The Right Side of History - Book Summary

Encountering discontent in the land of the free and the home of democracy

Picture this: you're sitting comfortably in your suburban home, enjoying the latest show on your flat-screen TV, and your biggest worry is what you'll post next on your social media profile. Western society has granted us unparalleled comfort and freedom, yet something odd is happening. There's a palpable unhappiness in the air, an undercurrent of outrage that seems to pervade everything from the evening news to the family dinner table. It's not just a split worldview between supporters of different political parties; it's a chasm of distrust and even hatred. How did it come to this, where admiration for Western ideals has soured into contempt?

For a moment, imagine the shock of an Orthodox Jew like the author – branded a neo-Nazi by some fringe voices on the political left while simultaneously receiving a deluge of anti-Semitic abuse from the shadows of the far-right. What's causing this dangerous oversimplification and polarized vitriol?

Some point fingers at the West itself, labeling it a source of harm instead of recognizing its immeasurable contributions to global advancement. This narrative aims to revisit the philosophical bedrock upon which Western civilization stands. It investigates the interplay of moral purpose, rational thought, scientific progress, and individual freedoms that have crafted our society.

The tale of two ancient cities: Jerusalem and Athens

At the heart of Western success lie the intertwined philosophies of two ancient cities — Jerusalem and Athens. Jerusalem contributed the Biblical pillars that introduced concepts of human equality and free will, forever changing how we view one another and our place in the world. Athens, on the other hand, gave us the stirring philosophical inquiries of Greek thinkers whose influence still ripples through time.

When societies deviate from this duality — dismissing the guidance of spiritual insight paired with the rigor of Greek reasoning — they veer off toward a less desirable path. The author warns of the danger in casting aside this legacy, cautioning against stepping away from the very principles that foster progress and enlightenment.

Our pursuit of happiness and the moral compass

In this age of self-help gurus and endless streams of self-improvement advice, one would think that happiness is just a viral quote away. But dig a little deeper, and it's clear that true contentment is tethered to something more profound — moral purpose. To wake up with a sense of moral direction is to start the day already richer in fulfillment.

Happiness gained from ethical living doesn't just benefit the soul; it fortifies societies. It's the soil from which liberty and righteousness grow, and without it, communities could wither into discontent and chaos. This moral crux is indispensable in the pursuit of a life well-lived.

A revolutionary warning from history

History buffs and casual readers alike may romanticize the French Revolution as a pivotal moment of progress. However, according to the author, it serves instead as a cautionary tale of straying too far from our philosophical roots. The blood-soaked streets of Paris, and the terror that followed, remind us that revolutions divorced from moral rectitude and prudence can spiral into uncontrollable disasters.

The societal fracture that ensued showed what happens when ideological zeal replaces reflective thought and when the quest for liberty is robbed of ethical grounding. It’s this historic reminder — of the fine line between the quest for liberty and the descent into anarchy — that underlines the essence of ‘The Right Side of History.’

In this summary, we unveil layers of context to the all-important question: what has led the West to the high seat of global progress yet has it teetering on the edge of deep internal rifts? The answer unwraps the profound significance of our shared philosophical heritage and underscores the importance of not losing grip on the values that have long guided us through the mosaic of history.

Finding joy through virtue and purpose, not just pleasure

The quest for happiness is as ancient as civilization itself, yet we sometimes seem more confused than ever about what it truly is. Are we content when we indulge in immediate gratification, or is there something deeper that nurtures our soul? A 2014 Washington Post article revealed a startling sentiment among Americans: a majority feel doubtful that the future will be brighter for the coming generations. This pervasive gloom suggests that our societal compass may be off track when it comes to understanding the essence of joy.

Peering into the philosophical and spiritual wisdom of the past, we're reminded that happiness emanates from leading a moral and purposeful existence. The Hebrew word simcha, found in the Bible, isn't merely about pleasure but aligns with the idea of living according to divine guidance. The joy that Solomon spoke about is not fleeting but is rooted in embracing the work and purpose assigned by God.

The ancient Athenian luminary, Aristotle, echoed a similar notion, intertwining happiness with virtue. He posited that living well meant fulfilling our unique human function. For Aristotle, this function is our ability to reason, to rise above basic instincts, and engage with the world through the lens of logic and morality.

The parallels between the insights of the Bible and the Greek philosophers are striking. They each point to a happiness that transcends temporal pleasure, steering us toward serving a cause greater than ourselves, whether it be a spiritual duty or the pursuit of knowledge and virtue.

