Derek Chauvin, Scapegoat
The ritual the convicted Minneapolis police officer was subjected to was less a legal trial than a sort of pagan sacrifice.
Our New American Renaissance
Pretty soon, perhaps, all the days will be national holidays, one for every left-wing interest group going.
Pushing Through the Decadence
The forces of decadence that Jacques Barzun described are formidably potent. But decadence is no more inevitable than progress.
Remember Tiananmen Square
The Chinese are keen to brush the historical reality of what happened in 1989 under the rug. Don’t let them.
Paul Ryan’s Impotent Appeal
The Democrats, no less than the media, slobbered all over the former House speaker for his recent anti-Trump speech. But their love is strictly conditioned on Ryan remaining a pajama-boy conservative.
Bill Barr on the Forces of Division in America
The forces that Barr recognizes and rightly deplores are not confined to the obviously nasty precincts of explicit Marxism. They are also implicit in large swaths of traditional liberalism.
The Way We Live Now
Amid the comedy, there are dark and minatory signals.
The Way of Socialism
An absolute commitment to benevolence, like the road that is paved with good intentions, typically leads to an unprofitable destination.
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.