A few years back, Tom Robb Smith wrote a novel called “Child 44,” about a serial killer in 1950’s Soviet Russia.

It was what could be described as a good read, although certainly written from a conservative viewpoint — there were no honorable Soviets; even the “hero” was a willing participant in the frequent purges of the Stalin era. (The book, as I recall, was dedicated to Anne Applebaum — so, yeah, “conservative viewpoint.”)

In the book, the Soviets authorities were portrayed as being completely blinded by ideology — there was no crime in the Soviet Union: surely, such a being could only exist in the decadent West.

There’s no difference between what Hinderaker is offering here and what the Soviets of “Child 44” did — if you cover up the problem and pretend it doesn’t exist, then the problem doesn’t exist.