thoughts in and out of season
The following review of Christopher J. Insole, The Politics of Human Frailty: A Theological Defense of Political Liberalism (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2005) appeared in the Spring 2006 issue of Telos.
What is liberalism and is it good or bad? Its pervasiveness makes it difficult to gain the perspective needed to … More ...
Here’s my contribution to The Great Purge: The Deformation of the Conservative Movement Paperback , co-edited by Paul Gottfried and Richard Spencer.
The Closing of the Ring
by James Kalb
What “political correctness” means is that there are more and more topics that cannot be discussed in reputable circles, even among those who say they … More ...
Here is the short essay I contributed to Nikos Salingaros’ book Anti-Architecture and Deconstruction. They edited it a bit in the final version. The book is a recommended read, although I’m admittedly not neutral, and if you don’t like what I have to say in English you can also buy it in German:
… More ...The
This four-part essay was published in slightly edited form in the Summer 2004 issue of Telos (number 128). There is also a *.pdf version of the essay as published. Comments are, of course, welcome.
Historical and Practical Considerations
I have argued that rationalism does not work, that life in accordance with reason must rely on particular tradition and revelation, and that Catholicism has a good claim to be the most reasonable of revelations. Many people, of course, deny all those things.
The most forceful objection to my claims is … More ...
Faith and the Church
Tradition always points to something other than itself, so acceptance of one’s own tradition — and therefore knowledge — involves faith. Just as institutions and even reason depend on the complex of memories, understandings and habits that constitutes tradition, tradition depends on its connection to a larger order of which it … More ...
A slightly edited version of the following essay appeared in the Summer 2002 issue of Telos.
To understand conservatism we must understand how conservatives differ from leftists and libertarians.
Basic oppositions in politics usually have to do with fundamental issues of social organization. Will king or parliament be supreme? Pope or emperor? Local community, … More ...
The following review was published in the September 2003 issue of American Renaissance.
The Scorpion is the leading publication in English about the thinkers and themes of the European New Right (ENR). It is edited by Michael Walker, an Englishman living in Germany who is well-connected in Nationalist circles in Europe. American Renaissance readers … More ...
IN THIS, HIS MOST RECENT BOOK, Thomas Molnar calls for a “return to philosophy” that would broaden its scope and simplify its discourse. Narrowness and complexity have ruined much of philosophy, he stresses, and a restoration is needed. The issues … More ...
[The following discussion appeared in the Winter, 2002 issue of Modern Age.]
Is religious faith necessary for conservatism? A more basic question is whether it is necessary for good sense, since it is for the sake of good sense that we are conservative. If it were otherwise, conservatism would be a hobby or ideology, … More ...