{"id":1995,"date":"2026-08-12T06:49:33","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T06:49:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/commercialrelocationpros.com\/?p=1995"},"modified":"2026-08-12T06:49:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T06:49:33","slug":"the-key-to-understanding-the-traditionalists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commercialrelocationpros.com\/?p=1995","title":{"rendered":"The Key to Understanding the Traditionalists"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

History Is Running Backwards<\/h3>\n
In the May issue, David Brooks considered why reactionaries are taking over the world.<\/em><\/div>\n
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Explore the September 2026 Issue<\/h2>\n

Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

View More<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cHistory Is Running Backwards\u201d is a provocative article. But I think David Brooks errs in framing traditionalism and modernity as an either\/or, when in fact they exist in a both\/and context. One can be both a traditionalist and a modernist simultaneously. The key, as Brooks notes, is that \u201ca well-adjusted life consists of daring explorations from a secure base.\u201d Would that we all were so blessed to have that!<\/p>\n

Read more Marlon James Returns to Realism, and to Jamaica<\/a><\/p>\n

Judy D. Cottrell<\/strong>
Eugene, Ore.<\/em><\/p>\n

In dividing humanity into two neat psychological types\u2014stability-seeking traditionalists and novelty-seeking progressives\u2014Brooks misses an essential point: Psychology doesn\u2019t exist in a vacuum; it constantly interacts with changing social factors. People who not long ago may have readily switched jobs and moved cities are now more likely to stay in place because of the scarcity of new positions and lack of affordable housing. Their psychology didn\u2019t change\u2014their circumstances did. Our ancestors who ventured out of Africa 1.9 million years ago were likely seeking their next meal, not the thrill of adventure. These days, people are liable to deny science and seek safety in traditional institutions because the grandest creation of modern technology\u2014artificial intelligence\u2014threatens everything about our way of life. Debates should focus not on psychological insecurity but on the technological, economic, and political decisions that are fostering material uncertainty and pushing people to cling to a much safer past.<\/p>\n

Allen Frances, M.D.<\/strong>
Carmel, Calif.<\/em><\/p>\n

The fact that the traditionalists whom Brooks discusses cannot even agree on when humanity\u2019s \u201cfall\u201d occurred should raise doubts about their ideology. What they are constructing is less history than creation myth: As in the story of Adam and Eve, the fall occurs when people begin thinking for themselves. History and science teach us that there never was an Eden of perfect human harmony. Civilization was built painfully, and by most measurable standards, life today is far better than it was in the past.<\/p>\n

The key to understanding the traditionalists is analyzing not the past they claim to describe but the present in which their appeals are gaining traction. Their movement has emerged as society has granted more rights to previously marginalized groups. Beneath the traditionalists\u2019 arguments lies a recurring sentiment: My group once had the authority to define how society should function, and now it no longer does<\/i>. If only people would stop questioning inherited traditions and defer once again to established authority, as defined by my group, then society could recover its lost harmony.<\/i><\/p>\n

Brooks suggests that cultivating a sense of \u201crootedness\u201d might help blunt the traditionalists\u2019 appeal. But many Americans do not see themselves reflected in what passes for American tradition. Our society does not make it easy for them to feel \u201crooted\u201d\u2014they do not see people like themselves in the literature or history they study. We need to develop broader narratives that tell the country\u2019s whole story. That in turn can cultivate a broader sense of belonging. The humanities do need revival, as Brooks argues. But they should not be organized around a myth of decline. They should be grounded instead in the founding principles that all people are created equal and possess inalienable rights. The continuing struggle to realize those ideals could provide the shared civic story in which all Americans might find roots.<\/p>\n

Thomas M. Thurston<\/strong>
Rosarito, Mexico<\/em><\/p>\n

Everything Is Free and Nothing Matters<\/h3>\n

In the May issue, Noah Hawley described what he saw at Jeff Bezos\u2019s Campfire retreat.<\/em><\/p>\n

