Reihan Salam
Encyclopedia
Reihan Morshed Salam (ˈraɪhɑːn səˈlɑːm; born December 29, 1979) is an American non-fiction writer and policy analyst. He is a columnist for The Daily and lead writer of National Review
s "The Agenda" blog, as well as a policy adviser at e21
and a contributing editor at National Affairs
. He has also appeared on a number radio and television shows, including NPR's Morning Edition, Talk of the Nation, All Things Considered, and Tell Me More, HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher
, NBC Universal's The Chris Matthews Show
, WNYC's The Brian Lehrer Show, BBC's Newsnight, ABC's This Week, CNN's Fareed Zakaria
GPS, and American Public Media's Marketplace.
accountant and his mother is a dietician. Salam attended Stuyvesant High School and Cornell University (where he was a TASPer
) before transferring to Harvard, where he was a member of the Signet Society. He graduated from Harvard in 2001 with a degree in Social Studies.
Salam is a Muslim
. He has also remarked that "I am not an expert on Islam" and "I wouldn’t say I’m a very religiously observant person".
Salam's parents worked in the World Trade Center
in the 1980s. Salam has written, "Some of my fondest memories of growing up involve visiting them at work, and watching the 4th of July fireworks display from my dad’s office window." Those memories later fed into his personal horror at the September 11th attacks.
Like many New Yorkers, Salam does not drive.
and as an editor and researcher at The New York Times
, first with columnist David Brooks
and then on the paper's Op-Ed page. He was a producer for NBC's The Chris Matthews Show
, an associate editor at The Atlantic, and wrote a regular column for The Daily Beast
and Forbes
.com. With Ross Douthat
and Steve Menashi, he co-founded the conservative blog The American Scene, which he continues to edit.
Salam was a Schwartz fellow at the New America Foundation, where he researched "how radical technological advances are changing the way we live and think, and in particular how the advent of machine intelligence and the ongoing genomics revolution will shape our understanding of democracy and equality."
The Republican party
, Salam and Douthat argued, had become "out of touch with its own base," and its Bush-era, big-government policies were "an evolutionary dead end." Salam and Douthat instead advocated "tak[ing] the 'big-government conservatism' vision" of Bush and giving it "coherence and sustainability" by vigorously serving the interests of the less affluent voters who had become the party's base. The platform would include "an economic policy that places the two-parent family--the institution best capable of providing cultural stability and economic security--at the heart of the GOP agenda."
He strongly supported the Iraq war but has since called it (possibly with overstatement for rhetorical effect) a disaster of "world-historical proportions." He advocates policies that strengthen traditional family structure but has supported gay marriage for years. He has described as "brilliant" such diverse figures as Canadian Marxist philosopher G. A. Cohen, Reagan adviser and neoclassical economist Martin Feldstein, and the mutant super-villain Magneto.
Among other things, Salam has taken a strong interest in congestion pricing and the encouragement of denser living arrangements, the promotion of natural gas and nuclear power, reform of the U.S. tax code, and the fostering of a more competitive and diverse marketplace of educational providers.
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
s "The Agenda" blog, as well as a policy adviser at e21
E21
E21 can refer to:* BMW E21, an automobile platform* HMS E21* European route E21* DRG series E 21, different locomotives of the German National Railroad* E21 - Code that it designates the Astronomical observatory of Norm Roses, Leyburn...
and a contributing editor at National Affairs
National Affairs
National Affairs, Inc. is a U.S. organization which publishes a public-policy quarterly by the same name. It began publishing National Affairs in September 2009, describing itself as "a quarterly journal of essays about domestic policy, political economy, society, culture, and political thought...
. He has also appeared on a number radio and television shows, including NPR's Morning Edition, Talk of the Nation, All Things Considered, and Tell Me More, HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher
Bill Maher
William "Bill" Maher, Jr. is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author and actor. Before his current role as the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called Politically Incorrect originally on Comedy Central and...
, NBC Universal's The Chris Matthews Show
The Chris Matthews Show
The Chris Matthews Show is a half-hour weekend news and political roundtable program produced by NBC News. It is taped in Washington, D.C., and nationally syndicated by NBC Universal Television Distribution...
, WNYC's The Brian Lehrer Show, BBC's Newsnight, ABC's This Week, CNN's Fareed Zakaria
Fareed Zakaria
Fareed Rafiq Zakaria is an Indian-American journalist and author. From 2000 to 2010, he was a columnist for Newsweek and editor of Newsweek International. In 2010 he became Editor-At-Large of Time magazine...
