New in Civitas: “Eliminating Liberal Institutional Asymmetries”

Civitas published my new essay, titled Eliminating Liberal Institutional Asymmetries. This piece ties together several themes I’ve discussed in recent months. From the introduction:

Since the New Deal, progressives have captured virtually every public institution and most private institutions in America. This result should not be surprising. O’Sullivan’s First Law proclaims, “All organizations that are not actually right-wing will over time become left-wing.” The all-too-common fear that power will be abused in the future presumes that power is not already being abused, regardless of who wins elections. When Democrats are in power, these institutions tend to instinctively support Democrats. When Republicans are in control, those institutions instinctively resist Republicans. Given these asymmetries, concerns about what would happen when the shoe is on the other foot are misplaced. Perhaps the single greatest opportunity of our current political moment is to eliminate these entrenched institutional asymmetries permanently. The political playing field should be level, allowing both sides of the political aisle to compete evenly in the arena of ideas. 

I focus on three asymmetries: the civil service, the academy, and the legal profession.

I hope this essay stimulates some debate. See you all at NLC!