Mar 02 2010
Patrick Deneen’s most recent article in The American Conservative, “Counterfeiting Conservatism,” brings to mind an excerpt from one of the essays in my application to the John Jay Institute: One of the more interesting criticisms of Edmund Burke made by Leo Strauss was that, in his valiant effort to defend certain latent functions in society, [...]
Dec 01 2009
This is a provoking–though hardly determinative–finding that suggests humans have by nature instincts for group cohesion, empathy, and morals. Is this part of the natural law?
Nov 09 2009
A pithy quote: A similar point was made to me when I was 15 by Roger Scruton, who was addressing my school’s philosophy society. I sometimes think that Roger Scruton is the cleverest man in the country; then sometimes I think that Noel Malcolm is. Anyway, I remember asking Roger what he saw as the [...]
Oct 20 2009
It is competition, not competitors, which the [Clayton] Act protects. But we cannot fail to recognize Congress’ desire to promote competition through the protection of viable, small, locally owned businesses. Congress appreciated that occasional higher costs and prices might result from the maintenance of fragmented industries and markets. It resolved these competing considerations in favor [...]
Oct 02 2009
Two noteworthy articles, by David Brooks and Steven Hayward respectively, on the state of conservative thinking and propaganda. Brooks suggests that talk-radio jocks now define the boundaries of conservative “thought,” and have reduced it to right-wing ideology (an almost unremarkable argument at this point), arguing that bad-content drives out the good. Â But Hayward points out [...]
Sep 29 2009
David Brooks’ sensitivity to how our culture and economics integrate is a vital point for any renewed American conservatism. Â The conservatives of the post World War 2 era were dedicated to the proposition that the republican (small ‘r’) commercial society of the United States needed conservation against the collectivizing tendencies of the administrative/redistributivist state of [...]
Jul 23 2009
As I was reading Daniel Larison’s taking-to-the-woodshed of Peter Lawler this morning, it reminded me of this bit of hilarity, which actually points to a bigger problem: what on earth are we talking about? There has been so much parsing and refining and narrowing and nichefication of conservatism going on this summer, I think we [...]
Jul 13 2009
Over at Front Porch Republic, Patrick Deneen has posted the two parts (1 and 2) of a lecture he gave a couple years ago titled, “The Alternative Tradition in America.” I’m posting it below in its entirety as a perfect and poignant example of my political and social views. Enjoy.
Jul 08 2009
I’m finally catching up reading all the back-and-froth between the Front Porch Republicans and the Post Modern Conservatives. For the record, I’m on the FPR side, while co-blogger Nathan [thinks he] is on the PoMoCon side. If I can scrounge up the time, I might post some thoughts on the matter later. For now, reading [...]
Jun 04 2009
From a fantastic piece on Burke’s intellectual fatherhood of conservatism: Third-and this subtends and modifies the two principles above-Burke is not really a Whig in a particular sense. Unlike so many of his contemporaries and antecedents (one thinks of John Locke), Burke sincerely and consequentially holds that belief in the Christian God precedes and informs [...]
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Protestant Pontifications
(CC) 2010