GPS, and American Public Media's Marketplace.
Early life
Salam was born in Brooklyn. His parents are Bangladeshi-born immigrants who arrived in New York in 1976; his father is anaccountant and his mother is a dietician. Salam attended Stuyvesant High School and Cornell University (where he was a TASPer
Telluride Association Summer Program
Telluride Association Summer Programs, or TASPs, are extremely selective six-week educational experiences for rising high school seniors offering intellectual challenges rarely found in secondary school or even in college...
) before transferring to Harvard, where he was a member of the Signet Society. He graduated from Harvard in 2001 with a degree in Social Studies.
Salam is a Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. He has also remarked that "I am not an expert on Islam" and "I wouldn’t say I’m a very religiously observant person".
Salam's parents worked in the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
in the 1980s. Salam has written, "Some of my fondest memories of growing up involve visiting them at work, and watching the 4th of July fireworks display from my dad’s office window." Those memories later fed into his personal horror at the September 11th attacks.
Like many New Yorkers, Salam does not drive.
Professional life
Salam worked as a reporter-researcher at The New RepublicThe New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
and as an editor and researcher at The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, first with columnist David Brooks
David Brooks
David Brooks may refer to:* David Brooks , American actor and stage director and producer* David Brooks , Australian author of short stories and co-editor for Southerly...
and then on the paper's Op-Ed page. He was a producer for NBC's The Chris Matthews Show
The Chris Matthews Show
The Chris Matthews Show is a half-hour weekend news and political roundtable program produced by NBC News. It is taped in Washington, D.C., and nationally syndicated by NBC Universal Television Distribution...
, an associate editor at The Atlantic, and wrote a regular column for The Daily Beast
The Daily Beast
The Daily Beast is an American news reporting and opinion website founded and published by Tina Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker as well as the short-lived Talk Magazine. The Daily Beast was launched on October 6, 2008, and is owned by IAC...
and Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
.com. With Ross Douthat
Ross Douthat
Ross Gregory Douthat is a conservative American author, blogger and New York Times columnist. He was a senior editor at The Atlantic and is author of Privilege: Harvard and the Education of the Ruling Class and, with Reihan Salam, Grand New Party , which David Brooks called the "best single...
and Steve Menashi, he co-founded the conservative blog The American Scene, which he continues to edit.
Salam was a Schwartz fellow at the New America Foundation, where he researched "how radical technological advances are changing the way we live and think, and in particular how the advent of machine intelligence and the ongoing genomics revolution will shape our understanding of democracy and equality."
Grand New Party
He co-authored Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream[3] with Ross Douthat. The book grew from an influential cover story for The Weekly Standard, which called for a reinvention of Republican domestic policy.The Republican party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, Salam and Douthat argued, had become "out of touch with its own base," and its Bush-era, big-government policies were "an evolutionary dead end." Salam and Douthat instead advocated "tak[ing] the 'big-government conservatism' vision" of Bush and giving it "coherence and sustainability" by vigorously serving the interests of the less affluent voters who had become the party's base. The platform would include "an economic policy that places the two-parent family--the institution best capable of providing cultural stability and economic security--at the heart of the GOP agenda."
Political views and style
Salam is an unorthodox conservative. He has written that he intends to "pump ideas into the bloodstream" of American conservatism."I write in the hope and expectation that people read people with whom they disagree to challenge their settled views. Suffice it to say, this isn’t generally the case, but I’m happy to continue behaving as though it is, as it is true of enough people to justify the effort.
He strongly supported the Iraq war but has since called it (possibly with overstatement for rhetorical effect) a disaster of "world-historical proportions." He advocates policies that strengthen traditional family structure but has supported gay marriage for years. He has described as "brilliant" such diverse figures as Canadian Marxist philosopher G. A. Cohen, Reagan adviser and neoclassical economist Martin Feldstein, and the mutant super-villain Magneto.
Among other things, Salam has taken a strong interest in congestion pricing and the encouragement of denser living arrangements, the promotion of natural gas and nuclear power, reform of the U.S. tax code, and the fostering of a more competitive and diverse marketplace of educational providers.
External links
- Profile of Salam at TheAmericanScene.com
- Profile of Salam at The New America Foundation site
- Slate articles by Salam
- Video debates featuring Reihan Salam on Bloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tv is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast online to viewers...
- "They're Young, They're Bright, They Tilt to the Right" A conversation with Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam from n+1N+1n+1 is a New York–based American literary magazine that publishes social criticism, political commentary, essays, art, poetry, book reviews, and short fiction. It is published three times each year, and content is published on several times each week...