Gregory Conti

Nov 3, 2024 | city-journal.org | Gregory Conti

One of the most persistent pitfalls in political argumentation is a version of the fallacy of false equivalence. A friend dubs it the fallacy of ripe apples and rotten oranges. In a political context, it's when an advocate compares an idealized or best-case version of his preferred position with a realistic—or perhaps even exaggeratedly negative—version of his opponent’s. We see this often in debates over grand economic models.

Oct 21, 2024 | compactmag.com | Gregory Conti

Immigration is arguably the most heated issue in global politics at present, not only at the center of the 2024 US presidential election but also consistently reported to be one of the dominant areas of concern by electorates across the West. Much of the public discourse on the topic proceeds along well-worn paths of cultural and economic disputation. Is immigration harming public safety? Are newcomers assimilating successfully?

Aug 20, 2024 | americanaffairsjournal.org | Gregory Conti |Darrin M. McMahon |Alan S. Kahan |Gianna Englert

REVIEW ESSAYEquality: The History of an Elusive Ideaby Darrin M. McMahonBasic Books, 2023, 528 pagesFreedom from Fear: An Incomplete History of Liberalismby Alan S. KahanPrinceton University Press, 2023, 528 pagesDemocracy Tamed: French Liberalism and the Politics of Suffrageby Gianna EnglertOxford University Press, 2024, 224 pagesToday, many self-described liberals in the professions—including in my world of academic political philosophy—inhabit what the histo­rian Darrin M.

Aug 16, 2024 | compactmag.com | Gregory Conti

Vice-presidential picks, if political science is to be believed, seldom have a great impact on the outcome of elections. But if they are rarely determinative, they are often revelatory. The choice of veep, and the reaction to the choice, can be clarifying moments for how major players within the party see their coalitions, and how the press and the broader public interpret what the parties stand for. This year’s veepstakes are especially interesting.

Aug 15, 2024 | nybooks.com | Zoë Schlanger |Stefano Mancuso |Gregory Conti |Michel Leiris

Savvy in the Grass Some botanists maintain that peas are capable of associative learning, others that tropical vines have a sort of vision. If plants possess sentience, what is the morally appropriate response?