CATEGORY: CONSERVATISM (5 min)
Pay attention long enough and you’ll notice a recurring theme in conservative conversations:
No one can agree on what we ought to conserve.
Western traditions or Founding principles? Freedom or ordered liberty?
It seems there are more questions than answers.
Why Conservatives Need to Take a Hard Look at Their Beliefs
In this week’s Intercollegiate Review article, Spencer Klavan takes a different approach.
He suggests we reconsider the questions we’re asking.
If conservatives ask the right question, we just might agree on the thing we’re trying to conserve . . .
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CATEGORY: POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
Harvard Professor: “Originalism Has Outlived Its Utility”
Harvard law professor Adrian Vermeule whacked a conservative hornet’s nest.
In his essay in The Atlantic, “Beyond Originalism,” Vermeule suggests that a prominent conservative philosophy for interpreting the Constitution has outlived its purpose.
Vermeule’s Argument in Two Sentences:
Originalism is not enough to ensure a conservative interpretation of law and the Constitution.
What we need instead is a government-directed approach toward the common good.
How Conservatives Are Reacting
Vermeule’s essay is problematic for many reasons.
Even if we could agree on what the common good looked like, governments across the globe are notorious for promising heaven and delivering hell.
But in the spirit of fairness and conversation, we’re rounding up some of the best responses to Vermeule’s argument.
These Responses to Adrian Vermeule’s Essay Are Worth Your Time:
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CATEGORY: LAW (6 min)
Given the furor over Adrian Vermeule’s essay on originalism, it makes sense to examine what originalism looks like in practice.
The late Justice Antonin Scalia lived originalism.
In this timeless Intercollegiate Review article, Noah Diekemper shows what that means—and why it matters.
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Sit Down with Two Leading Scholars . . .
. . . get an uncommon grasp of free speech—and get your questions answered in real time!
Join us Wednesday, April 15, at 8 p.m. ET and explore what defines free speech, whether it has limits, and what those limits ought to be.
Your guides will be two leading authorities on free speech:
- Dr. Hadley Arkes, the great constitutional and natural law scholar of Amherst College
- Arthur Milikh, associate director of the Heritage Foundation’s B. Kenneth Simon Center for American Studies
Get the ISI Conference Experience—From the Comfort of Your Couch!
Registration is completely free, but spots are limited—and they’re filling up.
Reserve yours now!
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