Economics & Empire 369
Puritans and The Pope: The Conflicted Christian History of American Ecological Ethics
The responses from American Christians to Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ have fallen into two predictable categories: Economic conservatives push back against Francis’ critique of “technoscience,” claiming that capitalism and…
The Incredible Industrial Egg
The local library’s inventory reduction sale had progressed over several weeks from a buck a book and a dollar a DVD, to two dollars a flat, and finally to a…
Palmyra, Centurions, and Fighting ISIS from the Bottom Up
The fact that the chattering classes outraged by ISIS’s atrocities would unleash the latter-day centurions of the air so eagerly, while leashing ordinary people so cavalierly, should give pause to…
The Cardinal and the Capitalist
A cleric with the ear of Pope Francis recently sent Catholic defenders of free markets into a tizzy. At a press conference, Cardinal Oscar Rodriquez Maradiaga of Honduras tossed out…
A Presidential Proposal Worthy of the Porch
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] The blogger, pundit, screenwriter, and all-around mensch Noah Millman has come up with a brilliant idea--Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator from Vermont, and Jim Webb, former…
Hanging Out with, and Learning from, Some Thoroughly Material Benedictines
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] A few weeks ago I was able to, once again, do something that I enjoy doing immensely--take a group of students out on a local…
Why Cities Ought to, Sometimes, Challenge Their States
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] On next Tuesday’s ballot here in Wichita, KS, voters will be able to, whether they realize it or not, directly contribute to an ongoing struggle…
Do Groups Make Choices After All?
Mike Munger was recently on EconTalk, where he is a very regular guest. This time the subject of discussion was his latest book Choosing in Groups. Munger is an excellent…
Building Houses on Sandy Ground
In the summer of 2004, I packed all of my worldly belongings into a small U-Haul trailer and made the trek from Central Texas to the Florida Panhandle. I was…
Christmas Comes But Once a Year; Or, Books to Buy Next Christmas
Philadelphia, PA R. J. Snell A slow thinker and slower writer—some might say the reverse—I’ve been chewing over the Christmas season for the past few days, a remembrance of things…
Local Dynasties Only, Please
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] With former Florida Governor Jeb Bush's announcement on Tuesday that he's "actively explore the possibility of running for President of the United States"--a move which,…
Happy Holidays to Us
Malibu, CA I understand why many wish me a “Happy Holidays” in public settings, and I am glad they wish me well at this time of year. I must confess,…
Anarchism, Global Citites, and a Confucian Cosmopolitan Education
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] I recently attended a conference in Nanjing, China, hosted by the Hopkins-Nanjing Center and organized our fellow Porcher, Adam Webb. You can read a short…
The Market Made Me Do It (Part II)
Malibu, CA Where does Catholic Social Thought come down on this question? Not surprisingly, Catholic thought often emphasizes solutions taken at the level of the economic and political system: government-provided…
The Market Made Me Do It (Part I)
Malibu, CA The danger in speaking after thirteen talks on Catholic Thought and Business is that there is nothing left to say. Russ Hittinger started with the observation that his…
Conservatism, Localism, and the Mittelpolitan Problem
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] This morning, I completed a series of lectures and discussions with a local civic group here in Wichita. The topic for this morning was the…
News from Nowhere
Providence, RI There are in these recent days at least three matters of great importance confronting my beloved land, The Assimilated Provinces of Megalomerica. They are related to one another.…
The Demise of Virtue in Virtual America (Front Porch Republic Books)
Entrance:Virtual America’s Convention Hall Demise—1) the conveyance of an estate 2) transfer of the sovereignty to a successor 3) a: death b: cessation of existence or…
The Limits of the Language of Limits
Holland, MI Over at the Postmodern Conservative, Peter Lawler has been writing quite a bit about Robin Williams, and specifically the movie Dead Poets Society (which, Peter and I agree, isn’t…
How Marx Explains the Pomo-Con/Front-Porch Divide, In Four Easy Steps
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] Via Rod Dreher, I see that the occasionally interesting blog Postmodern Conservative has departed its longtime home at the (often, if not always) theoconservative journal…
Piketty’s Challenge: A Past That Consumes the Future
But the rate of profit does not, like rent and wages, rise with the prosperity, and fall with the declension of the society. On the contrary, it is naturally low…
Dollarocracy: Money-Power, Media-Framed Elections and Inequality
When searching for semi-precious stones, one must at times loosen jewels from the mineral deposits in which they’re locked. This consideration applies to books as well as nature’s treasures. One…
A Militarism We Call Patriotism
With the U.S. military experience in Iraq finally concluded, in January of 2012, President Barack Obama bookended his State of the Union address with an appeal for the nation to…
A Genuinely Original Libertarian Argument?
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] Yesterday evening, I participated in a symposium sponsored in part by Northfield School of the Liberal Arts, a private Christian academy, here in Wichita, KS.…