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So for fact sake, search the economist. I do think that there is a value in our democratic conversations to integrating the perspectives not just from an identity standpoint

but also from an expertise standpoint of a broad range of people.

And now the good fight with Yasha Monk.

In the last few days, police in Moscow have beaten and jailed peaceful protesters.

They have locked up the opposition leader Alexander Navalny and it appears

that he may have been poisoned in captivity. And as I've been looking on from the distance at these brave Russians fighting for democracy,

I couldn't help but think of that famous phrase that Vladimir Putin said a few weeks ago in an interview with the Financial Times,

that liberalism is now obsolete.

Because I think the events of the last days give us a good understanding of what he really meant by that.

Putin was trying a very smart tactic. When he says liberalism he wants you to think about whatever disagreements you may have with the left on issues of immigration policy, for example.

And then he wants to move people to think that because they too have certain disagreements with people on the left on issues like immigration,

the whole idea of liberalism, including some of the fundamental elements of our political system should be

thrown overboard.

Now the way to respond to that is to call his bluff, to emphasize that it is

that it is perfectly legitimate to have disagreements about different

political issues that we have a political right that can be legitimate as well as a political left that can be legitimate

...