Andrew T. Walker(@AndrewTWalker):I am not going to comment on the merits of the lengthy New York Times Magazine piece on Heritage. But one observation in the article seems to helpfully capture the entire "fight on the right" as a fundamental, zero-sum dispute: whether there is such a thing as the "common good"—and, if so, what its substance and scope are. How you approach the common good will tell you where you are on today's conservative spectrum. The thicker one's conception of the common good, the more one will migrate toward a politics that focuses less on individual autonomy and more on the intrinsic goods necessary for social flourishing.

2026.07.29 22:58

I am not going to comment on the merits of the lengthy New York Times Magazine piece on Heritage. But one observation in the article seems to helpfully capture the entire "fight on the right" as a fundamental, zero-sum dispute: whether there is such a thing as the "common good"—and, if so, what its substance and scope are. How you approach the common good will tell you where you are on today's conservative spectrum. The thicker one's conception of the common good, the more one will migrate toward a politics that focuses less on individual autonomy and more on the intrinsic goods necessary for social flourishing.