True educational reform must re-establish the secondary school as a place for broad learning, vocational training as a highly respected route to respectable work, and college as a place for higher learning. The call for college to be made “free” to all who want it rests on a number of assumptions, most of them self-serving, [...]
If Socrates reveals anything about the moral life, it is how uncertain and unstable it is without grounding in knowledge of the Good; and yet he confesses that such grounding is beyond his reach, beyond the reach of human reason itself to attain. In this way Socrates reveals the genuine problem of moral relativity that [...]
Drawing from history, our founders understood that liberty and justice could not exist in the same neighborhood as censorship. The solution for our current state, then, is not censorship but civility and a steadfast clinging to the American principles codified in our founding documents, which must be common and applicable to all equally under the [...]
In sharp contrast to John Marshall’s elitist orientation—with its emphasis on the primacy of the national government, and restraint of the excesses of democracy—Thomas Jefferson’s philosophy was at once populistic and highly individualistic. Throughout the first decade of the American republic, competing claims regarding the proper interpretation of the Constitution and the application of its [...]
It is the perennial task of the conservative to disentangle the truth from the weeds of confusion which keep growing up around it. Samuel Francis and Patrick Buchanan have greatly contributed to the present resurgence of conservative elements rising up in America. Whatever political victories may come of their work should certainly be celebrated. “Go [...]
Switzerland remains feisty, free, and a bright beacon in a dark age for a collapsing civilization that should be looking to its example. For those weaned on the open-borders, Leftist humanitarian brainwashing of modern times, here are a few rules from the Singapore of Central Europe. “When all the world is socialist, Switzerland will have [...]
“They say you won’t succeed because ‘making a man President cannot change him.’ But making a man President can change him! Great emergencies awaken generous traits which have lain dormant half a life. If there is a spark of true nobility in you, now is the occasion to let it shine.” On September 22, 1881, [...]
We live in a postmodern, egalitarian world that detests everything Elizabeth II represented. It was not only the United Kingdom’s Queen who died on September 8, but also the Queen of all who saw her as a symbol of order in a world in chaos and disarray. We mourn because a great pillar of devotion [...]
Insofar as the principle of subsidiarity enunciated by the late Queen Elizabeth represents a recognition of ancient wisdom and a “most neglected subject,” we can hope that the United Kingdom might move forward rooted in reinvigorated local government and local economies. This would indeed be a momentous move in the right direction. Any reference to [...]
Abstract law or the worship of a document is not sufficient for guidance of a people, nor are the paltry checks of public shame and dread enough to deter criminality. We stand a far greater chance of learning wisdom from William Shakespeare’s “Henry VI” than we do from listening to the countless talking heads and [...]
What H.L. Mencken thought was the case in his day likely remains the case today: Public schools have “done more harm than good.” How could they not, Mencken asked. Having taken the “care and upbringing of children out of the hands of parents, where it belongs,” the politicians of his day had “thrown” the entire [...]
Everybody agrees student loan debt is a large problem, having serious adverse effects on family formation, purchasing of houses, and many other aspects of American life. So, what should we do? Everybody agrees student loan debt is a large problem. In the United States approximately $1.5 trillion is currently owed by around 45 million people [...]
The spirit of good nationalism is inseparable from the spirit of humility. It loves its neighbours. A good nationalist loves the good nationalists in other nations because they love their country as he loves his. A good nationalist knows that bad nationalism is merely imperialism wearing a patriotic mask. Nationalism has a bad name and [...]
What is American democracy, and why is it worth defending? The current political climate, in which democracy is increasingly (and troublingly) equated with populism, compels us to reflect on this question. Democracy is an ancient form of government, but historically, democracies that rise above mere mob rule and reflect genuine self-governance, while respecting basic rights, [...]