberal opposition stunned just about everyone when it departed from the party's traditional non-committal stance on climate change and vowed to close coal-fired power stations within four years, setting a target for Government to reach net zero emissions by 2030.

The politics, the policies and the people. We've collected all our coverage on the election campaign here.

Its New Energy Jobs Plan, which includes boosting wind and solar to power a hydrogen export industry, has been ridiculed by Labor as likely to cost billions and lead to huge job losses, higher bills and black-outs.

Since then, the Liberal leader Zac Kirkup has all but raised the white flag, admitting the party could be decimated by a Labor landslide.

But, by kicking the ball onto the climate debate field, renewable energy groups say the Liberals have "lifted the bar" on cutting down on fossil fuels and this could have lasting consequences, beyond the election.

Ian Porter has 45 years experience working in the oil, gas, power and nuclear industries.

He now heads up a volunteer lobby group, Sustainable Energy Now WA, and says the Liberals' surprise policy has changed the dynamics around the debate.

"I think the Liberal Party's policy is definitely stronger because they have said all state-based assets will be carbon-free by 2030," Mr Porter said.

"Labor has an aspirational target, it's not actually a legislated target, they're saying net zero by 2050.

"I think we're going to see that the Labor Party will be forced to move to this new platform of much tougher environmental policy moving forward."

WA Labor announced its climate policy late last year, topping it up earlier this month with a promise of $240 million to build standalone power systems, including solar and batteries, across the state's regions.

It has also released a 20-year blueprint for the future of WA's main electricity system, but gives no set deadline for closing all coal-fired power stations, saying they still play an important role in the power mix.

Mr Porter said the electricity and transport sectors were the "low-hanging fruit" to bring down WA's emissions.

According to the latest available figures, Australia's total emissions for the year to June 2020 fell 16.6 per cent from 2005 levels.

However, the most recent state-wide figures available show that WA's emissions increased by 21.1 per cent between 2005 and 2018, while in every other state, they fell.

"WA is one of the most carbon-intensive places in the world," Mr Porter said.

"We represent an enormous carbon footprint on a per capita basis.

"The problem with [emission] targets for the Government is that they have the gas industry lobby behind them giving them a lot of pressure."

Australia's peak oil and gas body released its state election platform warning against impromptu decision making and state-based targets for carbon emissions.

WA Director of the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, Claire Wilkinson, said she was not aware of Liberal policy before the party's announcement and decisions made without consultation with industry ran the risk of deterring investment in projects.

"It didn't talk about natural gas which is surprising given nearly half our energy supply in Western Australia is powered by gas and it's got a really big role to play as we move towards a cleaner energy future," she said.

"Climate change should be addressed at a national level with policies that are consistent with the Paris agreement.

"We don't see that the states have a need, or a requirement, to set state targets."

"APPEA and our companies actually already have quite a strong focus on reducing emissions and many have got targets of net zero emissions by 2050, if not before."

In the south-west coal town of Collie, the shire president, Sarah Stanley, is scathing about the Liberal Party's proposed shutdown of coal-fired power.

"It's an ambitious policy. Obviously it's one that a lot of us would like to see at some point in the future a zero emissions energy environment but we've got to keep in mind the reality of bringing that to bear," she said.

"What voters need to keep in mind is that we want reliable electricity across our gridit needs to be cheap, it needs to be there when we need it."

In an election overshadowed by the popularity of a Premier, others issues have been sidelined and the Liberal Party's energy policy is a "difficult sell" to its own base, according to Notre Dame University political analyst, Martin Drum.

But Mr Drum said it did have the potential to shift the conversation around climate policy, if it was a lasting Liberal position.

"The difficult thing is that when you announce that you are going to take action on climate change, it's very difficult to walk that back," he said.

"Kevin Rudd found that out in 2010.

"The Liberal policy does have the potential to push Labor further with their own policies around the generation of power in WA.

"It allows the Liberal Party to aggressively attack Labor on that issue on energy policyover the next three to four years, if we don't see action in that area.

