Karp looks at the growing social and racial justice discourse running through major publications and administrations today. He questions their tendencies towards "historicism," specifically looking at the 1619 Project by the New York Times and the 1776 Commission in the dying embers of the Trump Administration. 

History As End

Karp suggests that the current state of American politics isn't that much different than another time when economic inequality was at its greatest: the Gilded Age. As power goes into the hands of the few, politics becomes more like mass entertainment or sporting events, and candidates become more import than parties themselves, "class dealignment" reduces the strength of the working-class. Even though there seems to be more turnout and enthusiasm, it revolves around identity politics and does not wield the power necessary for making real change.

The Commons

Matt Karp

Reviewed work