President’s Forum presents ‘Election 2024: Left, Right, or Unrecognizable?’

With election day fast approaching, Americans are poised to elect their first woman president or return to office a highly controversial former president. To most, the race seems like a clash between two divergent worldviews. But what if the political spectrum—which pits progressives on one side of an ideological spectrum and conservatives on the other, doesn’t actually exist? What if America’s two main parties have evolved in so many contradictory ways that there is nothing but tribal loyalty holding together the positions held by today’s Democrats and Republicans?

This is the argument brothers Verlan and Hyrum Lewis make in their provocative book The Myth of Left and Right: How the Political Spectrum Misleads and Harms America. The duo will share their thesis and explain how this ideological inconsistency has contributed to the confusion and rancor in our politics. They will be joined by scholars Bryan Caplan and Robin Hanson, who will argue that there still exists a coherent ideological distinction between the progressive and conservative movements.

Ultimately, the discussion will help attendees understand the upcoming election on a deeper level and will suggest new ways of thinking about politics that are more accurate and less polarizing.

Shannon Zlotkowski, UNE assistant provost for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), will serve as moderator.

Participants

• Verlan Lewis is the Stirling Professor of Constitutional Studies at Utah Valley University.
• Hyrum Lewis is a professor of history at Brigham Young University-Idaho and was previously a visiting scholar at Stanford University.
• Bryan Caplan is a professor of economics at George Mason University. His book, The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Make Bad Choices, was named best political book of 2008 by The New York Times.
• Robin Hanson is an associated professor of economics at George Mason University. He is the author of The Elephant in the Brain: The Hidden Motives of Everyday Life and other books.