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Pillar

Politics & Law

The third pillar of a decent society is a just system of politics and law. Such a government does not bind all persons, families, institutions of civil society, and actors in the marketplace to itself as subservient features of an all-pervading authority. Instead, it honors and protects the inherent equal dignity of all persons, safeguards the family as the primary school of virtue, and seeks justice through the rule of law.

Getting the Emphasis Right on Catholicism and Immigration: A Reply to Feser

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Getting the Emphasis Right on Catholicism and Immigration: A Reply to Feser

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We get truth in Feser's essay, but what is needed is “caritas in veritate in re sociali.” To write about how we ought to treat migrants and emphasize our rights while neglecting the emphasis of Scripture, and deemphasizing what Catholic Social Thought emphasizes, is to lose that intimate connection of love in truth.

How to Reason Prudentially about Immigration: A Reply to Feser

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Although Feser is right to emphasize the need for prudence, he relies on an essentially relativistic notion of prudence—one in which objective moral principles only get us so far, and the rest of the work is done by prudential judgment in a personal realm of mere “difference of opinion,” shielded from objective moral scrutiny.

Just Statecraft and the Problem of “Peace”: A Response

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Wise and just statesmanship would help steer this war to a cessation by providing the security guarantees that Ukraine needs, and by making clear to Russia that Ukraine’s independence and sovereignty will be defended.

The Case for Moving a Circuit Judgeship from Delaware

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President Trump has a real opportunity to put a lasting mark on a court that’s quietly important to the country—and personally important to him—by selecting two young conservatives for its vacant seats. He shouldn’t let Delaware get in his way.

Public Reason and the Cultural Moment

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Political actors of all stripes fail to honor principles of public justification and mutual respect when they try to shame, bully, or force their opponents out of the public square. Movement progressives ought to remember this, and ensure that their political activities uphold such norms—even for those whose views they might find profoundly objectionable or immoral.

President Trump and Birthright Citizenship

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The Constitution’s grant of citizenship cannot be a function of Congress’s immigration laws, let alone of a president’s executive order written on the basis of those laws. Only a constitutional amendment could unsay what the Constitution conclusively says on that question: born here, citizen here.

The Human and the Machine: AI Sexbots and the Boundaries of Love and Dignity in the Workplace

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What does it mean to be human in a world where machines can mimic our deepest bonds? For thoughtful readers, Jordan’s story offers a lens through which to examine the nature of identity, the limits of legal protections in the workplace, and the ethical challenges posed by artificial intelligence.

On Medical Killing and “Capitalism”

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It is misguided to rest one’s opposition to medical killing on a vague allergy to greed and to profit in general, when cost-pressures are a reality whether “profit” is relevant or not, and—in some cases at least—the profiteers are a countervailing force.

Property Rights in Children?

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If Congress were to pass laws endorsing, protecting, or expanding access to IVF, it would, to my knowledge, be the first time federal law has spoken on the nature of prenatal personhood—at least since Roe. And like Roe, it would once more require us all to accept the premise that unborn (and even certain classes of born) children are not “persons in the whole sense”: a sharp turn in the wrong direction.

Reclaiming Free Speech: Can America’s New Leadership Turn the Tide?

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The Trump administration, though still in its early days, has taken decisive steps to cement its free-speech stance. Meanwhile, Europe doubles down on censorship. But one side must prevail, and there is reason to hope that if America continues to throw its might behind free speech, the next four years will see significant returns.

A Catholic Defense of Enforcing Immigration Laws

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While progressive Catholics conclude that Vice President Vance and other Catholic defenders of administration policy are flatly at odds with Church teaching on immigration, I will argue that that is not the case. Indeed, it is clear that Vance is not only well within those boundaries, but is in fact on much stronger ground than those who advocate a virtually “open borders” position in the name of Catholicism.

Natural Law and Liberalism

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The natural law account of politics acknowledges (in line with the Aristotelian tradition) that the purpose of political community is the all-around flourishing of its members, but it also acknowledges (in line with the liberal tradition) that the role of government in achieving this purpose is limited to securing the conditions that facilitate flourishing.

In Defense of Amy Coney Barrett: An Examination of Her Record

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Justice Barrett's presence has fundamentally shifted the center of the Court. For decades, conservatives could only win by fitting their cases into the politically liberal framework of Anthony Kennedy. Now—thanks to Barrett—the path to victory is to fit it into the judicially conservative framework of Antonin Scalia. That alone is a political and jurisprudential victory, even if it doesn’t result in litigation victories in all cases.

In Defense of Amy Coney Barrett: Why She Was Nominated to the Supreme Court

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Republicans couldn’t have filled the seat without Justice Barrett. Mitch McConnell knew this, and for that reason insisted that she needed to be the nominee.

IVF and the Language of Gift: A Theological Commentary on a Recent Executive Order

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This IVF executive order is anything but pro-life, and it is most certainly not pro-family. It is to be condemned in the strongest terms, and that condemnation must authentically inform Catholic life and family policy and practice. I pray fervently that the process of policy consultation that will soon come as a result of this executive order leave room, at the absolute minimum, for religious and conscience exemptions. But this is the bare minimum.

How Our Politics Failed during the COVID Pandemic: An Interview with Stephen Macedo

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There was a fundamental failure of toleration for alternative points of view. I think some of it might be explained by the fact that it was a pandemic. For public health guidance to be effective, people have to comply. To that I would say fair enough, but it’s also equally important—or more important—to have confidence that the policies are sound. People complying en masse with unsound policies won’t do us a whole lot of good. That’s what open debate is supposed to address.

Pornographers Before the Supreme Court

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“I know it when I see it”—But could we keep at least the kids from seeing it and knowing it? 

Contra Koppelman—What Mere Natural Law Was About

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Any system of jurisprudence must find its ground in these anchoring truths that we can reliably know, because they are true of necessity. They are the principles of reason that mark the natural law, the law that underlies our positive law. And any scheme of natural law built on these grounds then cannot be, as Andrew Koppelman labels it, a mere “theory” of the natural law. It would be the real thing.

Forgetfulness, Forgiveness, and Politics: The Case of Congress

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Congress has declined into a destructive cycle of revenge. To preserve the institution and strengthen our politics, politicians must take the risk to forgive.

Medical Conservatism Is the Antidote to MAHA

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When the next opportunity arrives, it should be used as a chance to demonstrate that Kennedy promises the same outcomes as the existing regime, just with different medicine. And if we want to finally cure ourselves of our failing model of health and wellness, we should start with a dose of medical conservatism.

Why the Founders Chose the Electoral College Design

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The Founders feared tyrannies, especially majority tyrannies. We remain free not because of the Bill of Rights, but because of the dynamic checks and balances in our national and state constitutions. 

Critiquing Hadley Arkes’s Not-So-Mere Natural Law Theory

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Law necessarily has a moral foundation. Exploring that foundation can help us understand what law can and should be. The project of finding anchoring truths is well worth undertaking, and the natural law tradition has something to contribute to that.
mother and baby

Making Sense of America’s Maternal Mortality Crisis

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Pro-life state laws both pre- and post-Dobbs prevent the intentional killing of preborn human beings, not essential obstetric care such as the treatment of pregnancy complications before, during, and after childbirth. Any misunderstandings to the contrary on the part of physicians probably stem from rampant misinformation about abortion laws.
religious freedom in the US

Religion, State Law, and the Common Good

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How can government and religion properly work together to promote the common good?
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