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White American Liberals, Part 2

On this episode of American Prestige, Kevin Schultz returns to continue discussing his new book.

Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison

May 13, 2025

American politician and diplomat Daniel Patrick Moynihan delivers a speech, circa 1980.(The News World / FPG / Archive Photos / Getty Images)

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White American Liberals, Pt 2 w/ Kevin Schultz | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

Kevin Schultz, Chair of the Department of History at the University of Illinois-Chicago, returns to the program to continue the discussion of his new book⁠ ⁠Why Everyone Hates White Liberals (Including White Liberals): A History⁠. In this second part of the discussion, Danny, Derek, and Kevin get into the origins and power of the "radical chic" and "limousine liberal" criticisms, the concept of "positive polarization" as championed by figures like Spiro Agnew, the perceived abandonment of the white working class by the Democratic Party, the role of Nixon in this political shift, the influence of Phyllis Schlafly and George Wallace, George McGovern and the "acid, amnesty, and abortion" label, Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s attempt to redefine liberalism, the transition of some Cold War liberals to neoconservatism, the Democratic Party's embrace of neoliberalism and the rise of "Atari Democrats," the cultural phenomenon of "owning the libs," the association of the professional managerial class with contemporary liberalism, and potential new political vocabularies beyond the "liberal" label, and more.

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On this episode of American Prestige, Kevin Schultz, chair of the Department of History at the University of Illinois-Chicago, returns to the program to continue the discussion of his new book, Why Everyone Hates White Liberals (Including White Liberals): A History. In this second part of the discussion, we get into the origins and power of the “radical chic” and “limousine liberal” criticisms, the concept of “positive polarization” as championed by figures like Spiro Agnew, the perceived abandonment of the white working class by the Democratic Party, the role of Nixon in this political shift, the influence of Phyllis Schlafly and George Wallace, George McGovern and the “acid, amnesty, and abortion” label, Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s attempt to redefine liberalism, the transition of some Cold War liberals to neoconservatism, the Democratic Party’s embrace of neoliberalism and the rise of “Atari Democrats,” the cultural phenomenon of “owning the libs,” the association of the professional managerial class with contemporary liberalism, and potential new political vocabularies beyond the “liberal” label, and more.

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The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

Imperialist Realism w/ Danny Bessner / American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

Derek welcomes back to the show his very own co-host, Danny Bessner, to talk about his new book, Imperialist Realism: Politics and Culture at the End of the American Century, and how we see imperialist realism in American foreign policy and popular culture. They talk about the concept’s inspiration from the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, the end of mass politics, the decline of grand ideology in U.S. foreign policy, the core features of imperialist realism, the Protestant missionary roots of American foreign policy, imperialist realism in pop culture, and a democratic socialist alternative to current U.S. foreign policy.

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Read the new piece from Danny’s Imperialist Realism Substack, “Empire of Grunge.”

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Daniel BessnerTwitterDaniel Bessner is a historian of US foreign relations and is the author of, among other books, Imperialist Realism.


Derek DavisonDerek Davison is a writer and analyst specializing in international affairs and US foreign policy. He is the publisher of the Foreign Exchanges newsletter, cohost of the American Prestige podcast, and former editor of LobeLog.


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