Yuval Levin
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Yuval Levin (; born April 6, 1977) is an Israeli-American
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
political analyst,
academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
, and
journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
. He is the founding editor of ''
National Affairs ''National Affairs'' is a quarterly magazine in the United States about political affairs that was first published in September 2009. Its founding editor, Yuval Levin, and authors are typically considered to be conservative and right-wing. The ...
'' (2009–present), the director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the
American Enterprise Institute The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right think tank based in Washington, D.C., that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare ...
(2019–present), and a contributing editor of ''
National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...
'' (2007–present) and co-founder and a senior editor of '' The New Atlantis'' (2003–present)''.'' Levin was the vice president and Hertog Fellow of
Ethics and Public Policy Center The Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) is a conservative Washington, D.C.–based think tank and advocacy group. Founded in 1976, the group describes itself as "working to apply the riches of the Jewish and Christian traditions to contempora ...
(2007–19), executive director of the
President's Council on Bioethics The President's Council on Bioethics (PCBE) was a group of individuals appointed by United States President George W. Bush to advise his administration on bioethics. Established on November 28, 2001, by Executive Order 13237, the council was d ...
(2001–04), Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy (2004–07), and contributing editor to
The Weekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis, and commentary that was published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' was described as a ...
(95–2018). Prior to that he served as a congressional staffer at the member, committee, and leadership levels. Levin's essays and articles have appeared in numerous publications, among them, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'', and '' Commentary''. He is the author of five books on public policy and political theory, including ''The Fractured Republic'' (Basic Books, 2016) and ''A Time to Build'' (Basic Books, 2020).


Early life and education

Levin was born in
Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...
,
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, and moved to the United States with his family at the age of eight. He attended Hillsborough High School in Hillsborough Township, New Jersey, becoming a founding member of its debate club, and graduated in 1995. He graduated from
American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...
in 1999 with a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
in
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
, then earned a
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
and a Ph.D. from the Committee on Social Thought at the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
.


Career

Levin writes about
political theory Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and legitimacy of political institutions, such as states. This field investigates different forms of government, ranging from d ...
,
science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
,
technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...
, and
public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a Group decision-making, decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to Problem solving, solve or address relevant and problematic social issues, guided by a conceptio ...
. On the relationship between political theory and public policy, Levin has observed:
For me, these things are very deeply connected. I think politics really is rooted in
political philosophy Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and Political legitimacy, legitimacy of political institutions, such as State (polity), states. This field investigates different ...
, is much better understood when it's understood in light of political philosophy. And that a lot of the policy debates we have make much more sense if you see that people are arguing about two ways of understanding what the human person is, what human society is, and especially what the liberal society is. The left and right in our country are both liberal, they both believe in the free society, but they mean something very different by that.
Conservatism, Levin has notably said, "understands society not as just individuals and government, but thinks of it in terms of everything that happens in between. That huge space between the individual and the state is where society actually is. And that's where families are, it's where communities are, it's where the market economy is." In 2014, Levin co-edited, with Ramesh Ponnuru, ''Room to Grow: Conservative Reforms for a Limited Government and a Thriving Middle Class,'' a reform conservative manifesto and policy agenda. The book was widely praised, with ''New York Times'' columnist David Brooks describing it as a "policy-laden manifesto... which is the most coherent and compelling policy agenda the American right has produced this century."
Ross Douthat Ross Gregory Douthat ( ; born November 28, 1979) is a conservative American author and ''New York Times'' columnist. He was a senior editor of '' The Atlantic''. He has written on religion, politics, and society. Early life and education Ross Gr ...
called Levin a leader of the "reform conservative" movement, and Levin was prominently featured in a 2014 ''
New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazin ...
'' cover story about the conservative intellectuals who comprise it. The ''Times
Sam Tanenhaus Sam Tanenhaus (born October 31, 1955) is an American historian, biographer, and journalist. He currently is a writer for '' Prospect''. Early years Tanenhaus received his B.A. in English from Grinnell College in 1977 and a M.A. in English Liter ...
wrote that Levin was one of a group of young conservative Republicans who had "become the leaders of a small band of reform conservatives, sometimes called reformicons, who believe the health of the G.O.P. hinges on jettisoning its age-old doctrine — orgiastic tax-cutting, the slashing of government programs, the championing of Wall Street — and using an altogether different vocabulary, backed by specific proposals, that will reconnect the party to middle-class and low-income voters." Levin was called "probably the most influential conservative intellectual of the Obama era" by
Jonathan Chait Jonathan Chait () is an American pundit and writer for ''The Atlantic''. He was previously a senior editor at ''The New Republic'' and an assistant editor of ''The American Prospect'' and wrote for '' New York'' magazine. He writes a periodic c ...
of ''
New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...
'', further noting that he had been recently recognized as such when granted the prestigious $250,000 Bradley Prize.


Works

* * *''A Time for Governing''
Encounter Books (preview). Retrieved 2022-12-07. * * * *


References


External links


Levin's biography on the ''National Affairs'' website

Levin's ''National Review'' archive

Levin's ''Weekly Standard'' archive

Partially comprehensive publications list at ''The New Atlantis''


with Russ Roberts on EconTalk * {{DEFAULTSORT:Levin, Yuval 1977 births Living people 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American Enterprise Institute American magazine editors American male journalists American male non-fiction writers American political scientists American political philosophers American University School of Public Affairs alumni Ethics and Public Policy Center Hillsborough High School (New Jersey) alumni Israeli emigrants to the United States Jewish American academics Jewish American journalists Jewish American non-fiction writers People from Hillsborough Township, New Jersey The Weekly Standard people Writers from Haifa University of Chicago alumni