CATEGORY: NATIONAL CONSERVATISM (8 min)
Before Virginia, before New Jersey, there was Orlando. November kicked off with a three-day National Conservatism conference in Orlando that has conservatives buzzing.
This week’s IR offers you two front-row views of what transpired . . . and what might lie ahead.
Momentum, but towards what?
“A sense of political momentum is palpable at this conference,” writes ISI Fellow Nate Hochman at National Review Online.
The conference has grown exponentially. It features a wealth of top-billing speakers (and elicits much handwringing from the mainstream press).
But where is national conservatism going? What binds this coalition together?
It’s easy to see what they’re united against, Hochman observes, but “there remains some ambiguity about what the national conservatives are for.”
Reporting on the tensions and tendencies he sees in Orlando, Hochman broaches the tough questions the national conservative movement must ask itself. Discover what they are right here.
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CATEGORY: NATIONAL CONSERVATISM (10 min)
“What kind of alliance, if any, is possible between liberals and post-liberals?” asks Mary Harrington in this piece at UnHerd.
She sees Nat-Con II as built around a major fault line: “Conservatism, Inc.” (the neocon and classical liberal establishment) vs. “Conservatism Ink” (the “Gen-Z raw-eggs-and-dank-memes boys”).
Echoing Hochman, she wonders what values these groups share . . . how money will shape the national conservative movement . . . and what statist moralizing amid covid does to the “pre-pandemic post-lib pipe-dream.”
I think you’ll find her analysis thought-provoking. (And her alliteration is on point.)
The momentum is real. It’s up to conservatives like you and me to try to figure out where it’s going.
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Because our student editors and writers are bravely bringing conservative ideas to their campuses, we’re highlighting their efforts here.
Debate Tournament Touts Brazen Racism, Bans White Students via the Chicago Thinker
Debunking the Equity Graphic via the Lone Conservative
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CATEGORY: POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY (5 min)
You’re familiar with the concept of “Western civilization,” right?
Calling it “unpopular” is an understatement. In many circles it’s hated.
What Does “Civilization” Even Mean?
No one knew this better than the late Sir Roger Scruton, a philosopher who is widely considered one of the greatest conservative thinkers.
Sir Roger has been attacked for defending Western civilization. He’s been smeared as a bigot and a racist.
But if you read his words, you’ll find that our Western inheritance is so much richer than progressives will ever admit and worthy of being celebrated without apology.
Inheritance and Dialogue
Which is why, in this week’s Intercollegiate Review essay, we’re publishing his exploration and defense of Western civilization for you.
You don’t want to skip Scruton’s perspective.
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What do you think it takes to be a great leader?
American history is filled with examples of individuals who navigated America through moments of crisis.
We need a new generation of leaders who—learning from the great men of our past—can apply those timeless principles to our present challenges.
That’s why ISI is launching the George Washington Statesmanship Program: Ideas and Applications in Politics, Philosophy & Economics.
You’re invited to apply to this competitive program that will bring together a select group of twelve ISI alumni and young professionals from across the U.S. with top ISI faculty.
Throughout the program, fellows will:
- Study prominent thinkers and statesmen like Aristotle, Edmund Burke, Alexis de Tocqueville, Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, and of course, George Washington
- Participate in a series of ‘modern day application’ sessions like “Civil Rights, Race, and Identity,” and “America is the World’s Technological City on a Hill”
- Enjoy a trip to Normandy to participate in the annual Tocqueville Conversations conference at Alexis de Tocqueville’s family chateau and to visit historic sights including the beaches stormed by American troops in World War II
Sessions will take place virtually on Tuesday evenings from February through May 2022. Fellows will watch a 30-minute lecture prior to each session and will engage in a 90-minute Socratic discussion with an ISI faculty member during each session.
Applications for this program close on December 3, 2021. This is a free fellowship program; however, participants are expected to pay $500 toward their travel costs for the capstone trip to Normandy.
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“Humankind cannot bear very much reality.”
—T.S. Eliot
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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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