Poor Liberal Scholarship (example #1)

Don't get me wrong. I think the New Republic is one of the better sources for well-reasoned liberal commentary out there today. I'm a subscriber. But occassionally I read an article that is so ideological in tone, and so substantively weak that I wonder whether I'm reading the National Review. Such was the case when I read Lawrence Kaplan's rant about Chuck Hagel today. On one level, I think Kaplan's conclusion has merit: Hagel's positions on foreign policy matters are rather old-fashioned, and his statements are not nearly as insightful or profound as his admirers claim. That being said, Kaplan's article is a classic ideological rant, not a piece of liberal scholarship. It's the kind of article where the author assumes the key point (that "realist" foriegn policy is undesirable) and therefore is only preaching to the converted. Our war experiences in Vietnam and now Iraq have created entire generations of liberals who reflexively shutter at the idea of U.S. military intervention abroad. To a great many liberals (and conservatives), Hagel's statements sound very reasonable. Kaplan makes no attempt to explain why Hagel's philosophy is undesirable. He simply asserts that it is, as if all liberals agree with him on this point.

I happen to agree with Kaplan on this point. I think that active engagement with the world, including military engagement when necessary, is the liberal course of action (when done right). I worry greatly that the hubris, deception, and incompetence of the Bush administration foreign policy will sour an entire generation of liberals on the idea of an interventionist foreign policy, creating a bunch of liberal isolationists. Kaplan's job is to explain why Hagel's "real politik" foreign policy is inconsistent with liberalism. That case desperately needs to be made to left-leaning folks, today more than ever. Instead, we are treated to essentially a name-calling piece akin to something you might find in a right-wing rag. The New Republic needs to hold its senior editors to a higher standard.