Entries by Joel Kotkin

Golden Land

The Golden State has long been, as one nineteenth century Gentile observer put it, “the Jews’ earthly paradise.” Today, California offers a less appealing landscape as hostility toward Israel and Jews originates mostly from the progressive Left, rather than the Right, the historic base for antisemitism.

Cosmopolis or Bust?

Three decades ago, author Steve Toulmin published a book in which he argued that the cosmopolis constitutes the true “agenda of modernity.” But across the planet today, the cosmopolitan ideal is under attack from both the nationalist Right and the intersectional Left.

Class of ’24

Most political coverage in America revolves around personalities, stratagems, and the cultural issues that appeal to the activist class in both parties. Yet the real determinant in 2024 will not be abortion, “systemic racism,” gender fluidity, or climate change, but deepening class divides.