"It could be what we might call a two-term strategy where you announce something even if you can't win an election.

"By the next time around, it's suddenly a lot more appealable."

In the meantime, Ian Porter, one of WA's 1,500 electric vehicle drivers, is encouraged by both the major parties' promises to upgrade the state's fast-charging network although he says much more needs to be done to incentivise the uptake of EVs.

He called for bi-partisanship after the March 13 election.

"To put climate at the forefront," he said.

"Not for the sake of old guys like me but for the young people."

Rob Dean, the chair of the Tesla Owners Club of WA wants more certainty on the time-line for rolling out the new EV infrastructure.

Currently, there are no fast-charging stations north of Geraldton.

"To make electric cars go mainstream, we need DC charging, fast charging where people are not inconvenienced, where they have enough time to stop, have a cup of coffeeand then keep going," he said.

"The policies from the two major parties are quite good.

"The fear among a lot of electric vehicle owners is that that policy will take a long time to enact.

"Most politicians think that we won't be moving to renewables and electric vehicles until after 2030.

"It's going to happen a lot sooner than that, so they need to start acting now."

Original post:

WA election changes the conversation on climate change - ABC News

Controversial backbencher Craig Kelly has quit the Liberal Party.

Mr Kelly handed his letter of resignation to Prime Minister Scott Morrison during today's party room meeting.

He said he would sit on the crossbench but will continue to provide supply for the government meaning he will vote with the government on bills or legislation related to the budget.

He also said he would vote with the government on all policies that were taken to the last election.

Mr Kelly was recently criticised by the Prime Minister for pushing alternative therapies for COVID-19 and for spreading misinformation about vaccines on social media.

He said he did not want to be a distraction to the government and did not want Mr Morrison to have to keep answering questions about things he posted, instead of the messages he wanted to get across.

The move will mean the government will now have a one-seat majority in the House of Representatives, but will have to provide a speaker currently Tony Smith who oversees the chamber.

That means the government has 75 seats out of 151 sitting on its benches, one less than is needed for an outright majority.

Mr Kelly said the decision to quit the party was not easy, and was made "with a very heavy heart".

"I felt that for the rest of this parliamentary term, if I'm going to act and speak according to my conscience and beliefs, that I can do so more effectively as an independent," he said.

Shortly after quitting the Liberal Party, Mr Kelly was visited by One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts and Katter's Australian Party leader Bob Katter.

Mr Kelly confirmed he would run in the next election but ruled out joining a different party.

"My beliefs are still closely aligned with the Liberal Party," he said.

He said he had not given any thought to re-joining the Liberal Party if asked.

Mr Kelly said being dressed down by Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently did not lead to his decision to quit.

The controversial MP had to be spoken to more than once by Mr Morrison after repeatedly posting about unproven coronavirus treatments and questioning the safety of vaccines on his Facebook page.

The Prime Minister made it clear he expected the backbencher to follow and respect the health advice from officials.

Mr Morrison said "the government will continue to function" without Mr Kelly.

"[Craig and I] had a discussion a couple of weeks ago as you'll be aware," he said.

"I set out some very clear standards and he made some commitments that I expected to be followed through on.

"He no longer felt that he could meet those commitments, but I can tell you, my standards don't change."

The Prime Minister said he learned of Mr Kelly's resignation when he announced it to the party room.

Here is the original post:

Controversial backbencher Craig Kelly quits Liberal Party to sit on the crossbench - ABC News

QUEBEC CITY -- Liberal education critic Marwah Rizqy says CAQ Premier Francois Legault's flagship promise, which he put his seat at stake over, was only empty words.

The Liberal education spokesperson reacted Thursday to the Legault government's announcement that it will take two more years to create 2,600 kindergarten classes for four-year-olds.

She said that parents are the ones losing out, since the two ministers who represent them, Jean-Francois Roberge (Education) and Mathieu Lacombe (Family), were unable to deliver.

