I have a bit of an on-off reading relationship with openDemocracy. I used to be a very regular visitor, and thought they really were paving the way to a new way of publishing online. But for the past few months I have to admit when I’ve had a scan through the email each week I haven’t clicked through many times. It’s become a bit predictable, dare I say it, a bit opinionated. The editorial policy has meant that like the Guardian (or for that matter the Daily Mail) I didn’t really have to read on beyond the headline to know roughly what line they were going to take.
Anyway, the reason I’ve noticed is that this week I clicked through again. They’re running a piece where Canadian academic Shadia Drury discusses her work trying to explain what Leo Strauss was on about and why we should be worried. She’s been writing about him for 15 years but it’s only now, with US foreign policy driven his devotees, that people are waking up to her message. Adbusters also did a brilliant network map of the influence of Strauss on the administration in their last issue if you’re interested.