But let's be clear — this isn't about denying oneself happiness in pursuit of stoic ideals. Instead, it's a matter of finding deeper satisfaction. This isn't the happiness of a weekend getaway; it's the rooted contentment that comes from a life well-lived, filled with intention and conviction.

Viktor Frankl, a psychiatrist who survived the Holocaust, profoundly understood the importance of purpose. In his writings, he emphasized that those who couldn't find meaning in the bleakest situations were the quickest to falter. Survival, both physical and spiritual, hinged on realizing what life demands of us, not merely what we demand from life.

If we've unraveled the thread connecting happiness and moral purpose, what are the practical implications? How do we apply these ancient truths to life's modern complexities? The pursuit of a good life, it seems, remains an enduring quest, requiring us to recalibrate from the pursuit of pleasure to the cultivation of purpose and virtue. This reorientation offers not just a personal sense of peace but strengthens the very fabric of society.

Challenging the status quo: The Judeo-Christian legacy of equality and progress

Since time immemorial, the world bowed to hierarchy as the natural order—divine rulers atop the pinnacle, and the masses in their ordained place beneath. Pharaohs in Egypt were seen as earthly manifestations of Ra, the god of the sun, while the death of Emperor Augustus triggered the Roman Senate to deify him. These were symbols of a time when equity among humans was a foreign concept, unquestioned and immutable as the rise and fall of celestial bodies.

Then came a seismic shift with the Judeo-Christian worldview presented in the Bible. Humanity was no longer segmented into those of divine descent and mere mortals. Instead, the revolutionary proclamation that all people are created in the image of God shattered the bedrock of ancient inequality. This single notion suggested that every human being held inherent value and dignity, a declaration of equality that would ripple forward through the ages.

Perhaps even more radical was the concept of free will handed down through these same texts. At the dawn of existence stood Adam with the freedom to choose, embodying the potential and pitfalls of human agency. His story is our story, a narrative that insists individual choice and moral responsibility are foundational to who we are.

It wasn't merely free will and equality that spiraled out from these spiritual roots; the belief in progress—that history isn't a meaningless cycle but a journey towards betterment—has its genesis in Judeo-Christian teachings. This narrative stands in sharp contrast to ancient philosophies that viewed time as cyclical and existence as static, where gods capriciously meddled for their amusement rather than for the advancement of mankind.

The Biblical God, however, is portrayed as an artisan sculpting creation towards ever-greater complexity, a divine advocate for advancement and learning. From the moment Noah and his family step from the ark into a new world, there's an implication that history moves purposefully forward.

So when modern discourse champions progress, it's often unwittingly echoing a millennia-old religious doctrine that changed the very way we perceive our place in the universe. This inheritance from our Judeo-Christian ancestors is not merely a relic of the past; it is the pillar supporting our contemporary ideals of moving towards a world of greater justice, knowledge, and freedom.

The Athenian gift of reason and its profound impact

The story of Western civilization is not solely a spiritual one. Parallel to the moral underpinnings provided by the Bible, the philosophers in the city of Athens bequeathed to us a different kind of elevation. It wasn’t through divine imperatives that humans transcended their animal kin; it was through the intrinsic power of reason. The great minds of ancient Greece instilled in humanity the conviction that reason is our defining feature and our most potent tool.

Reason became the cornerstone upon which the democratic societies we recognize today were built. In a time when political discourse and public debate weren't the norms, it was the Greek thinkers who challenged humanity to wield reason in the governance of society.

While not necessarily espousing democracy as we understand it today, these visionaries like Plato shifted the focus toward the pursuit of wisdom in leadership, even if his ideal was more in line with the rule of the enlightened few. Aristotle, his student, offered a counterpoint – he visualized a blended polity where the masses had a voice alongside the wise and seasoned.

The Athenian influence didn't end with politics. It sowed the seeds for the scientific method as well. Take, for example, Pythagoras in the sixth century BCE and his quest for cosmic harmony. Mathematics was his medium, and his research yielded timeless contributions like the Pythagorean theorem. This desire to understand the universe mathematically was revolutionary and marked a departure from earlier beliefs that the world was a static creation of capricious deities.

Ancient philosophers didn't just presume the world's complexity; they sought to decode it. Heraclitus introduced the concept of logos, theorizing an overarching, coherent structure governing the cosmos. This marked the beginnings of a rational exploration of existence that would ultimately pave the way for the West's ascendancy in science and technology.

As we continue to unravel the strands of our philosophical heritage, it's essential to recognize how the Athenian legacy of reason – the empowering belief in human capacity for logic, understanding, and critical thinking – has shaped not just the past but continues to influence our present-day world order.

