Mark T. Mitchell
President
Mark T. Mitchell is the co-founder of Front Porch Republic. He is the Dean of Academic Affairs at Patrick Henry College and the author of several books including Plutocratic Socialism, Power and Purity, The Limits of Liberalism, The Politics of Gratitude, and Localism in Mass Age: A Front Porch Republic Manifesto (co-editor).
Articles by Mark T. Mitchell
Fences, Vines, Bees, and Huge Chickens
Hidden Springs Lane. We’re building fence this summer. I purchased 150 eight foot posts and we’ve been slowly planting them. We’re putting a paddock in the front and a larger…
Your Computer (and everything connected to it) is Broken
Read this just before your shut your computer down for good. Here's a taste: Once upon a time, a friend of mine accidentally took over thousands of computers. He had…
FPR Conference: Get Your Ticket Now
The fourth annual Front Porch Republic conference will examine ways to promote a more comprehensive localist vision that both learns from and goes beyond the increasingly successful local-food movement. It…
On the Nightstand
Two books right now, one fiction and one non-fiction. First, the fiction: Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh. I re-read this one (revisit it?) every few years. Brideshead is quite different…
Philanthrolocalism vs. Effective Altruism
William Schambra has a piece at Philanthropy Daily that describes the coming showdown between two competing conceptions of philanthropic giving. Here's a taste: Community-embeddedness versus detached godliness: not a bad…
Soylent: It’s What’s for Dinner (and Lunch and Breakfast)
Hidden Springs Lane. What if you never had to worry about food again? Possible answers: 1) Wow! Think of all the time I can save, all the hassle of shopping,…
Ron Paul on The Future of Freedom
Here is a video of a talk Ron Paul recently delivered at a program sponsored by The Independent Institute. Paul sees signs of a shift away from concentrated power, and…
Death and Life in the Country
Hidden Springs Lane. There is something especially sad about opening up a hive full of dead bees. Several weeks ago I wrote about my hives and my hope that they…
FPR Conference: Save the Date!
The 2014 FPR conference will on September 27 in Louisville, KY. Wendell Berry will deliver the keynote address. More details to come, but this is shaping up to be a…
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…
Equality and the Culture of Perpetual Offense
Hidden Springs Lane. Rod Dreher has recently been pointing out (for example here) the various ways that those who voice public opposition to certain positions (especially gay marriage) are routinely…
More on Distributism
This week in The Week, Michael Brendan Dougherty has a piece titled "The Conservative Case Against Capitalism." Relying on Belloc's An Essay on the Restoration of Property, Dougherty argues that…