thoughts in and out of season
[Originally published in the Spring 2005 issue of The New Pantagruel]
Liberalism has enormous power as a social reality. When liberals call themselves “progressive” they make it stick. Their views dominate all reputable intellectual and cultural institutions. Judges feel free to read liberalism into fundamental law, even without historical or textual support, because it … More ...
I have another piece over at Takimag, this one a rant responding to a couple of posts over there about religion. I suppose it also responds to the interest among Takimag types in Nietzsche and H. L. Mencken.
What is Religion?
by James Kalb
January 16, 2009
Comments on religion by nonbelievers often make it … More ...
The following essay appeared in the Spring, 2005 issue of The New Pantagruel.
Liberalism has enormous power as a social reality. When liberals call themselves “progressive” they make it stick. Their views dominate all reputable intellectual and cultural institutions. Judges feel free to read liberalism into fundamental law, even without historical or textual support, … More ...
The following essay appeared in the July 1997 issue of Pinc.
… More ...Most objections to civil rights laws have to do with their empirical basis, with things like affirmative action that can be seen as abuses, or with libertarian principle and abstract economic reasoning. However cogent those objections are, they get shrugged off. It remains
The following essay appeared in the December 1998 issue of Pinc. It is also available in Czech.
No one treats a policeman like any other man. The response is elemental; we can not help but feel the force he represents. Our attitude is not simple fear of consequences, which rationally would usually lead … More ...
The following essay appeared in the April 2000 issue of Pinc, and has also in large part been published in Danish. It may be of some interest because general discussions of anti-racism as an outlook and phenomenon are so exceedingly rare, given the importance of the subject.
… More ...“Racism is the worst of sins,
The following essay appeared in the February 1998 issue of Pinc.
Political correctness spreads, and once it arrives it stays; few like it, but no-one can do anything about it. In America most thought it was a hobbyhorse for a few cranks, while Europeans shrugged it off as an outlandish fad. We have all … More ...
For anyone who’s interested, I just posted some comments on Rick Santorum/Andrew Sullivan at the other blog I participate in, here (page down for further discussion) and here. Also, a couple of essays I wrote recently appeared in print, “Emerson and Us” in Modern Age and “Understanding Conservatism and Tradition” in Telos.