Year End Roundup
The Top Pieces of the Year, and What’s to Come
With the year ending, it’s a great time to reflect on what we’ve been discussing since the Renew the Republic’s launch. It’s been a crazy six months. We’ve had the twists and turns of a rocky campaign, followed by the upheaval of most assumptions about American politics.
I want to thank everyone who subscribed, and for all your thoughtful comments here and on Notes. We’re building an amazing community, with more to come.
It’s a good time to collect some of the best pieces of our first half-year. If you’re new, or missed some, here’s a collection of the best of what we’ve been discussing:
The Hits
Two pieces stood out with the most enthusiastic response:
Price Controls, Big Macs, and the Bezos Rule argued (long before the election) that inflation was a major problem, and that Democrats were making a huge mistake dismissing America’s complaints as anecdotes. When the CEO of McDonalds tells you a third of the country can no longer afford to eat at McDonalds, that’s a big problem.
What's the Purpose of JD Vance? made the case that Republicans picked JD Vance as their Vice Presidential candidate not as an ordinary candidate, but because the new right wanted him as a political architect sitting at the top of the White House hierarchy to turn Trump’s impulses into a lasting agenda. He was meant to play a role like Martin Van Buren under Andrew Jackson.
Election Analysis
We did a fair bit of political analysis of the campaign, much through the lens of political realignment. Some of the more popular pieces were:
Here Comes the Realignment: Why the Democrats Lost and What Happens Now, an election post-game analysis.
Which Party Will Independents Seize? argued many commentators were asking the wrong question—which party will win independents. Since independents, suspicious of both parties, are now the majority, the question should be which party independents will seize.
The Chessboard of This Election: Don't Watch the Kings, Watch the Board, made the case that the candidates at the top of the ticket mattered less than what the election meant for all the other chess pieces on the board—powerful figures, ideological factions, and activists that I categorized as pawns, knights rooks, bishops, and queens.
How Democrats Went Wrong: Not All Progressives Are Progressives argued Democrats went wrong in part because the party doesn’t understand its own coalition. Many people who call themselves progressives aren’t actually progressives—they’re left utopians who want different things and pull the party in anti-progressive directions.
The Incoming Administration
A piece about the incoming administration received some attention:
DOGE is Trying to Solve the Wrong Problem of Government argued that DOGE is unlikely to solve the problem it wants to solve because the major problem with government isn’t really overspending and waste. It’s a lack of competence, effectiveness, and will.
A Series on Democratic Legitimacy
Some of my favorite work at Renew the Republic was a five-part serialized argument about how the true driver of our current turmoil is the collapse of America’s democratic legitimacy. America’s leaders are no longer keeping America’s core promises, shattering the legitimacy holding up America’s system. This is what kills empires.
If you like political arguments grounded in first-principles, political philosophy, and the foundations of our society, check it out:
Political Philosophy: What is a Good Government
Some pieces moved out of the political weeds to wrestle with a big idea of philosophy: what makes government work? What must a democracy do to survive, create prosperity, and help people flourish?
Embrace the Arena argued democratic politics is meant to be a great arena in which we negotiate and battle over competing needs, not a zero-sum war in which one side seizes the levers of power to force their ideas of the good on everyone.
The Best Theory About the Purpose of Government argued the goal of government ought to be accomplishing three interlocking missions: national strength, competence, and individual human flourishing.
Why We Can't Govern Cities: Rousseau, Locke, and the Good Woman of Seztuan used the story of the poor prostitute gifted with wealth by the gods to illustrate the reason Democrats have failed to govern cities—they don’t understand human nature and therefore how to create a place humans thrive.
The Trouble With Moralizing Politics argued moral politics is almost always destructive in a democracy.
Political Reform
Some pieces explored how to advance independent politics and bring about a reconstruction of America:
Let’s Be Pirates: A Boarding Party of Ideas explained why independents shouldn’t try to build their own party, but build a movement outside politics and then board the major parties like pirates.
Two and a Half Cheers for America! made the case for America. For all it’s flaws, America is fundamentally good and the American project important.
Twelve Rules to Win the Election and Energize America offered twelve big ideas an independent reform movement should represent.
Why Improving Systems Leads to Justice, and Reforming People Leads to Ruin explained why the goal of national reform should be to create better systems that work in a world of flawed people, not vainly try to force people to improve themselves.
Not a Competency Crisis. A Crisis of Excellence made the case that America is facing a competence crisis and across society we need to re-prioritize excellence.
THE PURSUIT OF TRUTH
A few pieces explored the importance of the freedom to speak and the pursuit of truth:
OUR GUESTS
We also had three insightful guest writers:
Leonard Cavallaro of Biased Journalism in Did RFK, Jr. Betray Independent Voters? argued that RFK joining the Trump campaign was good for independent politics.
Luke Nathan Phillips in Chancellor Buttigieg, Chancellor Vance, and the Politics of Union argued Pete Buttigieg and JD Vance represent champions of new versions of conservative and liberal politics.
Piers Eaton in Liberty and The New Trusts argued a new version of antitrust could become the backbone of a new realigned American politics.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Finally, in Social Media and Substack Stepped Into the Building I argued that social media needs to throw off “engagement” for better mechanisms of discovery. (It also let me talk about the rise of mid-70 year-old British rappers Pete and Bas.
WHATS TO COME IN THE NEW YEAR
In the New Year, we’ll continue to talk about the current turmoil in the political world and and what we can do to renew America.
I’m sure we’ll discuss the incoming administration, and what Democrats do in opposition. I’m excited to further explore the cause of our current instability, broken institutions, and collapse in democratic legitimacy. There will be more big think pieces putting this moment in grand perspective. There will also be more about what we can do to fix our institutions and build a movement to renew America.
Thanks for engaging with the articles and sharing your ideas, both in the comments and on Notes. There’s nothing better for a writer than sharing ideas, especially with readers like you who are also thinkers and writers with your own exciting new ideas. If you know others who would enjoy what we’re building, please share this round-up to introduce them to our community.
Again, thanks for your support as early subscribers to Renew the Republic! I look forward to continuing to grow this community over the next year. Happy New Year!
Frank
I’ll return to my regular schedule next week!