New at Reason

David Weigel | April 6, 2006

Matt Welch surveys the world of warblogging and bids it a final adieu.

Comments

Warren|4.6.06 @ 8:57AM|#

What? You're still here? Don't let the door hit'cha in the ass on the way out.

|4.6.06 @ 11:00AM|#

I think the problem is that political ideology is a bit deeper than many of us optimistically (or cynically) supposed. Many folks assumed that ideology was just a group-identification veneer that obscured commonalities and heightened differences. Indeed, at first blush, it seems to be. But ideology is the result, eventually, of fundamental premises, and when you see to conflict in premises, it can get very hard to keep reading past the ideology.

I discovered this for myself reading the old uber-warbloggers like Tacitus. For a few months it is possible to read and be fascinated by his stuff. But sooner or later it sinks in: This person believes that it is morally appropriate to kill someone because that person is of the same race or faith as people who, or is in the vicinity of people who, or is subject to a government that does bad things. This person believes that torture is just ducky, an important wartime convenience. And from that moment on it's hard to keep reading without nausea.

The problem with crossing over the ideological boundary posts is that sooner or later you discover that every ideology, however wise or idiotic, has a core of conscience; while ideologies seem thin around the edges, at their cores they are thick and real and irreconcilable.

gaius marius|4.6.06 @ 2:43PM|#

remember all this, mr welch? good times, good times.

Matt Welch|4.6.06 @ 5:46PM|#

I miss you too, Warren....

|4.7.06 @ 1:32AM|#

Matt:

Was that BEFORE, or after, some users named "John" and "Ken" got on Hit and Run?

Just checking.

|4.7.06 @ 1:32AM|#

Matt:

Was that BEFORE, or after, some users named "John" and "Ken" got on Hit and Run?

Just checking.

|4.7.06 @ 1:36AM|#

Ah... TECHNOLOGY!

|4.7.06 @ 2:20AM|#

Any thoughts Matt on the end of the MMS on 1031? Can you see the Arbitron ratings? It is possible that there were only 20 guys listening to Dickie, but that we all called him every day and blog actively. In that case, I guess I could sympathize. But my working theory is that Clear Channel just pretends to be nice so they can be mean.

|4.7.06 @ 8:51AM|#

One of the downside risks of the more adamantly rationalist (secularish, socially leftish) libertarians is that they are prey to a sort of market Marxism in which they are prone to believe that the marketplace (read technology) will messianically alter human nature. For some (and I am looking at you Ron Bailey :-)), it is marketplace biotechnology. For others, it is the Web and internet era (remember Dow 36,000? -- with what dividend yield -- .0000001%?).

In the end, teh web has added real demonstrative progress in human information flow, it is a positive good, as is biotech, and with promise. But to expect it to lead to the end of history, why, even Fukuyama has jumped ship on that subject.

80sfan|4.9.06 @ 4:03PM|#

I'm surprised M.W. never admitted to realizing this earlier. He had an old H&R post about how, if it were '72 and you had to vote--knowing what you do now--which way would you go... And with nary a flinch the response was, "Nixon." Matt was in agony.

That was a very funny post