Politics & Power 484
Who Knew Independence Could Be This Easy?
Hillsdale, Michigan: While Americans are gearing up for fireworks, automobile sales, and burnt hot dogs, the Scots are debating whether to declare their independence from the United Kingdom. It…
Patriot Games
Holland, MI [Note: This is the shirt my son wore to the big screen simulcast on the lawn of the Ford Presidential Museum for the US v Belgium soccer game.…
Common Good Politics: A Review of Nader’s Book
In his new book, Ralph Nader argues that the Left and the Right should unite against the economic and political establishment in the Center.
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…
(Civic) Myths over (Religious) Markets: Defending the National Day of Prayer
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res] I don't often disagree with my old friend Michael Austin, partly because he's much smarter and much better read than I, and partly because he's…
How Equality Makes Us Better (and Stupid)
Hidden Springs Lane. The concept of equality lies at the heart of the American system. School children learn by heart (or used to) those memorable lines from the Declaration of…
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…
The Crafting of the Fourteenth Amendment
Several years ago, after driving past the impressively proportioned Harrison County Courthouse in my hometown of Cadiz for the hundredth time, I thought I ought to stop and look and…
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.…
American Political Praxis
What words best describe present-day Washington politics? The commonplace answer, endlessly repeated by politicians themselves and media observers alike, is this: dysfunction, gridlock, partisanship, and incivility. Yet here’s a far…
Liberty and Circuits of the Sacred
A few days ago was the first time I heard Chinese being spoken with a heavy Indian accent. Given the tenor of our times, one might expect this to have…
McClaughry Memoir: The Thousand Points of Light
The following is the final installment of John McClaughry’s memoir, Promoting Civil Society Among the Heathen. See the previous chapter here. 8. George H.W. Bush and the Thousand Points of Light Inheriting…
McClaughry Memoir: The Reagan Years
The following is the fourth installment of John McClaughry’s memoir, Promoting Civil Society Among the Heathen. See the previous chapter here. 7. Ronald Reagan Now let’s backtrack to 1966 and follow…
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…
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…
Gettysburg at 150: Some Essays
Holland, MI My wife will be the first to point out that I’m not much of one for marking anniversaries, but it seems - to use Lincoln’s language - fitting…
The Triumph of the Liberal State
First published in Dutch as De triomf van de liberale staat in the anthology Essays Over Het Midden (Groningen, The Netherlands: Uitgeverij de Blauwe Tijger, 2013) It was sometime back in the Dark Ages—by which I…
Politics on a Human Scale: Historiography
The language of “human scale” politics originated, at least in modern America, among the New Left and the Counterculture. More recently it has been adopted by traditional conservatives (appropriately enough).
It’s the Scale, Stupid
Hidden Springs Lane. The great shutdown charade (less than 50% of workers furloughed) is over for now. However, though our leaders are patting themselves on the back for ending the…
The Once and Future Boss: The Possibilities of Tammany Hall
We are, here in New York, just about ready to cast our votes for the next mayor: even Mike Bloomberg cannot, apparently, actually appoint himself Patrician after the model of…
The Rhetoric of War Powers
I suppose we have the Constitution we deserve--but we could fight for the one we had.
Conservatism: What’s Wrong with it and How Can We Make it Right?
This is my contribution to ISI’s symposium, Conservatism: What’s Wrong with it and How Can We Make it Right? In one sense, there is nothing wrong with conservatism. The principles…
The REPEALicans and the GOP’s Secret Hope
In what passes for political humor these days, Nancy Pelosi has ridiculed the GOP as the “REPEALicans.” She did so in response to the House Republicans’ fortieth vote to repeal…
The 3% Solution, the Cruz Gambit, the Full Rubio, and the Neo-Neocons
The advantage of being out of power is that it gives a political party time to think and reflect. Better yet, it gives a party the opportunity to fight, and…