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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.

Listening to the Law 

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2016 and the Future of the Supreme Court

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What would happen if a justice with the judicial philosophy and record of Justice Ginsburg were to replace Justice Scalia on the Court?

Better to Give than to Receive: Catholicism and the Enlightenment

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In science and philosophy, politics and society, the Enlightenment and the Faith could and did bring mutual intelligibility to each other, showing no intrinsic incompatibility—“faith cannot collide with enlightened reason,” a new book reminds us, for truth cannot contradict truth.

The Future of Pro-Life Legislation and Litigation

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In her landmark 1971 paper, Judith Jarvis Thomson tried to defend abortion by appeal to norms of justification consistently applicable in a range of other cases. By contrast, the courts in and after Roe and Casey have treated the right to abortion as an unquestionable legal principle. This inverted approach is doomed to fail as it continues to reveal the anomalous character of abortion rights.

No, We Should Not Legalize Recreational Marijuana Use

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Legalizing recreational marijuana use would hurt not only those who smoke—it also hurts children and society as a whole. As a country, if we encourage and profit from this vice, we will be undermining the very foundations of our government.

If Tim Kaine Wins, the Catholic Church Loses

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Many high-profile Catholics like Tim Kaine publicly dissent from Catholic teaching and promote offenses against human dignity. When their actions go unrebuked by Church leaders, it harms both the Church as a whole and the faith of individual Catholics.

The End of the Utilitarian Argument for Trump

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If you have been tempted by the utilitarian, lesser-of-two-evils argument for Donald Trump, then you must appreciate how his latest and most serious scandal changes that calculation.

We Abandon Social Conservatism at Our Own Peril

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Fiscal conservativism cannot exist without social conservatism. Strong families form the foundation of healthy societies and strong economies.

Love, Not Power: Diagnosing our Body Politic

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The deepest wellspring of human action is not power but love—the appetite to love and care for others and to be loved and cared for. Any healing of our broken political system must proceed on the basis of this basic truth about its parts.

Betrayed by Our Leaders: A Young Conservative Responds to Endorsements of Donald Trump

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The leaders of organizations that have shaped a generation of young conservatives are now endorsing Donald Trump, a man who is the antithesis of the values held by each of these institutions.

Collaborative Greatness: The Lesson of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton

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We need to reflect on and learn from Washington and Hamilton’s lesson in collaborative greatness. Their alliance forged our nation, and we will need similar alliances to preserve it and ensure its flourishing.

On Wealth and the Bible, The First Christians Were Not Like David Bentley Hart

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Neither the New Testament nor the writings of early Christians support the idea that material wealth is intrinsically evil.

How Christianity Created the Free Society

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While many Christians have undermined human liberty, a new book of essays shows just how much of our contemporary freedom we owe to the Christian church, Christian thinkers, and Christian practice rather than liberals and liberalism.

SOGI Laws: A Subversive Response to a Nonexistent Problem

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Now is not the time for proponents of religious freedom to partner with proponents of sexual orientation and gender identity legislation in hopes of catching a few crumbs of liberty that fall from the table.

Religious Freedom: The Basis for Human Rights . . . and the Survival of Christians in the Middle East

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It is time for the international community to respond to the plight of Christians in the middle east. Adapted from an address delivered by the Patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church of Antioch to the 134th Convention of the Knights of Columbus.

How Liberals and Conservatives Can Learn from Moynihan’s Virtues

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Contemporary politicians would do well to emulate the virtues of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a liberal who understood the conservative lesson that intermediary institutions—particularly families—are essential for preserving liberal society.

The Promise and Peril of Conservative Principles

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The failure of movement conservatism to connect principles to policies that speak to current challenges has rendered it increasingly irrelevant to most Americans—and even to most Republicans.

The Trump Phenomenon and the Decline of American Politics

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No American politician is ever as great as his most ardent adulators say or as bad as his most vitriolic detractors say. Still, Trump’s rise reveals a certain lowering of standards not only among the voters who support him but also in the elites who oppose him.

A 49er Fan Reflects on Colin Kaepernick’s Protest

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American political history mirrors Colin Kaepernick’s football career: exceptional promise coupled with often disappointing performance. We would do well to remember and embrace the meaning of American greatness while candidly acknowledging our nation’s shortcomings.

The Best of Both Judicial Worlds: Why State Justices Are Not Enough

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When picking a Supreme Court justice, the next Republican president should look to federal appellate judges who have also served on a state supreme court.

The Trouble with Solidarity

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Calls to unify the fractured Republican Party and reach out to disillusioned Trump voters will never succeed without a comprehensive vision for the future.

Dissent Will Not Be Tolerated: What the Case of a Wyoming Judge Means for All of Us

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When judges are prohibited from speaking publicly about their most deeply held convictions, how long will it be before everyone is?

Restoring the Political-Moral Center

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Politicians should return to the common-denominator universal ethical values embraced by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Moral Truth and the Ethics of Voting: How Should I Vote?

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Voting always requires a weighing of consequences. The paramount question for the conscientious voter in 2016 is, “Which outcome among the feasible alternatives will promote the greatest good or prevent the greatest harm?”

Salvaging the Vote: A Different Take on Political Action

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High-principled conservatives who would abstain from voting this November rather than vote for Donald Trump embrace a faulty model of political action, which threatens to undermine the resistance to radical liberalism.

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