I DEFINITELY KNOW THE FEELING ON THIS ONE: My gentleman friend had dinner a little while ago with two faithfully Progressive young schoolteachers. They could recite the Progressive line on just about every issue. But on one issue, they were decidedly conservative as well as quite upset: School discipline. Their classrooms were out of control, they said. And they were outraged that school administrators and education bureaucrats were not supporting teachers. Unruly students get sent to the principal and return shortly thereafter (with candy!).

This sounds like a good example of Robert Conquest’s rule that everyone is conservative about the things they know best. Put differently, Progressives feel they can fix age-old problems with ideas they came up with in the shower last Tuesday. But when it comes to dealing with problems in their own professions, they are much better able to see the nuance and complexity, which allows them to better understand and appreciate the traditions of that profession.