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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.

“Liberal” as an Adjective: The Politics of Michael Walzer

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Public Discourse

American Empire for Liberty

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We shouldn’t worry about America becoming an empire—a new book explains that it has been one for a long, long time.
Public Discourse

Giving Judges the Boot

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Attempts to promote judicial restraint have failed to rein in a judiciary run amok. Is it time to consider more drastic measures?
Public Discourse

The Abiding Significance of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

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Americans must still wrestle with what it means to take the lives of innocent civilians intentionally.
Public Discourse

Conservative Folly on the High Court

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In a series of recent cases, the Supreme Court’s conservative justices have abandoned judicial restraint.
Public Discourse

Marriage and the Reign of Judges

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The latest decision from our judicial overlords on same-sex marriage spells trouble for republican constitutionalism and the institution of marriage.
Public Discourse

Diversity and Discrimination in the Case of the Christian Legal Society

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Our struggle to identify the sort of diversity that is conducive to a vibrant, participatory, and just society is primarily a political inquiry, not a constitutional one.
Public Discourse

Elena Kagan’s Living Constitution

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Kagan’s advocacy for a living constitution should kill her Supreme Court chances.
Public Discourse

Politics and Principle

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The recent actions of New Jersey governor Chris Christie have stirred up a political storm, but they are a reminder of the principles that underlie our politics.
Public Discourse

The Dangerous Vacuity of Our Public Discourse

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Our failure to engage in substantive political debate can tempt us to write our opponents out of the political community.
Public Discourse

Immigration and Self-Governance

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Three issues—the right to secure borders, the moral costs of illegal immigration, and the virtues of generous neighborliness and forgiveness—must be clarified in order to address the problems of immigration reform.
Public Discourse

Morality, Rationality, and Natural Law

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We should prefer natural law thinking to utilitarianism -- here's why.
Public Discourse

Exporting Death to Kenya

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America’s abortion laws may inspire a dangerous provision in Kenya’s new constitution.
Public Discourse

Citizens United and the Problem of Modern Judicial Activism

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A political scientist explains why the concept of “strict scrutiny” is alien to the Constitution and why it poses a threat to a constitutionally defensible judicial review.
Public Discourse

The Problem with the Supreme Court Conservatives

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The Supreme Court’s bad ruling in the DC handgun case may soon undergo a drastic and very damaging expansion.
Public Discourse

In Defense of the Filibuster

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Why we shouldn't listen to calls to get rid of the filibuster.
Public Discourse

A Legal Framework for Drone Attacks in Pakistan

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American drone attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan have become increasingly common and controversial. What broad principles should guide our use of these attacks?
Public Discourse

Bad Reason and the ‘Manhattan Declaration’

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A good deal of online commentary about a recent ecumenical statement misunderstands the nature of human reason.
Public Discourse

Don’t Forget Religious Freedom

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To practice what he preaches, to respect laws passed by Congress, and to support Muslims who advocate for peaceful pluralism, President Obama needs to take action in support of religious freedom. Here are specific suggestions to move this effort forward.
Public Discourse

The Conscientious Engagement of Yves Simon

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Yves Simon's fierce moral intelligence highlights the sad decay of our public deliberation, but his example also gives cause for hope.
Public Discourse

Tortured Reasoning

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Opposition to the CIA interrogations of terror suspects is not a reason to distort important Constitutional principles.
Public Discourse

Faith Makes Us Live: Surviving and Thriving in the Haitian Diaspora

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Religious freedom is a universal human right. The plight of Haitian immigrants shows that religion can also be a vitally important means of integrating some of society’s most vulnerable members.
Public Discourse

Constitutional Questions About Health Care Reform

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Debates over health care reform have focused almost exclusively on policy. Few have considered whether Congress even has the constitutional authority to enact its proposed reforms. Fundamental constitutional issues—such as the scope of the commerce power, the right of individuals to religious liberty, and the different natures of federal and state authority—must be recalled in order to have a more fruitful debate.
Public Discourse

Judge Sotomayor and Abortion on Demand: A Tutorial

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Millions of Americans believe that states can prohibit abortion in the third trimester, yet current Supreme Court jurisprudence has manufactured a right to unfettered abortion right up to the time of the child’s birth. How did Americans become so confused on this issue and how did the Supreme Court end up where it has?
Public Discourse

Making Men Moral

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Earlier this year scholars gathered at Union University for a conference considering the work of Robert P. George in his 1994 book Making Men Moral: Civil Liberties and Public Morality. One theme of the conference was how religion and reason can help us understand and promote the common good.
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