Michael Anton Reviews Glenn Ellmers’s “The Narrow Passage”

I just read Michael Anton’s review of Glenn Elmer’s book “The Narrow Passage.”  The book is an attempt to identify the origins and reasons for the degeneration of Western society that currently is described as “woke culture.”

I won’t attempt to paraphrase his paraphrase of Elmer’s argument but it will be enough to say that Elmer’s thesis is that woke culture is the result of the same tendency that destroyed fifth century Athens.  Basically the elites of that time and place rejected religion based on the rational arguments of the philosophers and the moral relativism that replaced religion proved too nihilistic to sustain a healthy society.  Now this is my cheap and dirty version of Anton’s essay but it gives you the idea.

And truthfully it sounds about right.  When you displace God in a community’s life what’s left is pretty awful.  Anton’s review looks at all of the historical precedents for this theory from Plato to the Straussians.  But the overarching concept is pretty clear.  Pushing God out leads to the woke mindset.  Sometimes not directly but eventually as everything normal and decent is questioned and rejected for the sake of freedom.

Interesting essay.  I’m tempted to read the book but we’ll have to see.  There’s so much to do.  Time’s short.