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Capitalism and the Quest for Community

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Defenders of capitalism need a more humane anthropology, sensitive to man’s social and communal nature, lest they forget to ask the crucial question of what economics is for.

Why Premarital Sex Is Wrong

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There is no way to make premarital sex promote the good of society or of the individuals involved. The world would be a better place if it never happened at all.

What Tocqueville Prescribes for Our Crazy American Souls

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A new book by James Poulos reveals both the greatness and the limitations of Tocqueville.

Anencephalic Children and Zombies

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Children with anencephaly are still human beings deserving of our respect. To appreciate why this is so, it is helpful to consider a thought experiment from science fiction.

Hiding from the Sun: Gender Ideology’s Attack on Truth

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Gender ideology demands that everyone say of what is that it is not, and of what is not that it is. Lovers of truth must courageously resist this call to falsehood.

“Harmonious Household”: Homer’s Odyssey on the Breakdown of Marriage and Family

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Although we tend to think of the Odyssey as a story of homecoming, it has just as much to say about the terrible cost of homewrecking. Homer’s ancient book offers a timely lesson for readers living in an age when so many forces are working to erode the institutions of marriage and the family.

The Sufis: Islam’s Anti-Terrorists

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Westerners tend to think Islam’s recent trajectory is one of resurgent Wahhabi-inspired extremism, but growing numbers of Muslims are adopting Sufi practices that promote peace, hope, and harmony among religions.
Public Discourse

Renouncing Fatalism: Trump and Tocqueville in Poland

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Trump did well in Poland to eschew all talk of “the wrong side of history” and instead to emphasize the real power, for good and ill, that we have over our own destiny. By doing so he defended our dignity and upheld our humanity.

Closing the Meaning Gap: Toward a Reconciliation of Communitarianism and Libertarianism

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Libertarian insights may be able to help communitarians close the meaning gap and build communities that matter.

Parental and Governmental Authority in Medical Decisions: The Tragic Case of Charlie Gard

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By preventing Charlie Gard from receiving further medical treatment, the United Kingdom is exceeding its legitimate authority, and violating the right of Connie Yates and Chris Gard to make an intimate and important family decision about how best to care for their sick child.

The Urgency of Restoring the Biblical Values of America’s Founders

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Our nation was founded on biblical principles as a haven for devoutly religious dissidents. We forget our Judeo-Christian origins and the founders’ commitment to freedom of religion at our peril.

Cakes and Consciences: The Case of Jack Phillips and Masterpiece Cakeshop

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The Supreme Court recently agreed to hear the case of Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, who declined to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding reception. There is no need to coerce artists to employ their abilities in ways contrary to their religious beliefs.

The Patriotism We Need: Principled and Spirited

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A timely book on the thought of Harry Jaffa and Walter Berns reminds us that patriotism needs to be about ideas and principles, but it cannot only be about ideas and principles. To win—and deserve to win—elections, conservatism must also inspire love of country and serve the immediate interests of the ordinary man.

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Separating the Inseparable: Technology’s Sexual Nihilism

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The sad irony of contraception’s desire to cling to sex without its procreative consequences is that in its separating of the unitive from the procreative, both union and procreation have been removed from sex itself, rendering the act empty and meaningless.

Paving a Playground, and Weeding the Unruly Garden of Religious Liberty

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This week’s 7-2 decision in favor of Trinity Lutheran Church goes a long way toward restoring order to the Supreme Court’s religious liberty jurisprudence.

Our Addiction to Technology: Resistance Must Begin in the Home

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Our enslavement to technology leaves us alienated, depressed, and distracted, first of all by disrupting the cultivation of virtue in the home. Andy Crouch has written a thoughtful and practical guide for families looking to redirect their attention from technology to what really matters.

Physicians Without Chests: On the Call to End Conscientious Objection in Medicine

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An article recently published in a prestigious medical journal argues that conscientious objection should be eliminated from the practice of medicine. The argument is unsound, its conclusion dangerous and inhumane.

A Bridge to Nowhere: Fr. James Martin and the Catholic/LGBT Divide

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Fr. James Martin, SJ, has attempted to build a bridge between the Catholic Church and the LGBT community, but by shirking the difficulty of confrontation, he has traded genuine encounter for a thin and generic substitute.

Pittsburgh, Not Paris: Explaining the Climate Hysteria

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When President Trump announced his exit from the Paris Climate Accord, the usual suspects responded with their usual agitation and doomsaying. How can so many people subscribe to an idea—and so vehemently—that rests on so little?

The Spiritual Womb: Thomas Aquinas on Parent and Child

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Not only are parents solicitous for their children’s many needs, but until children reach the age of reason, they must “borrow” their parents’ reason. The natural unity of parent and child thus parallels the organic unity of a mature human being.

Forget Not the Body: Reflections on Artificial Wombs

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Thinking about artificial wombs helps clarify the moral significance of the bodily and the biological—in particular, the significance of pregnancy and maternity.

Decrypting Jefferson

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Understanding the author of America’s Declaration of Independence is easier said than done. He may have hated big government, but big government was born of the rationalism that he loved.

John Stuart Mill’s Intolerant Faith and the Religion of Liberalism

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John Stuart Mill foreshadows the deeply intolerant faith and agenda of contemporary liberalism.