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**** Are Young Men Really Becoming More Sexist?

In this episode of “Good on Paper,” @JerusalemDemsas tries to “untangle some of the reasons young men may be feeling disaffected and reacting differently than young women to macroeconomic and political trends.” https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/archive/2024/12/young-men-sexist/681034/?gift=yGKGqaI9BMfIDuch_TrGYUD31APQ3VI2HHEZYpNtNTM&utm_source=email&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social

Evans: I lived a naughty life. I lived in the English countryside, so we had a big treehouse and all sorts of naughty things going on. But anyway, less of my naughtiness, but yes, people interacting in person is really important, going back to the contact hypothesis and building empathy. And then we can also think about these algorithms. So if it’s the case that corporate algorithms are creating a skewed sense of what people see, and creating an unrealistic depiction of social life, then that’s something we could regulate, as we might regulate other areas. So I think those would be the three things for me: the reducing the status competition by boosting the supply of housing, encouraging empathy with more personal interactions by getting kids off their phones, and also thinking about how do you change the algorithm so that people don’t see this distorted sense of humanity, which is just making them think that other people are crazy, when actually, most people are pretty moderate and towards the middle.

 

******** Philosopher Michael Sandel on What Trump’s Win Says About American Society | Amanpour and Company

https://youtu.be/Um017R5Kr3A?si=nqtbWCADyNsI9L0K

To make sense of the election, we must first understand the discontent that gave Donald Trump the victory. This is the theory of Harvard professor and political philosopher Michael Sandel. He joins the show to discuss the polarization that fueled Trump’s campaign, and the failure of the Democrats to present themselves as the party of change. Originally aired on November 15, 2024

**** How Liberal America Came to Its Senses

“I believe that the illiberal-left movement has not merely declined,” @jonathanchait writes. “It is dead, or at least barely breathing. When was the last time you saw a social-media mob have any effect outside social media?”

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/12/cancel-culture-illiberalism-dead/681031/?gift=yGKGqaI9BMfIDuch_TrGYUBta63k4PYnoBSgsC9QTqc&utm_source=email&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social

********** How to Navigate the Era of Trump

Many friends, @EliotACohen has found, are despondent over Trump’s victory. “I respect their points of view but have decided to look elsewhere for advice, and so have turned to a different set of friends—those sitting on my bookshelves.”

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/12/navigate-trump-era-guide/681020/?gift=yGKGqaI9BMfIDuch_TrGYR6QfO0tV08jWciZW3fL5QM&utm_source=email&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social

For that, something more spiritual is indicated, and I find it in the Library of America edition of one of the previous century’s deep thinkers, Reinhold Niebuhr.

God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.

Serenity will be something we will need in the years ahead. If you ask me, a well-stocked library will be of more help getting there than tranquilizers, wide-eyed staring at one’s mobile phone, or scrambling to find out if an Irish ancestor qualifies you for a European Union passport.