To me this is a worthy cautionary argument insofar as the interview takes it (I have not read the book). You can take any approach too far, such as identity politics, which is an old concept with a new name and emphasis. In the old days Fiorello Laguardia campaigned to ethnic neighborhoods in New York City in fluent Yiddish, Italian, and English, and his approach was a successful blended multicultural one. That kind of basic politics will never go away. But, these days that approach has morphed to an "us-against-them" tactic that was apparent on both the Democratic and Republican side of 2016s Presidential campaign. There are external and internal forces feeding into these current movements.

Jonah Goldberg is not someone I'm super familiar with. I've read some of his columns and I don't remember finding them unrealistic or obviously flawed. In other words, he's very different from the outright wackos I hear on the AM band late at night, prime example being Alex Jones.