Liberalism: liberty versus equality, or liberty and equality?

Dec 21, ’04 12:01 AM

It’s been quiet here on Extended Phenotype in the run-up to the holidays, but here’s a cross-post from Progressive Commons. The essay follows an earlier post here at EP, analyzing the fallacy that New Deal liberalism is actually a betrayal of classical liberal principles. In reality, the “lost liberalism” narrative is the result of modern libertarians taking a narrow view of Hume, Locke, Madison, and other classical authors. In the essay I argue that classical liberal theorists were far more concerned about concentrated power in any form — private or public — than the modern narrative admits. This recognition leads to seeing far more continuity between classical theorists and New Deal liberalism than, say, Milton Friedman (as an example) does. And that’s a good thing, in my book, because it should help us reclaim our political past and not accept the modern political narrative as related by Republicans and Fox News.

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Holiday wine tasting highlights

Dec 16, ’04 4:57 PM

Our wine tasting group had its holiday get-together this Tuesday, where we each bring “something that hurts” from our cellars. Typically this means a spectacular bottle, something that we have only one bottle, that sort of thing. There were quite a number of people and quite a number of wines, so I won’t list them all (lest anyone think we’re a bunch of lushes…). But here are some highlights, skipping a number of reds that weren’t as interesting and a few of the starting whites (although I usually don’t skip Raveneau…).

Pol Roger 1990 Cuvee Winston Churchill
The best champagne I’ve had in a long time, this was savory and creamy, with few hard edges but still good acidity and body. Really a lovely way to kick off the evening!

Chateau Haut-Brion Blanc 1985
Haut-Brion Blanc is the best white wine in Bordeaux, and at its heights, some of the best white wine any of us have ever had. The 1971 is almost painfully good, ruining your palate forever for white Bordeaux. The 1985 runs a close second, and this wine continued to improve in the glass for hours. An incredible coconut nose was followed by immense body and the honey of botrytis, with a melon-like palate and long finish. The wine smells like a top Sauternes on top of a crisp dry white. Spectacular.

Chateau Palmer 1983 Margaux
A superb Bordeaux, with an initially leathery and stinky nose that made us all think Beaucastel. The wine mellowed out and was a superb older Bordeaux, but still well within its prime.

Vega Sicilia Unico 1981
Elegant, with that “strawberry and old wood” Spanish nose, but big, beefy, and structured on the palate. This was our “pizza” wine, as we devoured Pagliacci pies with sausage and sweet fried peppers and the Proscuitto Primo — and the wine matched really well.

Les Cailloux Cuvee Centenaire 1989 Chateauneuf
This was my red wine offering, and it was a big but subtle wine. Smelled like roasted peanuts out of the decanter (1.5 hours decanting), with deep dark Grenachy fruit and a savory/herbal palate. Really incredible bottle of Chateauneuf, and hopefully the 1995 and 1998 will turn out this well.

Les Cailloux Cuvee Centenaire 2001 Chateauneuf
Coincidentally brought by my friend Chuck, this was huge, spicy, very sappy and viscous, with a lemony black fruit palate and immense concentration. Everyone at the table immediately wanted to know where it could still be bought.

Chateau Rayas 1988 Chateauneuf
A gorgeous example of the Rayas strawberry nose, with savory palate. Good finish and a fine wine.

Mouton 1982
What can you say….it’s a Mouton. Deep, dark Bordeaux with a hint of green pepper. The concentration and power is phenomenal but this bottle wasn’t as good as others we’d tried. Some of the complexity is missing, but still, an excellent bottle all around.

Baumard Quarts de Chaume 1995
My other offering, this was an immense sticky dessert, with the bruised apple Chenin Blanc thing on top of good acid (unlike the flabby 1997’s) and a massive finish. Incredible stuff, and fortunately I’ve still got some in the fridge!

Whitwham’s 1853 Millenium Port
That’s right, 1853. Rare Wine Company in Sonoma did an offering awhile back of a rare 1853 colheita port which had been forgotten in barrel until 2001 and then bottled. This seemed a dead ringer on the nose for fine — seriously fine — Madeira, but on the palate it was Madeira crossed with tawny port, and was incredibly yummy. The gentleman who brought the wine was incredibly generous in sharing it with the likes of us….

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Blogging at Progressive Commons

Dec 8, ’04 12:07 PM

The pace of blogging has slowed down here at Extended Phenotype. I’m busy at work, and the holidays are (too) fast approaching, but there’s another reason. I’m now also writing about progressive politics at Progressive Commons, a virtual think tank and collective blog spearheaded by Kenneth Rufo of the University of Georgia. Ken began a blog this year called Broken Letters, devoted to the nexus between media, language, and politics.

Progressive Commons will be publishing a mission statement soon on our site, but suffice it to say that we’re a nonpartisan research and educational group aimed at promoting, reformulating, and communicating the progressive political vision in America. We’re just getting started, and in our initial phases the Commons will work much like a collective blog, with longer essays, reviews, and position papers posted as these crystallize.

