Universality and nationhood
Why do some people say that America is the First Universal Nation when the Muslim Umma is already the first Universal Nation? To me it seems like a bad idea to imitate the Muslims.… More ...
Political theory
More on Rawls
Here are some further unsystematic thoughts noted down while reading Political Liberalism:
- Rawls presents himself as a theorist of democratic society. That is a misnomer. It is not the people who rule in a society in which basic issues are all resolved in advance by Rawls and other experts and the solutions enforced by
Comments on Rawls
As punishment for my sins (which must be scarlet indeed) I’ve been obliged once again to read John Rawls’s Political Liberalism. Some comments (further comments as always are welcome):
- Rawls was evidently an extremely careful and hardworking man. He is said to have been quite shy. I met him once in a group, and
Life, law and the world
While I was preparing to give a talk about law, I did a little reading on the philosophy of law. One thing that struck me was what might be called the “external” point of view taken in current thought on the subject.
Here’s a quote from Blackstone:
… More ...This law of nature, being co-eval with mankind
Lefties and virtues
In an email discussion a Lefty said:
… More ...The religious right believes promiscuity is bad because the Supreme Being and Creator of the Universe doesn’t like it, never has and never will. The left believes it’s good or bad depending on the consequences on this earth, in this lifetime, and those are going to change over
Tyrants overthrown
The tyranny of liberalism is mostly a tyranny of ideas. It’s not completely disembodied, of course. Like every tyranny it’s run in a way consistent with the tyrants’ power and profit. The professional and managerial classes and bureaucratic and financial interests that maintain it benefit from the conversion of informal traditional arrangements into bureaucratic and … More ...
Thoughts on the tyranny of liberalism
What is liberalism?
The view that equal freedom is the highest public standard, and that society should be a rational arrangement to put that standard into effect.
How can liberalism be tyrannical?
“Tyranny” is usurped and abused power. The goals of liberalism are comprehensive, and it views them as a simple matter of justice and … More ...
The liturgy and American constitutionalism
I was discussing America, the Constitution, the liturgy and the Roman Catholicism with an Anglican and Americanist friend. It occurred to me that the issues were all related, so I decided I’d put them somewhat together. On the liturgy I said (in an edited way):
… More ...My vote for the Novus Ordo for now would be
The laws of the city
(An outline of a talk given at Montfort Academy, Katonah, New York, on April 2, 2005)
WHAT ARE THE FEATURES THAT MAKE A CITY?
Closeness and permanence.
Complexity.
Common background and future.
Public life.
Complete society.
Aristotle: man is a zoon politikon.
WHAT IS LAW?
How are things set up from the standpoint of … More ...
A simply conservative conservatism?
A minor upset (my guess is that it rippled from this situation to this comment) suggests once again the question of whether a purely conservative conservatism, one based simply on attachment to habits and attitudes that seem to work out to the general satisfaction of those involved, is possible as a practical matter. My … More ...