The most relevant question isn't whether postliberalism is intellectually interesting. It's whether its ideas are shaping real political power. @mattjj89.bsky.social explores that idea in the context of the new book, 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘍𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥.

Postliberal thinkers claim liberalism is doomed by its own contradictions. But a new book argues the opposite: that postliberal projects consistently collapse under the weight of authoritarianism, corruption, and economic failure.

Check out the latest from @mattjj89.bsky.social newsletter:

The diabolical nature of this stroke of Millerian evil cannot be overstated. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/22/u...

No piece has resulted in as many cancelled readers for @theunpopulist.net as this one by @mattjj89.bsky.social, which is just fine. You want people to read you for the right reasons. open.substack.com/pub/theunpop...

Ryan Holiday’s MAGA critics seem to assume that Stoicism preaches political quietism, but this isn’t true. Holiday is showing how nonpolitical influencers can find their anti-authoritarian voice. Matt Johnson on Holiday and Ivanka Trump's pseudo-philosophy:

It’s insulting to suggest that Americans are indifferent to the spectacle of a sitting president laying siege to their democracy—especially when the evidence of Americans’ awareness and alarm is greater than ever.

The American pro-democracy coalition "must recognize the power of building a political movement around a commitment to fundamental liberal principles—which means recovering the radical and inspiring political vision of liberalism."

Make no mistake: The defeat of Orbán is a major victory for liberalism—and not just in Hungary. Now it's time for us to learn from Hungary's victory over corrupt authoritarianism. New from Matt Johnson: lnk.thebulwark.com/4mNMDlF

"At this stage, impeachment is not merely about accountability for a rogue president, but an assertion of our own moral limits—a reminder to ourselves that some things should still remain beyond the pale." Thank you @mattjj89.bsky.social. @fsfp.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/theunpop...

We cannot minimize and normalize genocidal rhetoric as "some colorful language." It'll numb and inure us, undermining our capacity to make proper moral distinctions, engage in moral reasoning itself. @mattjj89.bsky.social at @theunpopulist.net open.substack.com/pub/theunpop...

Man, this is so good—and morally urgent—from @mattjj89.bsky.social in @theunpopulist.net Share this one widely

Where is Congress? “A whole civilization will die”? This is genocidal rhetoric. Enough

"With all this exploring, building, and pioneering to do, there’s little time for introspection. This is why it’s no surprise that several prominent Silicon Valley types are attracted to Donald Trump." lnk.thebulwark.com/40REkuQ

"Andreessen later cited Marcus Aurelius’s advice to 'stop talking about what the good man is like, and just be one' to support his case, apparently indifferent to the fact that this line comes from Aurelius’s Meditations." lnk.thebulwark.com/40REkuQ

"More fundamentally, the Trump era will serve as a historic warning....We’re overdue for some national introspection."

If Trump's Silicon Valley friends would take a moment to reflect on the long-term consequences of empowering an authoritarian to "just do things," they would see that many of Trump’s achievements are a dangerous mirage. Matt Johnson on the tech titans: lnk.thebulwark.com/40REkuQ

RFK Jr. promised to keep the CDC's statement that vaccines don't cause autism on the website. He kept it—but directly contravened it by adding a line saying that studies supporting a link "have been ignored by health authorities." @mattjj89.bsky.social

The United States’ allies worried that Trump would inaugurate a new era of American isolationism, but the reality turned out to be much worse. They must now find a way to navigate a world in which American hostility is a new global threat. My latest, no paywall open.substack.com/pub/mattjj/p...

“Congratulations are in order for Donald Trump: His attack on Iran is the most unpopular American war in modern history.” — @gregsargent.bsky.social in @newrepublic.com Greg is essential reading for understanding MAGA’s ongoing reception in society.

"While the U.S. military can plan an air campaign, it’s up to the civilian leadership to set strategy and determine which ends America’s mighty means are working toward." You can't have one without the other. (Well, you can, and you might get disaster.)

"To TACO or not to TACO, that is Donald Trump’s question. I think we know how it’s likely to be resolved." @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social, @eggerdc.bsky.social, and @markhertling.bsky.social in Morning Shots, only @thebulwark.com: www.thebulwark.com/p/tacos-with...

