Conservatism in Translation: Discovering the Work of Augusto Del Noce
A newly published translation of “the Italian Russell Kirk” offers important insights into the philosophical roots of our culture’s nihilistic impulses—and how we might fix them.
Bravo to the Truth: What’s Wrong with Transgender Ideology
The problem with basing a diagnosis and irreversible treatment on people’s feelings, no matter how deeply felt, is that feelings can change.
The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge
Abraham Flexner, founder of the Institute for Advanced Study, has much to teach modern researchers—not only about seeking knowledge for its own sake, but also about effective fundraising and private philanthropy.
Pleasure, Consent, and Dignity: Peter Singer Is Wrong About the Sexual Assault of a Disabled Man
The more you minimize the value of humanity itself, the less you will be capable of understanding our fundamental rights, the meaning of our bodies, and the gift of sexuality.
Trading on the Female Body: Surrogacy, Exploitation, and Collusion by the US Government
Commercial surrogacy is the ultimate manifestation of the American neoliberal project of capitalist commodification of human life to create profit and fulfill the narcissistic desires of an entitled elite.
The Accessible Federalist: Historical Documents and Human Nature
Although The Federalist is indeed a historical document that emerged from and was directed to a particular time period with particular concerns, historical sensitivity itself should also lead one to view The Federalist as something more than this. Adapted from the introduction to The Accessible Federalist.
Harm, Neutrality, or Truth: What Is the Basis of Liberalism?
Kevin Vallier’s recent book is a rich and rewarding attempt to reconcile people of faith with public reason liberalism.
Why Are So Many Lesbians Getting Pregnant?
One’s sexual orientation is supposed to be locked in and unchangeable, like sex, race, or ethnicity. But high pregnancy rates among lesbians confound that narrative.
Protecting Religious Liberty Safeguards All Children on the Playground Equally
All children are equally valuable. Their bodies are equally deserving of protection, regardless of their religious status.
After Easter: The Political Theology of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of the Messiah
When we think of Jesus as providing a model for behavior for the religious, private, or civic realm but not for politics and government, we adopt a fragmentation utterly foreign to the New Testament.
The Calvinist Roots of American Social Order: Calvin, Witherspoon, and Madison
Witherspoon and Madison’s Calvinist theology and political philosophy imparted a firm belief that self-interest could be harnessed, ambition checked, and power balanced within government so that liberty and the common good were made secure.
The Cities of God and Man: Archbishop Chaput’s Advice for Catholics in an Apostate Age
Archbishop Chaput has produced an able and perceptive response to some of the most urgent questions besetting American Catholics today.
Hard Texts and Interfaith Peace: Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’s Not in God’s Name
In his new book, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks argues that the solution for religious violence must come from religion itself.
Out of the Cave, Into the Wardrobe
The easiest test of a work’s true power is to ask whether or not it pulls us into the wardrobe and propels us out of the cave. If an author has inspired us to vacuum the carpets, wash the windows, or buy the groceries with brighter smiles on our faces, then he has done something truly wonderful.
Bellevue: The Best and the Worst of America
Bellevue reflects the worst and the best not just of its disadvantaged patients, its physicians, and its students, but of the American democratic project.
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Libertarian Atheists
Libertarians may miss certain cultural nuances that traditionalists are able to see, but the reverse is also true. In this moment of political transition, we should be grateful for minds that turn endlessly on the government-skeptical spit.
What Is Legalism?
Contemporary legalism downplays, ignores, and occasionally denigrates the “rules” of morality in favor of mercy, accompaniment, and integration, because it fails to see that there is an essential and constitutive relationship between morality and human flourishing.
Commander in Chief: War, Foreign Affairs, and the Constitutional Power to Impeach a President
The framers deliberately designed a strong presidency with the power to wage war with energy, secrecy, and dispatch. Impeachment, in turn, was designed to be a formidable congressional check on the formidable powers of the president—power counteracting power, ambition checking ambition.
The Constitutional Position and Powers of the Presidency: Executing Laws and Interpreting the Constitution
The framers deliberately gave the president independence, unity, and vast powers. This is only a problem if the office is badly filled.
