In partial defense of a non-vapid heiress

Yes, Conor, It Girl New York debutante Susan Nagel is the quintessential girl that everyone loves to hate. She's blonde, poised, attractive, and has a seemingly perfect academic extracurricular resume.

But let me note two positive trends in the article:

1)There was a thread at Phoebe's a few weeks ago about how it is no longer acceptable for rich society girls to just be "ladies who lunch." They have to at least pretend to be interior designers, movie producers, or what have you. In some cases, the pretense is silly. But it's a great statement about the advance of feminism (classically liberal and otherwise) that even the women who least need money are embracing the joys of hard work.

2)She's a huge James Madison fan. Although we are not told much about Nagel's politics, most of her charities of choice -- the article mentions "sustainable organic agriculture" and "social justice" -- sound like standard limousine liberal fare. Madison was arguably one of the most libertarian founding fathers. It's heartening to see interest in Madison and constitutional history come from people who do not come off as Tea Party-esque cranks.

Who knows, maybe Nagel could even be a spokesperson for the Harlan Institute.