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CATEGORY: ECONOMY (29 MIN)
The American economy has achieved incredible successes over the lifespan of our nation. It has depended, in large part, on the drive and determination of Americans like us who have run the complex mechanisms of our country. But now constant failures seem to dog many aspects of our nation’s infrastructure—the question is: why?
Harold Robertson provides a simple answer: the people manning our systems have become incompetent. In Palladium, Robertson attributes recent vehicular disasters and security failures to the growing ineptitude of our leadership in every field. Instead of the meritocratic system that provided excellence at the top, Robertson says, we now rely on meritless factors to promote those who do not deserve it.
Robertson argues that the political pressures of the civil rights movement and the current obsession with diversity have corrupted the process that made America strong. He juxtaposes the decreasing value of standardized tests like the SAT with the rise of racial and sex-based analysis.
Robertson believes this failure of the American system will drive the best workers out of the most important positions in the country—thus crippling our nation further.
Read his full article to hear more of his diagnosis for America.
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Weekly Poll
RESULTS: 6/15/23
Last week, we asked: In your opinion, which US foreign policy is better: a pragmatic foreign policy strategy that focuses on concrete benefits for the US or an idealistic foreign policy strategy that includes the promotion of classical liberalism, free markets, and democracy abroad? 73.7% of respondents believe a pragmatic foreign policy is better and 18.4% of respondents believe an idealistic foreign policy is better.
In your opinion, should the US seek to restore a pure meritocracy to efficiently distribute talent across institutions or should some consideration be taken to prevent brain drain from rural communities?
[A] A pure meritocracy is preferable.
[B] We should prevent brain drain.
[C] Unsure/Just tell me the results
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CATEGORY: LITERATURE (6 MIN)
Novelist Cormac McCarthy, known for classic works such as Blood Meridian and The Road, passed away earlier this month. His death triggered a number of tributes to his writing and influence on America, including one from John Gray at the New Statesman.
Gray discusses McCarthy’s unique ability to push past vague and hopeful-sounding platitudes about life to get to the heart of the human experience. He notes McCarthy’s friendship with scientists, which co-existed with McCarthy’s belief that much of the world could not be naturally explained.
Gray also writes on McCarthy’s spiritual themes in his work. Gray says McCarthy’s spiritualism did not resolve into any happy afterlife or future joy, but rather reflected a seeming belief that people’s fates are tied to strife and random chance. In some ways, McCarthy’s tales reflect the fallenness of human nature and its inevitable result without grace.
Many critics, Gray points out, criticized McCarthy for the lack of hope and excess of cruelty in his stories. But Gray suggests we may be too inoculated to the depths of human nature—too steeped in “normalcy”—to appreciate the dark beauty of McCarthy’s observations.
Read Gray’s full ode to McCarthy here. (Free account required)
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ISI’s 70th Anniversary Gala &
Linda L. Bean Center Dedication
September 28th, 2023
This fall, join us at our 70th Anniversary Gala featuring Tucker Carlson, Kevin Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation, and Linda Bean, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Together these are some of the most influential figures in America today.
We will also host a pre-event panel featuring longtime friends of ISI including Annette Kirk (Russell Kirk Center), Gene Meyer (The Federalist Society), Ed Feulner (The Heritage Foundation), and Dan McCarthy (ISI), discussing the 70th anniversary of three conservative classics: Russell Kirk’s The Conservative Mind, Leo Strauss’ Natural Right and History, and Robert Nisbet’s The Quest for Community.
We will have a lobster dinner in honor of Tucker and Linda’s mutual connection to the state of Maine and seating will be limited to 150 guests. Our VIP ticket holders will have the chance to meet ISI trustees and event speakers in a private reception beforehand.
Reserve your tickets here!
Join us in Wilmington, DE >>>
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Because our student editors and writers are bravely bringing conservative ideas to their campuses, we’re highlighting their efforts here.
Cornell’s Code of Conduct Attacks First Amendment Rights of Alumni via The Cornell Review
“...the Cornell Code of Conduct is a rare limitation on free expression not required from outside of Cornell. Rather, it seems to be motivated by a ‘woke’ desire to inhibit and control the ideas expressed by alumni when they gather.”
Ann Arbor Sacrifices Affordable Housing on the Altar of “Sustainability” via The Michigan Review
“The obstruction of additional housing speaks to a larger phenomenon of progressives using environmental concerns to rationalize a decline in commercial activity. Regulations that promote sustainability will reduce material well-being, disproportionately for the poor.”
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CATEGORY: CULTURE (13 MIN)
Although the meritocratic system which powered America for so long led to incredible success, many people who did not achieve success in the system fell behind. And when diversity-based initiatives began to take over and cripple many institutions, these same people continued to suffer. But how is it that communities full of those left behind suffer so greatly while others prosper?
For this week’s Intercollegiate Review archive, Wilfred M. McClay, winner of ISI’s 2020 Conservative Book of the Year Award, reviews a different book on this very topic. In 2019, Timothy Carney wrote Alienated America: Why Some Places Survive While Others Collapse, and McClay discusses Carney’s analysis of the stark differences between American communities.
Carney sought to discover the common issues that led to the decline of American towns, and he claims that weakened social bonds and fewer human connections are some of the biggest reasons. McClay goes deeper, arguing that exclusivity, an unpopular word in the modern lexicon, also strengthens communities.
“Community is about shared beliefs and practices. The word community is a mere abstraction; actual communities must be built around something particular, some commonality of belief, condition, experience, history, or aspiration,” McClay says.
Discover McClay’s full review of Carney’s work right here.
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Thought of the Day:
“Keep a little fire burning; however small, however hidden.”
- Cormac McCarthy
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Who We Are, What We Do
Too many college students feel isolated or attacked for questioning the ever-narrowing range of debate on campus.
We introduce you to the American tradition of liberty and to a vibrant community of students and scholars so that you get the collegiate experience you hunger for.
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