Of Course Gatekeeping Serves A Vital Role

I’m not someone constitutionally inclined to side with “gatekeepers.” Nearly all the work I love—from DIY punk band and underground hip-hop to translated literature and Surrealist art—has come from countercultures outside the mainstream. But when Sam Kahn asked me if I’d be interested in writing a defense of gatekeepers for this newsletter, I said yes. Not because I think gatekeepers are inherently great. But because the alternatives have proven to be little better. And perhaps much worse.