Articles Archive
Sustaining a Republic of Hustlers, Pt. II
The speculative greed of the many—the suckers—is what enables the few to pull off their uncreative destruction. But not only the greedy get hurt when one of these bubbles bursts…
Alito: The Court’s True Conservative
In a recent piece in The Weekly Standard, Adam J. White argues that Samuel Alito is a Burkean conservative. By looking at Alito's reasoning and not simply his voting record,…
The Challenge Confronting Conservatives, Pt. I
Like the football coach whose pep talks wear thin, a President who turns every cause into a holy one, every enemy into a Hitler, and every conflict into a genocide,…
Facebook and the Affairs of the Elderly
Here's an interesting essay arguing that the rise of divorce rates among the elderly is due to Facebook and other social media. The author, Sheri Kirschenbaum, points to data from…
A Case For Government
In this hitherto unpublished 1995 lecture, Wilson Carey McWilliams sought to persuade a conservative audience (at the University of Dallas) for an arguably "conservative" case for government support of "decencies"…
Mafia Among the Mountain Folk
What ironies of fate converged that morning, such that a mob was about to come out on a march against us?
“Caylee’s Law” and the Specter of Civil Breakdown
Alexandria, VA In the wake of the "not guilty" finding in the Casey Anthony trial, large numbers of outraged individuals have begun a campaign for the creation of various State…
The Computer Made Me Do It
The habit of questioning, of civil debate, of negotiating, and compromise are the habits necessary for a thriving democracy.
Dare We Conform to Our Natures?
Mecosta, MI. A FPR reader has written a fine essay dilating on a theme introduced in my own most recent piece (which was, in fact, largely a set of links…
Helpless?
With three children raised and fledged, we managed to avoid their seductive pox and the kids are actually grateful for it. All three of them are engaged in creative professions.…
If You Don’t Have A Life . . .
you happen to live in western Michigan, and don’t have any plans for this Saturday, you may be interested in coming to Grand Rapids to hear me give a talk…
Citizenship and Its Discontents
This lecture by Wilson Carey McWilliams was delivered at St. John's College in New Mexico on April 1, 1995. It is heretofore unpublished. While a number of its specific political…
Up with Summer, Down with Empire!
So say the signers (including four Front Porch-sitters) of this letter (www.comehomeamerica.us) from the nascent antiwar group Come Home, America. The permanent warfare state ill serves Americans; shall we give the…
SB 1070 and the Limits of Decentralism
Phoenix, AZ. In the days leading up to this year’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which will be held in Phoenix on July 12, there is sure to be a…
Teaching Detachment
In this 2000 lecture, Wilson Carey McWilliams prophetically pointed to the deepening of existing trends in higher education toward detachment and mobility. He described his task in this lecture thusly…
Marriage Ends in New York, An Ancient Struggle Continues
Devon, PA. As my latest pair of essays on FPR scrolled across the screen, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was keeping the family legacy alive of undermining the obligations of…
FPR Conference on Sept. 24: Questions of Scale
Dear friends of FPR, Please join us at the inaugural Front Porch Republic conference on Saturday, September 24, at Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Co-sponsored by the Mount…
Social Justice, Rightly Understood
One of the most unexamined terms in regular use among left Catholics today is "social justice." Vague and often closely aligned with support for national government social programs, "social justice"…
Biovillages
This article describes the effort of local villages in Germany to provide their own heat through local renewable resources. And, wonderfully, it stresses that the effort combines the twin achievements…
Reconquista and the Gospel
Those who believe themselves above primitive nativist loyalty should take care, lest they be discovered worse than infidels for falling short of it.
Measuring the World Whole
Devon, PA. Mark A. Signorelli's superb essay, "Poetry and the Common Language," appeared on FPR last month, and made to my mind a fine addition to helping us contemplate the…
George Orwell and Ideology
The following essay is by Wilson Carey McWilliams, and is drawn from one of the two new collections of his writings, The Democratic Soul. More information about McWilliams, his thought,…
Everyone Needs a Little Localism (or Leroy) in Their Lives
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] Wichita, KS (This is, in many ways, connected to yesterday's post on Shannon Hayes's Radical Homemakers, but it also stands very much on its own.)…