Unveiling the harmonious dance between Christianity and scientific discovery

Dispelling myths of an inherent clash between religion and science, history paints a vastly different picture—one where Christianity fostered scientific inquiry, not stymied it. It's a popular narrative now to view the two as adversaries, suggesting that science has marched forward in spite of religious convictions. However, the truth reveals a harmonious relationship, where faith and reason often walked hand in hand.

Consider the illustrious figures of medieval and Renaissance science, whose belief in a divine order didn't hinder but actually inspired their groundbreaking work. Nicole Oresme, a bishop and polymath, made early advances in understanding the Earth's rotation. Nicolaus Copernicus, whose heliocentric theory revolutionized astronomy, was deeply linked to his church, dedicating his seminal work to Pope Paul III.

It's undeniable that tensions rose as the Church grappled with scientific revelations during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, exemplified by the persecution of Galileo. Yet, Galileo himself never saw his scientific pursuits as opposing his faith; on the contrary, he saw them as a path closer to understanding God's intricate creation.

Alongside the flourishing of science under the wings of Christianity, there emerged the burgeoning concept of individual rights championed by thinkers like John Locke. Locke's ideas about natural rights stemmed from moral obligations—a duty to not harm led to a right to safety and property. He viewed government as a protector of these innate rights and advocated for the revolutionary idea that governance required the consent of the governed.

Locke's profound insights established that governments should exist to uphold life and liberty, to dispense justice, and to provide public goods. Bearing this in mind, he argued that the governed possess the right to resist when their rights are transgressed—a powerful notion that would echo through the corridors of power and into the hearts of future revolutionaries.

These revelations set the stage for a deep exploration into how Locke's principles of life, liberty, and property influenced the political landscapes to come. His vision of limited governmental duty resonates through the structure of modern democracies and continues to be a benchmark against which civil liberties are measured and understood.

The founding of the United States: A unique blend of ancient wisdom and enlightened thought

Envisioning a new nation grounded not in the haphazard whims of rulers but in the deliberate embrace of philosophical insight, the United States established itself as an unprecedented experiment in governance. It was here that the ancient teachings of Jerusalem and Athens met the innovative mind of the Enlightenment to birth a country unlike any other.

Thomas Jefferson, drawing upon the expansive libraries of wisdom stretching back to antiquity, saw the Declaration of Independence as more than a political severance—it was a synthesis of the intellectual giants who came before. It proclaimed the equality of man, echoing the Biblical creation of humans in the divine image, while incorporating Locke's principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

This founding philosophy did more than promise a set of liberties; it created a habitat where human happiness could thrive, fostering a nation that would become a beacon of freedom and prosperity for countless individuals across the globe.

Yet history offers a stark contrast in the tale of the French Revolution, which veered away from the valuable union of religious values and philosophical reason. The revolutionaries, inflamed by a utopian zeal to upend the old order of monarchy and faith, bypassed a wealth of established wisdom. Figures like Denis Diderot represented a radical ideology, one that eventually influenced the grooves along which the French Revolution would grind disastrously forward.

Unlike the American revolutionaries, who saw rights as divine gifts safeguarding individual freedoms, the leaders of the French Revolution anchored all authority in the state. In Robespierre's vision, virtue and patriotism were entwined with adherence to French law, leading to a situation where liberties like freedom of speech and religion were conditional, subservient to the state's definition of public order.

The consequences of disregarding a balance of personal liberties and government restraint were grim: a reign of terror that decimated thousands and a subsequent civil war that claimed ever more lives. A sharp lesson in the dangers of straying too far from the pillars of Western thought, the French Revolution exemplified the perils of a utopian pursuit that neglected the roots of its own civilization.

From these contrasting stories of nation-founding rises the sobering reminder that while the quest for an ideal society is noble, the means of reaching it must stay anchored in the tried-and-true blend of spiritual morality and philosophical rationale that have long defined the success of the West.

The perilous allure of collectivism over individual rights

The ripple effects of the French Revolution’s focus on collectivism rather than individualism echo ominously through the annals of history. This pivot from valuing personal rights to prioritizing the group has ushered in some of history's most somber chapters, demonstrating the inherent dangers of such an ideology. Despite the grim lessons of the past, the notion of collectivism continues to beckon to those who find the promise of a unified group purpose irresistible.

The Soviet Union's foray into communism cast a stark light on the ramifications of subjugating individual freedoms to the will of the masses. Lenin, in his quest for what he dubbed a 'democracy for the poor,' spoke of an expanded democracy but admitted that it would necessitate the suppression of certain liberties, particularly those of the capitalist class.

