The Supine Loser Party
If conservatives and Republicans don’t exactly constitute “the stupid party,” then there are certainly grounds to call them something else.
Granting Value to the World
By making happiness incompatible with man’s essence, Schopenhauer found himself deaf to Goethe’s wisdom: “If you want to delight in life, then you must grant value to the world.”
Slow-Motion Suicide of the West
Some people thought James Burnham’s identification of liberalism with civilization’s suicide was hyperbolic. In light of American institutions’ embrace of anti-Americanism, what would they say now?
The Fatuousness of Guilt as an Instrument of Policy
When the world no longer speaks meaningfully to us, we shout into the void and pretend the echoes come from on high.
The Appeal of the New Totalitarians
It’s easy to understand and reject the horrors of totalitarianism. It is much less easy to grasp its inexorable logic or its seemingly implacable attractions.
Christopher Lasch vs. the Elites of Our Time
One of the most trenchant critics and historians of American culture died more than 25 years ago. What do his writings tell us about the present crisis? Turns out, quite a lot.
Science!
It would be difficult to overestimate the popularity of irrationalist sentiments in our culture today.
Maternity Flight Suits and Other Admonitions
When the Gods of the Copybook Headings return maternity flight suits will not be part of the drama.
Peak Cancel Culture? Don’t Bet on It
Last week it was a book by Ryan Anderson and a speech by Donald Trump. This week it is some books by Dr. Seuss. We don’t call it “totalitarianism” for nothing.
The ‘World’s Largest Bookstore’ Gets Into the Censorship Business
Amazon’s decision to remove Ryan Anderson’s When Harry Became Sally isn't about a P.C. company removing one book—it is a challenge to the fundamental principles underlying American democracy.
Can the Truth Set us Free?
The history of speculation about truth has prominently included what we might call a school of impatience that, instead of trying to solve the problem, has endeavored to dismiss it.
Yes, Acquittal Is Vindication
The pandemonium at the Capitol was not the cause but merely the pretext for the unprecedented second impeachment by the U.S. Congress of a single individual.
These Interesting Times
From a torrent of executive orders to federal law enforcement agents acting like East Germans, the satirists are having a hard time keeping up.
Transmitting the Truth About America’s Founding
Anyone not blinded by prejudice can see that freedom is under concerted assault in America. To rekindle the distinctively American variety of freedom it is first essential to understand it.
A Party of Faction and Fantasy
There are many lessons to be drawn from the 2020 election. The transformation of the United States of America from a republic into an oligarchy is a large and portentous lesson.
The ‘Virtue’ of the New Totalitarians
Later ages are always surprised by the casual brutality of totalitarian regimes. What they neglect is the unshakeable (though misguided) conviction of virtue that animates the totalitarians.
Who Will Be Inaugurated?
What is unlikely is not impossible—an admonitory caution, not an appeal to false hope.
The Cultural Roots of Conservatism
We're reposting a few of the more notable essays we've published this year. This article first appeared October 10, 2020.
Constant’s Liberty, Ancient and Modern
Benjamin Constant’s writing is as pertinent to our concerns today as it was in the immediate post-Napoleonic era.
A Betrayal of American Freedom
It is a mournful, and usually sanguinary, alternative that awaits those who barter freedom for the simulacrum of normality.