Aug. 16, 2005

Reading Left to Right

By Scott McLemee

Once upon a time — back in the days of dial-up and of press conferences devoted to the presidential libido — there was a phenomenon known as the “web log.” It was like a blog, only different. A web log consisted almost entirely of links to pages that the ‘logger had recently visited online. There might also be a brief description of the site, or an evaluative remark. But the commentary was quick, not discursive; and it was secondary to the link. The product resembled an itinerary or a scrapbook more than it did a diary or an op-ed page.

So when Political Theory Daily Review started in January 2003, it already looked a little bit old-fashioned, blogospherically speaking. It was a log, plain and simple. There were three new links each day. The first was to a newspaper or magazine article about some current event. The second tended to go to a debate or polemical article. And the third (always the wild card, the one it was most interesting to see) would be academic: a link to a scholarly article in an online journal, or a conference site, or perhaps the uploaded draft of a paper in PDF.

In the intervening years, the site has grown wildly — at least in size, if not in reputation. (Chances are that more bloggers read Political Theory than ever link to it.) The same three departments exist, but often with a dozen or more links in each. By now, clearly, the Review must be a team effort. The sheer volume of material logged each day suggests it is run by a collective of gnomes who tirelessly scour the Web for eruditia.

But in fact, it is all the work of one person, Alfredo Perez, who keeps a pretty low profile, even on his own site. I got in touch with Perez to find out who he is, and how he puts the Review together. (I also wondered if he ever got much sleep, but forgot to ask that part.) Here, in any case, is the gist of our e-mail discussion, presented with his permission.

Alfredo Perez is 34 years old and originally from Puerto Rico. After going to college in the United States, he went back to the island to work in the government for a few years, then headed to New York in 1996. He ended up at the New School, where he is now pursuing a dissertation on political theory. He lists his research interests as “normative political theory, cosmopolitanism and sovereignty, theories of human nature, and political economy.”

Now, alembicating all of that down to a manageable dissertation is not so easy. And it sounds like Political Theory Daily Review has had a complicating effect on the whole process. “Writing a dissertation is an exercise in becoming an expert in one small piece of scholarly real estate,” he says. “It really hasn’t helped in that way.”

But the Review has also had its educational benefits for Perez. It has encouraged him to keep up with fields that are now in the news: “the debate regarding constitutional interpretation, the arguments about American foreign policy and its impact around the world, and the space for religion in the public sphere....” He says he “probably would have been much less informed about [these areas] without having to keep up the site.”

Over the year or so that I’ve come to rely on the Review as gateway to new material online, the most striking thing has been Perez’s mix of sources. On the one hand, he covers extremely topical material — “ripped from today’s headlines,” with quite a few of those headlines being from the English-language editions of foreign newspapers and magazines.

On the other hand, some of the sites to which Perez links are exotic, esoteric, or just downright weird. I’m glad to hear about the debate over liberalism in a Slovakian journal called Kritika & Kontext — but could probably have lived without seeing the United States Christian Flag. It is a relief, though, to learn that the latter Web site’s sponsors “are not trying to overthrow the government or force anyone to be a Christian.” Thank heaven for small favors.

How does Perez keep up with all this stuff? What are his criteria for linking? Do readers send him tips?

To take the last question first: No, for the most part, they don’t. Evidently he just has one wicked set of bookmarks.

“I try to link to things that are interesting to me or to anyone trying to keep up with current events,” says Perez, “not just political theory.... I don’t link to technical papers on, say, economics, but if I see an interview with Gary Becker or an article on Amartya Sen, I don’t think twice about linking to that. Sometimes I link to articles on Theory, essays by literary critics, or events in the world of literature.” He also has an interest in the natural sciences — biology, in particular — so he links to things he’s following in Scientific American and other publications.

Perez doesn’t link to blogs. That way, madness lies. “It would be too much work to consider linking to the blogosphere,” he says.”

He places a special emphasis on pointing readers to “articles that are sure — or have the potential — to become part of what’s debated in the public sphere.” That includes things like op-eds in The New York Times, articles on public policy in The American Prospect, and essays from the socialist journal Dissent — “material that I think should be a part of the ‘required reading’ for anyone who wants to stay on top of the news and public debates.”

His default list of required readings shows a certain tilt to the left. But he also links to material far removed from his own politics — publications such as Reason,First Things,Policy Review, and “The Occidental Quarterly.” Actually, it was Perez’s site that first introduced me to the latter periodical, which describes itself as a “journal of Western thought and opinion.” Its editors are keen on eugenics, stricter immigration laws, and the European cultural tradition (in particular the German contribution thereto).

“I think it obvious,” says Perez, “that anyone interested in public debates about more philosophical matters has to be familiar with those on ‘the other side.’ I think it’s just plain smart to do so. Reading counterarguments to your position can often be more helpful than readings that just confirm your own point of view.” He says he makes no claim to be “fair and balanced,” but also “doesn’t want to alienate visitors who are on the right. I want them coming back!”

Any editorializing at Political Theory Daily Review tends to be implicit, rather than full-throated. It may be that lack of a sharp ideological edge, as much as the sheer number of links in the course of a week, that creates the impression that the site is the work of a committee.

Perez admits that he’s “not very comfortable about publishing opinions willy-nilly like many people are when writing on their blogs. In fact, I am part of a group blog, Political Arguments, but I hardly ever post there.” It’s not that he lacks a viewpoint, or is shy about arguing politics and philosophy with his friends and family.

“I’m pretty sure I could defend those views well enough,” he told me. “I guess it’s my way of being a bit careful about the whole process. People in academia cannot be timid about their own views, of course, especially political theorists with regards to politics. But it’s different when discussing day-to-day events as soon as they happen.”

The line between public intellectual and pompous gasbag is, to be sure, a slender one; and it runs down a slippery slope. Perez’s caution is understandable. “I don’t think I have to mention any specific names in academia as examples,” he says, “in order to make my point here.”

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