Ethnopolitics in Newark, new pod on urbanism, et al
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Nathan Allebach, who I met a the Novitate Conference hosted by
came on the pod to discuss urbanism and trends in marketing. His viral video on third places succinctly covers many of the points that our writers have argues in Cracks in PoMo about urbanism, suburbia, and building local cultures. I also asked him about this point he brought up at Novitate:Allebach followed up by commenting on recent trends in advertising, pointing to sexed-up Wendy’s ads and Duolingo posting outrageous tweets about wanting to drink Dua Lipa’s piss as examples of companies doing anything to stand out in the hyper-competitive attention commons. He further observed that “people seem to want to be brands, and brands want to be people…companies want to sound more like people and young people want to sound like brands.”
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Make sure to check out my latest essay on ethnopolitics in Newark in American Affairs journal. I argue that ethnicity is an antidote to the individualism of “bootstrapping,” colorblind libertarians and identitarian progressives, in that it propose an image of the person as rooted in a meaning-filled cosmos that unites them to others.
Proponents of ethnopolitics stand outside of this binary thinking. Their nuanced appreciation of ethnicity and the role it can play in American politics reflects their reliance on a social imaginary that transcends the limited scope of power dynamics and individual “success.” Ethnicity reflects a broader communitarian view where human fragility is redeemed not by bureaucratic measures, nor by the sheer force of an individual’s will, but by the bonds of belonging, which provide the person a depth of purpose and meaning that is not afforded to them by the flat neoliberal imaginary. The more hopeful communitarian discourse of solidarity and subsidiarity provides a level of creativity that can forge a path out of the deadlock between bureaucratic identitarians and proponents of an atomized individualism.
It’s a longer form exploration of a theme I covered in an NCR article on my grandfather, Steve Adubato Sr. For this one, I interviewed about 12 different people about the history and politics of Newark. Consider buying a hard copy of the journal here.
We strongly recommend you read our extended take on Fiducia Supplicans, which aims to dig a little deeper beyond the “pro vs. anti Francis” paradigm. Too many hot takes either are for or against him without getting to the root of what the papacy actually is. Here’s my humble attempt.
To say we owe him our obedience is not to say we must blindly celebrate every single thing he says or does (as some shockingly newfound Ultramontanist progressives might tell us). Obedience, rather, implies asking how the Spirit is using Peter to lead me closer to Christ…how It is bringing about my conversion of heart through him. Thus, the most essential matter is not one of static opinion or ideology—whether I agree or disagree, but instead is an open and dynamic question.
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With a paid subscription, you can also read locked pieces like the one on Taylor Swift’s Whiteness, Banksy and the vacuum of socially responsible art, and my upcoming one on why I no longer identify as a convert.
Also make sure to check out
latest piece on environmentalists throwing soup at the Mona Lisa.
Lastly, thanks to all who came out the the New York Encounter. Stay tuned for a recording of our event with Tara Isabella Burton and Fr. Paddy Gilger SJ. Until then, check out these photos and this video about the proceedings of this year’s Encounter
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