Thank you for following me, by the way. I recently had one post distributed, and I have also been commenting on some popular stories recently, so that’s most likely how we intersected.
There is, of course, the part of me that is motived by self interest. The attraction to Medium is that it is an environment where a) readers must buy in, signaling a level of vested interest not found on Twitter, and b) readers can support the writers they like almost directly, making it easier for writers to get compensated. More readers would mean more income, in short.
But as a reader, I am bothered by the seeming lack of representation from the other side of the debate. I don’t consider myself far right or extreme libertarian, but solidly conservative. I appreciate being challenged by opposing views, since I believe that critical thinkers learn best by wrestling with ideas. However, I recognize that there are many who understand the possitions I hold better than I do, and I would appreciate the opportunity to learn from them as well.
As far as the merit of the curation system goes, I am not opposed to it. For example, I think that there are some serious issues with the way that YouTube uses algorithms to promote content; no one fully understands in, arguably not even YouTube itself. Having a team of human curators gives Medium the feel of a journal or literary review, which is intriguing to say the least. I am merely objecting to the way that the system currently seems to function. The curation team could make efforts to change the balance of ideology relatively easily, and I think the platform would stand to benefit from it.
On the issue of universities and ideology, there is certainly a correlation between higher education and liberalization of thought. Indeed, there is certainly some merit in the position that education makes one more ideologically progressive. College students are of an age that tends to think more progressively by nature; introducing them to the broader ideas present on campus is bound to make them think more liberally. However, there is something to be said for the fact that with the wisdom of age, people tend to become more conservative in their disposition. Thus, to say that progressivism is inherently the more educated position I find spurious.
In addition, the faculty and the administrations of many universities are exceedingly liberal, which turns the campus into a leftist echo chamber. There is a great deal of documentation to support the idea that the university is far left of general public. (Ben Shapiro made himself famous with a book based on such a premise.) Thus, a possible explaination is for the liberalization of students on campus is not because of the inherent truth of progressivism, but simply the ideological dogma they are tought.
Of course, this theory of mine is half-baked at best, and would require more development.
