Patrick Deneen
Patrick J. Deneen teaches political theory at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of several books, most recently Why Liberalism Failed.
Articles by Patrick Deneen
Can There be a National Conservatism?
Here’s the irony: a growing number of conservatives realize that it will require the assistance of the State to correct many of the problems that have been created by the…
Res Idiotica
South Bend, IN My students are know-nothings. They are exceedingly nice, pleasant, trustworthy, mostly honest, well-intentioned, and utterly decent. But their minds are largely empty, devoid of any substantial knowledge…
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…
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" -…
Biopolitical Tyranny?
John Milbank has written a remarkable critique of gay marriage that points to the ways it will ultimately and immeasurably strengthen the modern liberal State. The theologian who launched "Radical…
Ron Swanson’s Man Rules
The best thing to come out of Hollywood since.... well, maybe ever: Ron Swanson's Man Rules. It's hard to pick a favorite, but #5 - "Grind it Out" - is…
A Refreshing Bit of Sanity
I've been sitting in an airport most of today, subject to the inescapable barrage of manufactured outrage that is CNN, and was offered this lifeline of sanity from a reader.…
The New Domesticity
This is a highly confused article on the turn, particularly among women, to forms of "new domesticity." Its author, Emily Matchar, appears eager to deny that there is anything good to…
Social Science and Human Liberty
At about the same moment I was reading David Brooks's third "Social Science Palooza," which is a summary of some recent, interesting findings in the study of human behavior, I…
Benedict XVI – Porcher
From an address calling for a renewal of agricultural work by Pope Benedict in November, 2010: "To this end, it is essential to cultivate and spread a clear ethic that…
Leaving Washington
Notre Dame, IN. It was on the virtual “pages” of the Front Porch Republic that I announced last February that I was leaving Georgetown University, in Washington D.C., to accept a…
Front Porches in Chattanooga
On Monday, June 11, I will be lecturing as part of the marvelous "Monteagle Sunday School Assembly," a longstanding summer community based in Chattanooga, TN. Originally inspired by the Chautauqua…