A general view of Wesleyan University, in happier times, via
Recent links of note:
How to Save Art From Islamic State?
Maxwell L. Anderson, The Wall Street Journal
Buried amid the rubble from the continued destruction of sites of cultural heritage at the hands of the so-called Islamic State is another unpalatable fact. When not demolishing ancient temples, ISIS has been “acting like a criminal syndicate, promoting illicit excavation to monetize the heritage of the region.” There is much to be written on the complicity of the West in this black-market trade of antiquities. In the meantime, steps are now being taken to safeguard the artifacts we hold so dear. The Association of Art Museum Directors has issued a set of protocols for the protection of artworks. Essentially, at-risk works may be sent to American museums for safekeeping with the expectation that the items will be returned when the region stabilizes. Is it a failsafe solution? No. But in lieu of action taken by Western governments, perhaps it’s the best we can hope for at the moment.
Rebranding Socialism
Matthew Hennessy, City Journal
The trouble with socialists, Margaret Thatcher said, is that they “always run out of other people’s money.” Until fairly recently, most decent Americans shared this loathing for socialism, anathema as it is to the American project of individual achievement unfettered by government intervention. No longer, as Matthew Hennessy say this week in City Journal. We live in a world where a recent poll of Democrats showed that 49 percent view socialism favorably, while only 37 percent feel the same way of capitalism. In an age where Bernie Sanders—whose intent is to institute Nordic-style socialism on these fine shores—can reasonably run for president, socialism seems to have undergone a successful rebranding, despite its “unbroken record of failure and its fundamental incompatibility with human nature.” Perish the thought.
Notable & Quotable: Unfree Speech on Campus
The Wall Street Journal
The debasement of higher education is something we talk a lot about here at The New Criterion. The goal is not to hector but rather to illuminate the hypocrisy (and general lunacy) of those tasked with educating our nation’s brightest minds. The situation looks increasingly dire, but perhaps we’re gaining some ground. Today’s Wall Street Journal, that most illuminating of dailies, features an excerpt from our November issue’s forthcoming “Notes & Comments” on the subject of free speech on campus. To read it, you can click here or download a free preview of the Notes & Comments from our November issue here.
Free speech is flunking out on college campuses
Catherine Rampell, The Washington Post
On the subject of free speech on campus, add another offender to the bunch. (Actually, it’s a repeat offender.) Wesleyan University has defunded a student newspaper that penned an editorial deemed indigestible by the overly sensitive student body. While the school’s administration acted (surprisingly) honorably, defending the paper’s right to free speech, the school’s student government voted unanimously to halve funding for the paper. A petition against the paper has also suggested that the paper’s editors undergo termly Social Justice/Diversity training. As Catherine Rampell of The Washington Post tells it, the inmates are truly running the asylum.
From our pages:
Gallery chronicle
James Panero
On recent New York gallery shows.