Kindergarten classes for four-year-olds is a new, non-compulsory program still being phased in across the province.

The CAQ's campaign platform included the opening of 5,000 preschool classes during its first mandate. This figure then fell to 3,400 and then to 2,600.

The Ministry of Education issued a brief news release Wednesday at 5 p.m. to announce that it "now plans to open all [kindergarten] classes [for four-year-olds] by 2025-2026."

The ministry says the delay is being caused by "availability of premises and manpower."

Meanwhile, construction cost estimates of have exploded. The average amount to create a new four-year-old kindergarten class, estimated at $120,000 during the election campaign, is now $800,000.

Rizqy said the facts caught up with the CAQ.

"They were in a world parallel to ours," she said. "They denied the shortage of teachers. Shortage of premises, they denied. Today, the facts are stubborn and catching up to them."

"Not only are there no places in four-year-old kindergartens, the waiting list in childcare centres has grown," she said. "The two ministers in family and in education have failed parents."

For months, Legault has maintained that the CAQ's promises will be fulfilled, even in spite of the pandemic.

On Jan. 28, Legault said his government "will still to be able to keep ... all the electoral promises we made during the 2018 campaign."

"So that means, among other things, in education, the development of four-year-old kindergartens, the addition of services for children with learning difficulties, the renovation of schools, [and] the construction of beautiful schools."

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2021.

The rest is here:

Liberals accuse Francois Legault's CAQ government of not being able to deliver on its flagship promise - CTV News Montreal

In a letter sent to the partys administrative committee, and seen by The Age, Mr Quick said he was considering asking Prime Minister Scott Morrison to personally intervene and sanction those involved.

The intra-party moderate group that includes Mr Clark and Mr Quick and dominates the Victorian Liberal Party is in an ongoing feud with the conservative faction, including the Treasurer and Health Minister along with Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar and former president Michael Kroger.

Health Minister Greg Hunt (left) has distanced himself from the internal ructions, which threaten to draw in Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The latest edition of Grassroots, which carried the accusations about Mr Clark and Mr Quick, also included words that mirrored an earlier press release from Mr Hunt spruiking the COVID-19 vaccine. That inclusion led some in the party to believe Mr Hunt had contributed to the newsletter but a spokesperson for Mr Hunt said he was unaware of the newsletter or its authors.

Mr Hunt faces being dragged into a messy legal stoush after Mr Quick wrote to the partys administrative committee, saying he was considering defamation action and calling on federal MPs to identify the anonymous authors.

While initiating legal action opens up a variety of digital discovery and subpoena options, there ... is a simpler way to find out who was involved, he wrote.

Loading

A number of party members have written articles specifically for Grassroots, we simply need to ask them who they gave the articles to.

Mr Quick said he was considering asking Mr Morrison to intervene and potentially sanction those involved. He called on Mr Hunt and other MPs to explain their role, if any, in Grassroots.

I am currently considering sending a letter to the Prime Minister requesting him to do something about the behaviour of some Victorian Federal MPs, Mr Quick said in the email.

Mr Quick said the MPs could be sanctioned by the party for failing to assist in identifying the authors.

The factional feud comes as the state opposition attempts to reboot its political fortunes. Fresh from a three-day strategy meeting on the Mornington Peninsula, the Victorian Liberals have set up four campaign policy groups to focus on ideas before next years election.

A Victorian anti-corruption probe into developer John Woodman centres on his influence in political circles. Credit:Justin McManus

In a reversal from the 2018 election, the party is expected to move away from social policies and focus on jobs, the economy and improving liveability in Victoria after months of strict lockdowns in 2020.

The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) is investigating Mr Woodman over allegations he bribed councillors and sought to influence politicians through donations.

Late last year, The Age reported that Mr Frydenberg appeared at a fundraiser that was also attended by a close associate of the controversial developer, who was raided as part of the IBAC probe. The article also included a reference to Mr Hunt ordering a $5000 contribution to his election campaign from Lorraine Wreford, an associate of Mr Woodman, be sent to charity after IBAC launched its public hearings.

