Last Sunday, the people who ran towards the attackers and victims on Bondi beach were overwhelmingly men. <\/p>\n
The Financial Times (FT) essay, “In praise of male courage<\/a>” by Jemima Kelly, acts as a cultural and existential companion to the specific professional grievance outlined in the Compact Magazine essay, “The Lost Generation<\/a>” by Jacob Savage.<\/p>\n While “The Lost Generation” focuses on the economic and institutional exclusion of white millennial men, the FT piece addresses the moral and social devaluation of masculinity itself.<\/p>\n The Compact Essay argues that a specific cohort of men has been squeezed out of elite professions (Hollywood, journalism, academia) by DEI mandates and older gatekeepers. Their “loss” is defined by stalled careers and financial instability.<\/p>\n The FT Essay expands this “loss” to the realm of physical safety and societal duty. By highlighting that men are still the primary actors in moments of “horrific brutality” and “astonishing courage,” it argues that the biological reality of men remains necessary for survival, regardless of their professional standing. It suggests that while the culture may have deemed men “professionally unnecessary” (as implied in the Compact piece), they remain “existentially necessary.”<\/p>\n The Compact Essay describes a Western professional culture that actively roots against white men, viewing them as an impediment to progress.<\/p>\n The FT Essay suggests that this same culture has eroded the virtues required for protection. Kelly notes that the male heroes at Bondi Beach were not from the West, but from Syria and Ukraine\u2014”places where religious custom and social bonds are arguably more important, and where a more conventional type of masculinity tends to be highly valued.”<\/p>\n The Addition: This reinforces the Compact essay’s theme of Western decline. The “Lost Generation” implies the West is squandering its male talent pool; the FT adds that the West may also be squandering the “conventional masculinity” needed to defend civil society, leaving that burden to men raised in cultures that haven’t yet “lost” that generation.<\/p>\n The Compact Essay describes men who feel they must apologize for their identity or “stay quiet” to survive in hostile workplaces. They are victims of a narrative that frames them as oppressors.<\/p>\n The FT Essay directly attacks the narrative that frames masculinity solely as “toxic.” By citing the “heroism of Bondi Beach,” it attempts to reclaim the utility of men. It offers a counter-argument to the Atlantic and New York Times hiring managers mentioned in the Compact essay: You may not want these men in your writer’s room, but you might need them when physical danger arises.<\/p>\n The Compact Essay is a dispatch from the losing side of the culture war, detailing the resentment of men who followed the rules but lost the game.<\/p>\n The FT Essay attempts a truce or synthesis. Kelly writes, “We can empower women at the same time as acknowledging the wonderful things about men.” It offers a path forward that the Compact essay does not: a society that values men not for their “privilege” or “oppression,” but for their unique capacity for risk-taking and protection.<\/p>\n In summary, if “The Lost Generation” is the complaint\u2014that men are being unfairly marginalized in the modern West\u2014the FT essay is the rebuttal to the culture that marginalized them, arguing that the specific traits being suppressed (aggression, risk-taking, traditional masculinity) are actually vital virtues that society discards at its own peril.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last Sunday, the people who ran towards the attackers and victims on Bondi beach were overwhelmingly men. The Financial Times (FT) essay, “In praise of male courage” by Jemima Kelly, acts as a cultural and existential companion to the specific … Continue reading