One doesn’t have to agree with everything Michael Novak argued to recognize the genius of the man. Like all true conservatisms, his democratic capitalism was as much an anti-system as anything recognizable as a system. He was a giant of an intellect, and his best book deserves to be remembered, even if in friendly opposition. [...]
The quest for tranquility is not found in a world of frenetic intemperance and agitated markets. Tranquility is an interior movement that presupposes a soul at peace. Wisdom is the virtue of seeking the highest cause of things. Only a society that facilitates wisdom can provide peace and order. Marketers typically create excitement around a [...]
It is up to our “little platoons” to restore the respect for work that alone can restore health to an economic order. It is a long road, but a good start on going down the that road is to read carefully our historians and poets. M. Stanton Evans once said, in defense of free markets: [...]
No one wants these disproportional, ugly windmills. People don’t want their views obstructed. Even in a godless society, the modern cult of ugliness is so unnatural that human nature rebels against it. So why can’t they make beautiful windmills? Why must the industry insist upon these cold, depressing behemoths? A green new world is coming [...]
The figure of the universally benevolent man seems in many circles to have taken a back seat to the stunted, self-centered Economic Man. We ought to ask ourselves: Are we losing a nuanced sense of self-interest rightly understood? I have been reminiscing a lot lately, probably a sign of my age. But I recently came to [...]
Sometimes all that is needed is one person to take a stand in the workplace, one person who is willing to take the abuse and insults, one person who is not afraid to risk things that matter to him. Such risk-taking inspires others. Socrates observed that cowards experience pleasure every time they back down, while [...]
A. Wade Razzi, Chief Academic Officer at American College of the Building Arts, is interviewed by W. Winston Elliott III, Editor-in-Chief of The Imaginative Conservative. W. Winston Elliott III: Describe ACBA and its mission. The American College of the Building Arts was founded in the wake of Hurricane Hugo, which did massive damage to the [...]
It seemed inconceivable that Marx could be seduced by Hitler. And yet “critical race theory” is as obsessed with race as were the Nazis. According to the new generation of Marxists, the political struggle is not about a struggle between the classes but a struggle between the races. Many years ago, when I was an [...]
The sheer variety of economic schools and methods suggests that there must be something influencing researchers before they even begin to address their questions. Economic literature expresses a set of pre-existing convictions, a vision of the social world, in the same way art does. Economists often complain that no one takes their advice, yet it [...]
Land and property ownership are no small matters for a Republic, and we can right the wrongs of the past by empowering American families with land. In the process, we can create a more just society based on distributist and Christian ideas that will strengthen the social fabric of the Republic. “America is really only [...]
All lovers of beauty and tradition will rejoice at the emergence of the American College of the Building Arts and will hope that it is the first of many such schools to be established in the future. It is radical in the best sense of the word, insofar as it is rooted in the heritage of [...]
With all the vexations of Covid-19, economic forces are undermining suburban life. The suburbs, tricked out as they were for incessant motoring, present a more tragic picture as we leave mass motoring behind: slums, salvage, ruins. But the good news is there is another way, and it’s a better way: the traditional town. In these [...]
Conservatives tend to be skeptical about the doom-and-gloom scenarios that are being presented as absolute certainties unless the country as a whole is essentially shut down for months. Many have called us “deniers” or accused us of valuing money over human life. But I believe that this skepticism is both eminently reasonable and will prove [...]
For those facing another virus lockdown, the book “Action versus Contemplation” helps reframe the mind by revisiting the classic and ongoing dialectic between the contemplative life and the active life. Action versus Contemplation: Why an Ancient Debate Still Matters, by Jennifer Summit and Blakey Vermeule (256 pages, University of Chicago Press, 2018) “Action versus contemplation” [...]