As communism tightened its grip on Russia, leaders like Grigory Zinoviev dispensed with any pretense, declaring that the elite minority had to be exterminated for the good of the overwhelming majority. Such rhetoric laid the groundwork for policies that resulted in profound suffering and loss of life, all justified by the glorification of the collective.

While the United States was spared the brutalities of Soviet rule, early 20th-century America was not immune to ideologies that diminished the sanctity of individual rights. Progressive figures of the era, including President Theodore Roosevelt, supported disturbing initiatives like compulsory sterilization, targeting those they deemed unfit for society. Such proposals were frightening echoes of an approach that veered dangerously toward selecting who could contribute to the collective and who could not.

Margaret Sanger's establishment of an organization which would evolve into Planned Parenthood carries with it a shadowed history. Her advocacy for the sterilization or segregation of society's "unfit" hinted at a willingness to sacrifice individual lives for a perceived improvement of the collective genome.

These moments in history starkly contrast with the ideals embraced by America's Founding Fathers, who envisioned a better world grounded in the timeless principles of life, liberty, and personal happiness. In stark opposition, some advocates of collectivism in the 20th century positioned a well-functioning collective, even at the potential cost of individual lives, as their quintessential goal.

It is this tension between the collective and the individual—between a pursuit for common welfare that sacrifices personal freedom and a vision for society that treasures individual rights—that continues to shape political and philosophical discourse. The founders believed in a harmony where society's well-being could flourish without trampling on personal liberties, an ideal that remains a guiding beacon in the turbulent waters of governance and societal progress.

Divisive identity politics versus the unifying principles of Western philosophy

In the contemporary landscape of political discourse, the author observes a concerning deviation from the values that once underpinned Western civilization. He suggests that elements within the modern political left have shifted focus from aspirational ideals of truth, rational thought, and virtue to adopting a narrative centered on victimhood and identity-based tribalism, transforming political debate from constructive dialogue to antagonistic confrontation.

This trend is epitomized by the rise of intersectionality, a concept introduced by legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw. It posits that individual identities intersect across various dimensions—such as race, gender, religion, and sexual orientation—resulting in unique experiences of discrimination and privilege. While it provides a framework to appreciate the complex social dynamics influencing individual lives, the author contends that intersectionality has also been weaponized to demand acknowledgment of privilege, particularly from those who do not belong to minority groups.

The repercussions of this dynamic extend to political outliers within these minority communities. Shapiro points to conservative figures like Nikki Haley, who despite being a woman of color, faces dismissal from certain circles simply due to her Republican and pro-life stance.

This ideological shift doesn't stop at politics—it reaches into the realm of science and objectivity. Some advocates suggest that even scientific rigor is an extension of societal privilege, thereby challenging the very basis of empirical knowledge.

Shapiro warns that the slide into tribalism undermines the fabric of Western society, built upon the combined legacies of Jerusalem's moral teachings and Athens' intellectual pursuits. This deep-rooted emphasis on liberty, individual rights, personal responsibility, and tireless inquiry into the natural world—cornerstones of our advancements in freedom, science, and health—are at risk of being eroded by an overemphasis on tribal allegiance.

To steer civilization back on a course towards growth and enlightenment, the author calls for a reengagement with these enduring principles. Only by reclaiming the values that have historically propelled society forward can we resist the divisive pull of tribalism and renew our collective commitment to the rich philosophical heritage that shapes the essence of Western civilization.

Embracing our legacy for a brighter future

In concluding thoughts, the essence of the West's remarkable journey throughout history can be traced back to two pivotal ideas: the belief in our divine image, as per the teachings of Jerusalem, and the uniquely human capacity for reason, a gift from the philosophers of Athens. It is these principles that have charted our path toward groundbreaking scientific discoveries, the evolution of human rights, the cherishing of liberty, and an unwavering belief in the potential for progress.

Yet, there is a concerning trend in contemporary society where these core values are increasingly overlooked, giving rise to a divisive tribalism that threatens the very framework of our civilization. We find ourselves at a critical juncture, embroiled in identity politics and losing sight of the rational discourse and moral compass that have historically guided us.

To preserve the greatness of the West and to continue enhancing the fabric of our society, there is an urgent need for a collective reawakening to the lessons of our heritage. By reaffirming the importance of these foundational values — embracing both our divine-imbued dignity and our rationality — we can resist the downward pull of tribalism and recommit to a future built on the tenets that have long defined the success and virtue of Western civilization.