Where Do We Go After Anti-Wokeness? Dissident Dialogues Offered An Inspiration and A Warning

A battle between classical liberalism and collectivism.

In our hyper-connected world, it increasingly seems there’s always an emergency or ideology threatening to alter our lives. When the stakes feel high, and we feel desperate, anything that appears it could keep threats at bay will call to us. But often, “anything” is a thing that imperils the very life we’re trying to protect: internment camps for Japanese-Americans, anti-hate speech laws, and the PATRIOT Act. It’s harder than ever to retain our principles in such times, but if we fail, we risk displacing the external threat only to become an even greater threat ourselves.

Today, the classical liberalism that made America uniquely successful faces challenges it hasn’t seen in decades.

When Critical Race Theory-inspired leftists defended riots and looting in the name of “retributive justice,” I defended the classical liberal principle of treating all people according to the rule of law. When COVID-inspired authoritarians defended lockdowns and forced vaccination in the name of “public saf…