Our Morning Edition newsletter is a curated guide to the most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign uphere.

Paul is a Victorian political reporter for The Age.

Annika is state political editor for The Age.

See the article here:

Victorian Liberals threaten to call in the PM over treachery claims - The Age

Mishra insists that liberalism cannot so easily shed this baggage. The chaos, violence, and snarling ideologies of imperial rule in Africa, Asia, and Latin America fed directly into the wars that would dismember and reshape the world. Colonies, Mishra writes, were the crucible where the sinister tactics of Europes brutal twentieth-century warsracial extermination, forced population transfers, contempt for civilian liveswere first forged. The German Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt recognized this in her 1951 classic The Origins of Totalitarianism, where she described how Europeans reordered humanity into master and slave races in ways that prefigured the decimation of the world wars and the Holocaust. But as Mishra points out, anti-colonial thinkers in Asia such as the Chinese reformer Liang Qichao and the Indian writer Aurobindo Ghose had already come to that conclusion decades before Arendt, keenly seeing how the Wests brutality overseas now consumed it in the inferno of World War I. The experience of mass death and destruction, suffered by most Europeans only after 1914, was first widely known in Asia and Africa, where land and resources were forcefully usurped, economic and cultural infrastructure was systematically destroyed, and entire populations were eliminated with the help of up-to-date bureaucracies, Mishra writes. Europes equilibrium was parasitic for too long on disequilibrium elsewhere.

That dynamic persisted into the Cold War, as the contest between the West and the Soviet Unionbetween the enlightened liberal world and the fallen authoritarian oneobscured the widespread violence perpetrated on behalf of liberalism in the twentieth century, in killing fields as varied as Indonesia, Congo, and Nicaragua. And it continuedeven acceleratedafter the collapse of the Soviet Union, when the United States embraced a far more militarized foreign policy, leading to nearly 200 military interventions since 1992 (the United States conducted around 50 military interventions between the end of World War II and 1991). Thanks to both education and cultural insularity, people in the West (and in the United States in particular) often struggle to see just how entangled they are in the world. The greatest contribution of Mishras work is its indefatigable insistence that places long considered marginal belong in the foreground of modern political history. He isnt just interested in righting the balance between the West and the rest; he questions whether one can even separate the two.

What distinguishes Mishras energetic and often pugilistic writing is not necessarily the point of its attackthe withering, if familiar, broadsides against the callous actions of Western powers and postcolonial statesbut rather its angle. Mishra sees the present as a historian; the tremors on the surface reveal deep currents. In an especially merciless piece on Brexit, for instance, he compares Britains departure from the European Union to the countrys retreat from empire and consequent loss of identity, showing how the ineptitude of colonial-era Britons abroad now defines the split from Europe. The malign incompetence of the Brexiteers, he writes, was precisely prefigured during Britains exit from India in 1947, most strikingly in the lack of orderly preparation for it. The same class of posh eternal schoolboys that crafted the disastrous partition of Indiaresulting in upwards of a million deathsnow aspired to cleave the country from Europe. Ordinary British people stand to suffer from the untreatable exit wounds once inflicted by Britains bumbling chumocrats on millions of Asians and Africans.

In other essays, Mishra reminds readers that The Economist supported the Confederacy in the nineteenth century and hailed the rise of Mussolini in the twentieth. (The magazine would also offer its backing to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.) And he recounts the bigotry that underlay the internationalism of President Woodrow Wilson (a legacy that recently saw the presidents name scrubbed from Princetons School of Public and International Affairs) as a harbinger for future interventions in the name of liberal values. The New Republic, Mishra notes acidly, described President George W. Bush in buoyant terms after U.S. troops entered Iraq as the most Wilsonian president since Wilson himself.

Read more here:

Pankaj Mishra's Reckoning With Liberalism's Bloody Past - The New Republic