F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote, \u201cLet me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me.\u201d Ernest Hemingway, in \u201cThe Snows of Kilimanjaro,\u201d issued a reply, writing, \u201cYes. They have more money.\u201d I returned to their exchange while reading Noah Hawley\u2019s essay about his time at Jeff Bezos\u2019s retreat. Hawley demonstrates that Fitzgerald was indeed correct\u2014and not merely in the way Hemingway considered. Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and their peers are so wealthy that they cannot spend all of their money in their lifetime. They really are free from consequences.<\/p>\n

Neil Ravin<\/strong>
Hampton, N.H.<\/em><\/p>\n

Billionaires are certainly having a moment\u2014they\u2019re more powerful than ever. But Noah Hawley\u2019s assertion that they are living consequence-free lives is false. After Elon Musk criticized Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cbig, beautiful bill,\u201d the president was clearly displeased, and a rift emerged between the two titans. But it was short-lived: Trump had the power to damage Musk\u2019s business interests by canceling his lucrative contracts with the federal government. Political leaders still have the power to rein in billionaires\u2014if only they\u2019re brave enough to try.<\/p>\n

Read more The Man Who Refused to Sit on the Sidelines<\/a><\/p>\n

Ken Taub<\/strong>
Saint James, N.Y.<\/em><\/p>\n

I Found It: The Best Free Restaurant Bread in America<\/h3>\n

In the May issue, Caity Weaver wrote a \u201cfun article for people to read.\u201d<\/p>\n

When I received my print edition and saw that the cover story was about America\u2019s \u201cbest free bread,\u201d I was a little grumpy. The world is in chaos, democracy is withering, and this was the best The Atlantic<\/i> could do? But because the story was on the cover, I sat down and read it. Turns out the answer was \u201cYes!\u201d Caity Weaver\u2019s article is an amazing novella. Her style is witty and brilliant, light and insightful. The article is a masterful piece of journalism and a true delight to read, even with its wrenching moments. Thank you for featuring something that pushed the chaos and gloom to the back of my mind for an hour.<\/p>\n

Stacey Wells<\/strong>
Oakland, Calif.<\/em><\/p>\n

In the midst of a particularly taxing, soul-sucking, and bleak week, \u201cI Found It: The Best Free Restaurant Bread in America\u201d made me smile and laugh and remember that there are still lovely things to discover about the world. I\u2019m very sorry for Weaver\u2019s loss. I\u2019m sure her parents would be proud that her articles have brought much joy to the world, and made a random computer programmer in Las Vegas not want to have a tantrum in the conference room.<\/p>\n

Evan Appel<\/strong>
Las Vegas, Nev.<\/em><\/p>\n

Behind the Cover<\/h3>\n

In this month\u2019s cover story, \u201cConfessions of a Token Black Professor,\u201d Tyler Austin Harper recounts his decision to leave a tenure-track assistant professorship at Bates College, in Maine. One of the few Black faculty members, Harper came to find the college\u2019s performative commitment to social justice suffocating, and ultimately hypocritical. On the cover, the outline of a lone figure walks away, set against the Bates seal.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Paul Spella, Senior Art Director<\/i><\/p>\n

Corrections<\/h3>\n

\u201cNever Call Retreat\u201d (July) misstated the name of the labor organization that repurposed \u201cBattle Hymn of the Republic\u201d into \u201cSolidarity Forever.\u201d It was the Industrial Workers of the World, not the International Workers of the World.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow Britain Became as Poor as Mississippi\u201d (July) stated that the economic gaps between London and other British cities are comparable to that between cities in West and East Germany. In fact, the economic gap between southeastern England, where London sits, and the rest of Britain is comparable to that between West and East Germany.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo You Want a Coat of Arms\u201d (July) gave the incorrect impression that Kate Middleton directly received her own coat of arms. The arms were granted to her father ahead of her royal wedding.<\/p>\n

This article appears in the <\/i>September 2026<\/i> print edition with the headline \u201cThe Commons.\u201d<\/i><\/small><\/p>\n

Read more Disunion<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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