The Conundrum of the Left and the Antifa

Antifascist demonstrators (one apparently wearing a "Fly Emirates" shirt) waiting outside Emancipation Park in Charlottesville on Saturday. Getty Images

It's true that Ann Coulter tweeted out a link to this new Atlantic article. Even so, the piece, which was obviously written before the events in Charlottesville, is worth a read if you're trying to figure out whether liberalism can be squared with current manifestations of American antifascism. The author, Peter Beinart, writes:

Antifa believes it is pursuing the opposite of authoritarianism. Many of its activists oppose the very notion of a centralized state. But in the name of protecting the vulnerable, antifascists have granted themselves the authority to decide which Americans may publicly assemble and which may not. That authority rests on no democratic foundation. Unlike the politicians they revile, the men and women of antifa cannot be voted out of office. Generally, they don’t even disclose their names.

Much of the piece draws on experiences in Portland, Oregon, which, according to Beinart, "has become a bastion of antifascist militancy."