Tag Archives: Richard Rorty

Essay: Reading Richard Rorty’s “Achieving Our Country” Published on Medium and Substack (and announcing The Clarity Factory)

Posted on December 9, 2021 by Steven Yates

This essay examines the late philosopher Richard Rorty’s alleged prediction of the rise of Donald Trump as well as the background. This includes Rorty’s conception of the difference between Right and Left, the Two Lefts that have influenced American politics and culture respectively, and how the inability of the Cultural Left to speak to matters of economic concern to mostly rural and working whites fueled Donald Trump’s rise. After an assessment of what Rorty got right versus what he got wrong, I conclude with a few remarks about where we might go next. Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Election 2016 and Aftermath, Philosophy, Political Economy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Look Behind the Cultural Marxism Controversy: A Sort of Introduction

Posted on March 10, 2018 by Steven Yates

[Author’s note: this developed in response to an exchange of opinions on a Facebook forum, during which it became clear to me that any fruitful advance of the discussion called for something more detailed than could be attempted in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Higher Education Generally, Political Economy, Where is Civilization Going? | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

What Should Philosophy Do? (Part 1)

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Steven Yates

Inspiring this series of posts (I’m thinking there might again be three) is John Horgan’s series on “What Is Philosophy’s Point?” in Scientific American (five installments, here, here, here, here, and here). I should begin by saying that I am … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Where Is Philosophy Going? | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments