The DC Salon

Chris McCaffery, Celeste Marcus, and fifty of their closest friends gather in the Liberties Journal offices to ask and answer the question "Is Curiosity Dangerous?"

Christopher McCaffery, Celeste Marcus, and fifty of their closest friends ask and answer the question Is There Honor Without Revenge?

Christopher McCaffery, Celeste Marcus, and fifty New Yorkers together ask and answer the question "Can We Change How We Love?"

Christopher McCaffery, Celeste Marcus, and fifty of their closest friends ask and answer the question "Can We Change How We love?"

Liberties Journal's associate publisher and managing editor together with sixty of their closest friends ask and answer the question "Can We Learn To Be Alone?"

Chris McCaffery, Celeste Marcus, and thirty of their closest friends assemble on New Years eve to together ask and answer the question "Can People Change?"

Christopher McCaffery, Celeste Marcus, and fifty of their closest friends ask and answer the question "Is Art More Beautiful Than Nature?".

Christopher McCaffery, Celeste Marcus, and fifty of their closest friends ask and answer the question "Can We Choose Our Beliefs?".

Christopher McCaffery, Celeste Marcus, and fifty of their closest friends ask and answer the question "may we despair?".

Christopher McCaffery, Celeste Marcus, and fifty of their closest friends ask and answer: Can Nonbelievers Pray?

Christopher McCaffery, Celeste Marcus, and fifty of their closest friends discuss what propaganda is and whether it is easily identifiable.

Christopher McCaffery, of the Washington Review of Books, and Celeste Marcus host a conversation in which a group of interested parties ask and answer whether or not they should like their friends.

Christopher McCaffery, of the Washington Review of Books, and Celeste Marcus host their spiciest salon yet. Is nationalism inherently evil? Is it the least important of our identities? It is the most important? Can one be loyal to a people but not that people's government? We ask and offer answers to these and more related questions.

Christopher McCaffery, of the Washington Review of Books, and Celeste Marcus host a salon of interested parties who together ask and offer answers to the question ‘Should art be useful?’

Christopher McCaffery, of the Washington Review of Books, and Celeste Marcus host a salon of interested parties who together ask and offer answers to the question ‘Should love be healthy?’

Christopher McCaffery, of the Washington Review of Books, and Celeste Marcus host a salon of interested parties who together ask and offer answers to the question ‘Is forgiveness possible?’

Host Chuong Nguyen talks to Celeste Marcus about her most recent essay, After Rape: A Guide For The Tormented. They consider questions like, "Why is rape so difficult to talk about?" "How long does it take to feel okay afterwards?" "Why do so many rapists not think of what they did as rape?"

Chris McCaffery, of the Washington Review of Books, and Celeste Marcus, managing editor of Liberties, host a salon in which they and a group of lively invested parties ask whether or not books are worthwhile. Speakers in order of appearance: Jerome Copulsky, Carlos Lozada, Becca Rothfeld, Mikra Namani, Laura Field, Osita Nwanevu, Nic Rowan, Ari Schulman, Steven Larkin, Zach Wehrwein, Lars Schonander, and Hannah Rowan.

Khalil Sayegh, a Palestinian born and raised in Gaza, talks about his experience in the peace-building world and how he intends to change it.

Recording of a salon held on October 19th with Arash Azizi about socialism, liberalism, and the Israeli Palestinian conference. EVENT UPDATE: This salon is being reframed in light of the current crisis in the Middle East: Arash Azizi, a specialist on Iran, and Celeste Marcus, a liberal Zionist, will discuss how Arash’s socialism and my liberalism inform our views of the current paroxysms. Both of our ideologies are universalist, and that universalism is in tension with our respective tribalisms. This is sure to be a spirited, respectful, and interesting conversation.   Arash Azizi, author of The Shadow Commander: Soleimani, the US, and Iran’s Global Amibtions, and What Iranians Want: Women, Life Freedom, joins Celeste Marcus to discuss how the humanism that undergirds his socialism is complimentary of, if not identical with, the liberalism to which Liberties is dedicated. Liberalism is a political and philosophical theory dedicated to the protection of individual rights. It is itself secular, though an ideal liberal society is pluralistic and protects the rights of individuals to practice and observe as they please so long as their practices do not infringe on the rights of others. Because of liberalism’s pluralism, it depends on minorities to use the liberal system in order to advocate on their own behalf. Therefore, liberals are often dependent on non-liberals (since statistically a large percentage of leaders of minority groups will not identify as liberals) to do the advocacy work which allows a liberal society to function healthily. Arash Azizi is an example of a writer and advocate who uses the language and philosophy of socialism to advocate for the individual rights that liberalism too holds dear. This will be a discussion about how his socialism is and is not consistent with Liberties‘ liberalism. Recommended reading: “Liberalism of Fear” by Judith Shklar is the text that best informs Celeste Marcus’ liberalism “Marxism and Democracy”  by  Michael Harrington will furnish an understand of Arash Azizi’s socialism. See also: “What Karl Marx Really Thought About Liberalism.”