The Editors
Articles by The Editors
McClaughry Memoir: Ford and Carter
The following is the third installment of John McClaughry’s memoir, Promoting Civil Society Among the Heathen. See the previous chapters here and here. 5. Ford and the Ethnics Gerald Ford became…
Localist Roundup: Walmart, Death, and the Pope
In a follow-up to a previous Localist Roundup, a petition has appeared on the White House Petition website urging that the runner-up turkey from this Thanksgiving's turkey pardoning be executed:…
Pointless Parties
“There are others too…that pretend to be pleasures, such as gambling and pointless parties; as time goes on, it becomes clear even to the victims of their seduction that they…
How We Saw Ourselves: circa 1800
I am reading through James Ronda's Lewis and Clark Among the Indians (first published in 1984) and was reminded of how we saw ourselves politically in the early days of…
Localist Roundup: Christmas Trees and Mistletoe
Apparently, some people are pushing something like a local business version of Black Friday. Of course, it's a different day--the Saturday after Thanksgiving--so the committed shopper can always double-dip. The…
What You Need to Know About Simone Weil
Born in 1909 to secular Jewish Parisians, at age 10 Simone Weil was memorizing Racine and marching in labor union protests. She attended the École Normale and then briefly taught…
A Message in a Bottle
Every now and then we hear of a lucky homeowner who takes down a wall to make renovations on his house, and finds inside it a cache of wonders; dozens…
Not Even on the Radar
In a small attempt to connect political theory to actual power, last week I sent messages to some GOP members of the U.S. Senate telling them about my new book,…
What Does it Take to Keep Small Rural Towns Alive?
On the basis of this story out of Morland, KS (population 150, or thereabouts), the answer seems to me: community determination (citizens forming a local foundation to purchase and keep…
McClaughry Memoir: The Nixon Years
The following is the second installment of John McClaughry's memoir, Promoting Civil Society Among the Heathen. See the previous chapters here. 3. The Community Self Determination Act During my year at…
Being Thankful for National Communities and Civil Religion, Sometimes
[Cross-Posted to In Medias Res] Amongst those Americans who believe that the civic virtues which make both popular government and a fulfilling independence possible are themselves dependent upon, to a…
Localist Roundup: Turkeys
Happy Thanksgiving! In keeping with tradition, President Obama has pardoned a Thanksgiving turkey. Although, given the fact that the runner-up turkey isn't bound for a table either, the pardoned turkey…
Eating Salt Together
“As the proverb says, men cannot know each other until they have eaten salt together.” –Aristotle We don’t need the latest study to show us that we are losing the…
Localist Roundup: A Gromdar in Every Home
Worries continue over the FDA implementation of new food safety regulations. Small farmers may face debilitating regulations, although the FDA claims it will be sensitive to small farm concerns. This…
Post-Antibiotic
Every morning when I would shuffle to our refrigerator to lug out the gallon of milk for cereal, or after school when I'd stand in front of it wondering if…
Promoting Civil Society Among the Heathen: a Memoir
John McClaughry is one of the most misunderstood figures in modern American politics. He served several terms in the Vermont House and state senate and ran unsuccessfully for the U.S.…
Localist Roundup: Grants for Local Food and Transcendentalists with iPhones
The Black Friday shopping binge starts earlier still this year. On a less depressing note, these study results tell something about how women influence men. And these results list what…
The Significance of Manners
These people will also discover the seemingly insignificant conventions their predecessors have destroyed. Things like this: When it is proper for the young to be silent in front of their…
Localist Roundup: Buy Your Own Town!
Earlier this week the first federal challenge of NSA surveillance opened. At this point in the proceedings, the main question seems to be whether any of the various challengers have…
First Lecture
On Monday, November 11, I delivered the first "First Lecture" to students at the University of Notre Dame. This series - modeled on the idea of the "Last Lecture" -…
Localist Roundup: Schoolyard Farms and the Death of Writing
This Monday was Veterans Day, prompting this intriguing piece, which examines flaws in the public's perception of veterans and in veteran's perception of themselves. Meanwhile, this article addresses the continuing…
What You Need to Know About Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò Machiavelli wrote The Prince while unemployed and in exile following the restoration of the Medici to Florentine rule in 1512. He dedicated it to Lorenzo de Medici, Duke of…
Secret of the Marriage Bed
Penelope (to Telemachus): “If really he is Odysseus, truly home, beyond all doubt we two shall know each other better than you or anyone. There are secret signs we know,…
The Anti-multitasker, RIP
The Stanford professor who debunked the myth of effective multitasking, Clifford Nass, died unexpectedly of a heart attack on November 2. But he leaves behind his interesting work on the…