While Hilaire Belloc often describes the type of economy he is advocating as “distributist,” he also refers to it as “proprietary,” due to the idea that a truly free economy requires the widest distribution of private property as possible. The recent esays on distributism and the many comments in response raised a number of interesting [...]
If culture can neither thrive nor survive without religion, then a cultural conservative, which Russell Kirk claims is the most imaginative of conservatives, must fight to preserve the religious foundations of his culture. Apropos of the title of this online journal, I think it appropriate to offer a few Russell Kirk—inspired refections as to what [...]
In acknowledgement of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I wish to raise the question, based on Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” as to when, if ever, as well as to what extent, it is appropriate to defy the rule of law. On The Imaginative Conservative Winston Elliott raised the question “When is a Change [...]
That which makes education liberal is not the acquisition of virtue, for that would subordinate such education to some extrinsic good, and the essential characteristic of an education that makes it liberal is precisely its intrinsic good, the fact that its value does not depend on some good outside itself. I wish to offer some [...]
With today’s release of the film of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, its appropriate to consider some of the reasons Bentley Hart gives us in his article “The Trouble with Ayn Rand” (found in the 2011 May edition of First Things) as to why we should avoid seeing this film. It’s especially important to consider these reasons given [...]
Last week, the US Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) issued a statement saying that military intervention in Libya “appears to meet” the just-cause criterion of Catholic teaching on just war, cautioning, however, that it has “refrained from making definitive judgments” in light of “many prudential decisions beyond our expertise.” Additionally, this past Sunday, Pope Benedict [...]
As I mentioned in my previous essay, although we still think incest is wrong, we appear to be reaching the point where we can’t explain why its wrong. We’re in this predicament because, at some point, we began to that think that extra-marital heterosexual sex is morally permissible, and, more recently, that homosexual sex is as [...]
The short answer: none—that is, if all that’s required for a morally permissible sexual relationship is that it involve: (1) adult partners; (2) who are mentally competent; and (3) who fully consent to the relationship (for good measure, we could even add that the partners have a sufficient emotional bond and that their sexual acts [...]
A few days before Christmas, in anticipation of Christian’s celebration of God’s incarnation, the Wall Street Journal published an article by Ricky Gervais, a British writer, actor and comedian, entitled “Why I Do Not Believe in God”, which can be found here. Though not academic, Gervais’ article offers his sincere reflection on the question of [...]
As indicated in my essay last week on Dr. George’s article addressing the “gay marriage” question, following is a summary of his responses to certain objections. My summary of the main thrust of his argument can be found here and the complete text of Dr. George’s article can be found here. Objection I: Some, if [...]
Dr. Robert George, professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, recently weighed in on the “Gay Marriage” debate. In his article, “What is Marriage?,” published in the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, Dr. George argues that the common good of our society requires that we legally enshrine the traditional view of marriage and that [...]
Robert George This past Wednesday night, Dr. Robert George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideas and Institutions at Princeton University, gave the keynote address at the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston’s annual Red Mass. The Red Mass marks the traditional beginning of the judicial year and affords [...]
Does Hilaire Belloc’s proposed transition to a proprietary economy leave us with only an evil means to otherwise good end? I ended my last reflection on Hilaire Belloc’s An Essay on the Restoration of Property by asking whether the government redistribution of property is the only way to make the transition from a non-proprietary state [...]
Very insightful analysis, Gleaves (see The Founding Fathers—Our First Neocons?). You leave us with a number of good questions that need answering in order to develop a consistent, well-defined understanding of what it means to be conservative. Without venturing an answer to these questions, I do want to point out that your underlying assumption appears to [...]