Well, I "must read" it.
Look, the definition of a double-standard, which is Berkowitz's construct to help warm over D'Souza's embarrassment by relativising it, is that you apply the same standard two different ways.
What is the standard that is being mis-applied?
TWO ARGUMENTS
So far as I can tell, D'Souza has a set of arguments about the "Cultural Left" (whatever that is). I found Wolfe's Chronicle article (the Times Review piece doesn't seem to be available online [edit: found it]) in which he makes a case how Contemporary politics on the Right might be interpreted, using a conception of politics given by Schmitt and direct inferences from writings of visible and arguably influential Conservatives like Coulter and O'Reilly (see article for direct quotes of the same, but one could add things like Woolsey's "Two word message: You're next!").
SAME STANDARD: WOLFE'S ARGUMENT DOESN'T FAIL CONSIDERATION THE SAME WAY AS D'SOUZA'S
We might question both theses on different grounds. D'Souza's thesis that the Left is responsible for 9/11 is based on crap scholarship and lousy inference, mostly. Wolfe's argument that the Right has gone shrill, in recent times, falling prey to a high-pitch on "the enemy", might be questioned on how fully it fits the facts of a diverse Conservative party and whether, as put forward, it really parallels Schmitt's narrow concept of 'the political'.
Wolfe has offered up a theory about contemporary politics, centered on whether Conservatives increasingly have a wholly different conception of politics, either in relation to their own heritage or to a Liberal conception of politics. Sensible people might disagree over the scope and nuance of that theory, and some might even find it offensive, if only because of the taint of Schmitt.
D'Souza has offered up a lot of tripe, so far as I can tell, garbage centered on a theory that Liberals are actually provoking al-qa'ida to terrorist acts, among other things.
WOLFE IS EVOCATIVE, D'SOUZA IS A BORE, AND BERKOWITZ IS TRYING TO PUT A SQUARE INTO A ROUND TO SAY THEY ARE THE SAME
If there is a double-standard to be found in their somewhere, I don't see it. Berkowitz seems to find one just as a matter of convenience to link together two items in the hope that it might take the spotlight off D'Souza's egregious book.
sullylink