"Without taking into account the particular personalities of two major world leaders, it’s hard to explain two of the most important international events of the last five years." One of them could have learned from the other. New from Matt Johnson:

You could make a case for Hegseth, but really RFK is at the top of the list for worst Senate confirmation of the bunch. He was a dedicated lifelong crackpot, nothing he has done is remotely surprising and the stuff he said to secure confirmation was transparently dishonest. Cassidy has no excuse.

South Carolina is in its largest measles outbreak in decades. Nearly 1,000 infected. The man running U.S. public health spent years arguing the MMR vaccine causes autism. This is what that looks like in practice.

"At a time when America desperately needed a champion for vaccination, it got the precise opposite—a lifelong anti-vaccine crusader running the nation’s public health apparatus." Must-read from @mattjj89.bsky.social in @theunpopulist.net on the disaster that is RFK Jr.

Weird. I tried to warn libertarians about Trump

"The Post’s inability to make money covering a second Trump administration is a business catastrophe. It is also evidence of a moral collapse."

"It’s now impossible for Democrats to change the subject from the United States’ descent into authoritarianism, and they shouldn’t want to"—no matter how often they are advised to focus on the price of eggs or are cautioned against criticizing law enforcement. From @mattjj89.bsky.social

It’s now impossible for Democrats to change the subject from the United States’ descent into authoritarianism, and they shouldn’t want to. Voters do care about the state of our democracy. New from Matt Johnson:

Wow, must have been rough to be stuck in a restaurant for awhile. I heard a crazy story that an ICU nurse was executed for exercising his First and Second Amendment rights

Don’t Back Down, Europe open.substack.com/pub/persuasi...

25th Amendment

“We have done so much for America.” — The mother of a Danish soldier who died in Afghanistan. What a shameful day for the United States. www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...

Surreal. This is the most dangerous moment of the long Trump decade. A madman with a child’s temper is consciously and single-handedly destroying the most important military alliance in history. Simply unbelievable that we’ve fallen this far.

The effort to force 340 million diverse Americans to accept a narrow, postliberal-approved definition of the "common good" would be terrifyingly oppressive if it wasn't fundamentally unworkable. @mattjj89.bsky.social

The vice president who dismissed outrage over Nazi chat logs as "pearl clutching" draws inspiration from a theorist who thinks liberalism is "more insidious than fascism." @mattjj89.bsky.social

Now the Venezuelan regime has issued an emergency order telling police to “immediately search and capture” anyone who supports “the armed attack by the United States” www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...

"It’s easier to dislodge a tinpot dictator in Venezuela than to deter great powers....But this raises the biggest question at the heart of the 'Donroe Doctrine': Does Trump even want to deter those powers? Or does he want to carve up the world with them?"

Is this what Trump meant when he said we are "running" Venezuela?

The Trump administration has decided to prioritize the Western Hemisphere over Europe and East Asia, a decision that empowers the United States’ two most powerful geopolitical rivals. Nothing about that could go wrong! lnk.thebulwark.com/4aHNPmz

Trump is serious about the “Donroe Doctrine,” and he will continue to prioritize hegemony, imperialism, and unilateralism over the liberal international order the United States has maintained for the past 80 years. My latest for @ms.now www.ms.now/opinion/trum...

Beyond the question of what's actually going to happen in Venezuela now, the removal of Maduro is the opening move in a reckless new American grand strategy that will be self-defeating in an era of renewed great power conflict. New from Matt Johnson:

If you missed @mattjj89.bsky.social's epic profile of Rogan in @theunpopulist.net, please give it a read:

Not sure I understand why the Trump administration cares about Christians in Nigeria and not Christians in Ukraine

Anyone who wants to address the virulent conspiracism and antisemitism on the right shouldn’t let Trump, Vance, and the most powerful men in the world get away with acting like craven moral imbeciles. Demand that they break their silence. My latest, no paywall open.substack.com/pub/mattjj/p...

i have never quite understood the praise for deneen's work because he honestly just seems like a crank

Deneen misrepresents liberalism’s fundamental principles and presents a warped history of liberalism that dismisses its achievements and exaggerates its weaknesses. @mattjj89.bsky.social

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