Thus, some — but not all — of my political writing will move from Extended Phenotype to the Progressive Commons. I expect to continue posting on related topics, science, and of course good wine here at EP. I will also link posts between the two sites so that folks looking to see if I’ve written anything can come to either site.

In fact, I’ve posted one essay already on Progressive Commons — a short piece examining the relationship between “progressive” politics, reformism, and liberalism as we now understand it.

Also, here’s the RSS feed for Progressive Commons.

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Progressives, morality, and community

Nov 27, ’04 3:36 PM

Common wisdom these days seems to suggest that progressives have a political Achilles heel: morality. Regardless of the real impact that religious belief had on the 2004 election (1), it’s overwhelmingly true that Republicans have tapped into an issue which is neglected by Democrats. If we want to stop the Democrats’ continued rightward drift, it’s important to understand morality, society, and politics at a deeper level than the discussion is being conducted today.

My current thinking on progressive morality started with a discussion I had back in February of this year with a friend who said (roughly): "the left loses support in some quarters because it fails to provide the linkage to morality that many, if not most, people want." Since that comment, I’ve been trying to understand how progressives can create a credible civil and secular morality for our public sphere.

I now believe that to be the wrong approach.

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Superb wines in October and November

Nov 14, ’04 5:22 PM

It’s been awhile since I posted about wine; recent events seemed more important to discuss. But I have had some great bottles of wine lately, particularly given an influx of out-of-town visitors and my own travels.

Trimbach 1989 Clos Ste Hune Hors Choix
Amazingly thick and lush, the Hors Choix had a tea and lemon mineral quality, with incredible concentration and length. Truly a phenomenal wine.
Trimbach 1990 Cuvee Frederic Emile
A decent bottle, but paled in comparison to the Hors Choix, which followed. Starting to enter maturity, and a bit awkward compared to 1989 or especially the wonderful 1983, but the austere minerality and lemony fruit in this wine is terrific.
Chapoutier 1990 Barbe Rac Chateauneuf-du-Pape
Delicious upon decanting, and even better an hour later, this is a massive Chateauneuf. Formerly giving a lot of beef aromas, this time it’s hugely leathery and is a dead ringer for a massive Beaucastel. Great floral high tones behind the leather, with some green olives in the palate and a long finish. Incredibly stinky but rich and complex. An incredible wine, even for people who don’t normally like the Chapoutier style.
Jamet 1990 Cote Rotie
Beautifully delicate Cote Rotie, with the dark berry core and a floral high-tone note which gives it great subtlety. The “roasty” element hangs in the background. Great bottle of wine.
Leoville-Las-Cases 1966 St. Julien
A birth-year wine for me, the L-L-C is a great example of mature, sweet, old Bordeaux. The wine is soft and spicy, with terrific aromas and no hard edges.
Vieux Telegraphe 1978 Chateauneuf-du-Pape
My last bottle of the 1978, this was a perfect wine in every way. Drunk at Chez Panisse for my birthday with my friend Bryan Loufbourrow, the wine was not even close to fragile — holding up for a couple of hours in the glass. It did, like its sibling, need time to blossom in the decanter, and was initially closed. Once it opened, the wine showed intensely meaty and spicy aromas with a sweet palate. Sadly, this was my last bottle of a legendary wine, but one can always hope to find it again…
Jamet 1988 Cote Rotie Cote Brune
Also drunk at Chez Panisse, this bottle was sweet and spicy, definitely fuller than the regular bottling, but displaying the same delicacy of floral nose. The roasty background was augmented by a hint of bacon.
Raveneau 1996 Vaillons Chablis
The starting wine to a cassoulet and lamb dinner this week at Cafe Campagne, this Raveneau was tight as a drum, but incredibly good after some time in the glass. Started out steely and with huge acidity, it gained body and depth as it warmed and opened. This wine will benefit from a lot more time in the cellar.
Domaine Tempier 1984 Tourtine Bandol
My last bottle of 1984 Tempier, and it needed to be drunk. Didn’t last all night in the glass, but for a glorious hour the lush, sweet fruit showed “old wine” spiciness, along with the “dusty tree bark” and leather this wine often displays. A coppery hint on the palate after awhile demonstrated that the 1984’s seem poised on a peak, ready to decline.

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Article on John Kekes’s “Illusions of Egalitarianism” interview on Philosophy News

Nov 9, ’04 5:14 PM

I recently wrote an editorial on Philosophy News, responding to an interview with John Kekes entitled “The Illusion of Egalitarianism” (paralleling his book by the same title). The editorial was posted today, and although it’s not my best piece of writing ever, I felt that Kekes’s attack on modern liberalism (via perceived flaws in philosophical egalitarianism) deserved a response.

I may post additional thoughts on the topic here, but not in the very short term — I’m in the middle of a larger writing project which is taking up my scant time away from work. Hopefully by Thanksgiving I’ll have a draft of that article completed and then I can get back to some political philosophy, particularly in the wake of the election.

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