Two altogether opposed political stances can each draw an audience's attention. One is to be politically consistent, but nonetheless original in one's insights; the other, an inchoate form of apostasy, is to bank on the shock value of an occasional, wildly inconsistent outburst. The former approach, which Chomsky exemplifies, requires hard work, whereas the latter is a lazy substitute for it. ... The master at this pose of maverick unpredictability used to be Christopher Hitchens. Amidst a fairly typical leftist politics, he would suddenly ambush unsuspecting readers with his opposition to abortion, admiration of the misogynist and juvenile lyrics of Two Live Crew ('I think that's very funny'), or support for Columbus's extermination of Native Americans ('deserving to be celebrated with great vim and gusto'). Immediately the talk of the town became, 'Did you read Hitchens this week?' Although a tacit assumption equates unpredictability with independence of mind, it might just as well signal lack of principle.

Politics·Hitchens·Consistency·Provocation