Big Brother’s Liberal Friends
Sean Wilentz, George Packer and Michael Kinsley are a dismal advertisement for the current state of mainstream liberal thought in America. They have systematically misrepresented and misunderstood Edward Snowden and the NSA.
The comfortable prominence of writers like Wilentz, Packer and Kinsley suggests that such a radical rethinking is unlikely. Their environment does not give them any incentive to reconsider their views. If Hillary Clinton runs and wins, the marketplace for fatuous ideas about security might expand even further into the realm of elected decision makers. Even if their brand of national-security liberalism is intellectually bogus, it will continue to have plenty of customers.
Henry Farrell is an associate professor of political science and international affairs at the George Washington University.
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