To the Editor:
Evan Goldstein’s article (“Can Jonathan Haidt Calm the Culture Wars?” July 7) reminded me of a passage in The Theory of Moral Sentiments, by Adam Smith, on the “animosity of hostile factions.” Smith says there are only a very few whose judgment is “untainted by the general contagion.” Haidt seems to be one of those few today. But Smith says “such people are held in contempt” by “the furious zealots of both parties” due to their candor, which is anathema to the “true party-man.” These zealots “impute all their own prejudices” and “all their own vindictive and implacable passions” to the “great Judge of the universe.” We need people like Haidt to remind us of this ugly and dangerous side of political righteousness.
We're sorry. Something went wrong.
We are unable to fully display the content of this page.
The most likely cause of this is a content blocker on your computer or network.
Please allow access to our site, and then refresh this page. You may then be asked to log in, create an account if you don't already have one, or subscribe.
If you continue to experience issues, please contact us at 202-466-1032 or help@chronicle.com