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August 29, 2020 at 11:03 AM

Matthew J. Franck: Isolation Bookshelf: Hail to the Chief

The beginning of September in years divisible by four is the traditional start of the general election campaign for the presidency of the United State Isolation Bookshelf: Hail to the Chief August 29, 2020 | by Matthew J. Franck Can the American people and their r…

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August 28, 2020 at 11:04 AM

James E. Hartley: Revisiting Chesterton and The Mystery of Capital

There is a curious strain of recent conservative thought that laments the workings of the American economic system. The iconic example of the problem Revisiting Chesterton and The Mystery of Capital August 28, 2020 | by James E. Hartley Allowing capital to move i…

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August 27, 2020 at 11:05 AM

Hadley Arkes: Josh Hawley and the Advantages of Jujitsu

The question used to be posed in moments of crisis, real and imagined: if you had to attack the machine gun nest of an enemy, which five men would you Josh Hawley and the Advantages of Jujitsu August 27, 2020 | by Hadley Arkes Senator Hawley should turn the tables…

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August 26, 2020 at 11:02 AM

Ed Whelan: Why Finding Justices Who Will Overturn Roe v. Wade Hasn’t Been Easy, And What to Do About It

In my Public Discourse essay yesterday, I commended Senator Josh Hawley’s forceful condemnation of Roe v. Wade but explained why I don’t think that hi Why Finding Justices Who Will Overturn Roe v. Wade Hasn’t Been Easy, And What to Do About It August 26, 2020 | by…

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August 25, 2020 at 11:05 AM

Ed Whelan: Senator Hawley’s Judicial Test on Roe v. Wade Won’t Work

Senator Josh Hawley has earned attention for his recent Senate floor speech, published here at Public Discourse, in which he declared that he “will vo Senator Hawley’s Judicial Test on Roe v. Wade Won’t Work August 25, 2020 | by Ed Whelan Political realities can b…

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August 24, 2020 at 11:03 AM

Michael Farris and Elyssa Koren: The Role of the United States in the Revitalization of the International Human Rights Project

It has been six years since ISIS perpetrated a genocide against Yazidis, Christians, Shiites, and other groups, inflicting mass violence and killing t The Role of the United States in the Revitalization of the International Human Rights Project August 24, 2020 | b…

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August 21, 2020 at 11:05 AM

Matthew Lee Anderson: Poly Parenting and the Value of the Family

Our society’s ongoing mainstreaming of “poly” relationships continues apace, if the New York Times is any indication. Two weeks after exploring the di Poly Parenting and the Value of the Family August 21, 2020 | by Matthew Lee Anderson The emerging discussion abou…

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August 20, 2020 at 11:03 AM

Christopher O. Tollefsen: Making Children, Unmaking Families

The New York Times recently ran an op-ed titled “The Poly-Parent Households are Coming.” It is notable for its celebratory approach to two future pros Making Children, Unmaking Families August 20, 2020 | by Christopher O. Tollefsen Manufacturing children using the…

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August 19, 2020 at 11:04 AM

Andrew D. Graham: Why Religious Pluralism and Religious Literacy Matter for the Future of Religious Freedom in America

I’m a proud Reformed Protestant and an ordained ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), a decidedly conservative branch of Presbyter Why Religious Pluralism and Religious Literacy Matter for the Future of Religious Freedom in America August 19, 2…

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August 18, 2020 at 11:05 AM

R.J. Snell: Education and the Restoration of Moral Agency

In many ways, our time is like all others. Humans are born, live, fall in love, die—the basics. Every person still encounters the challenge of living Education and the Restoration of Moral Agency August 18, 2020 | by R.J. Snell Many students today lack a real for…

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August 17, 2020 at 11:03 AM

Jordan J. Ballor: A Protestant Defense of the Common Good

Much like the related concept of social justice, contemporary discussions of the common good have been fraught with misunderstanding, dismissal, and p A Protestant Defense of the Common Good August 17, 2020 | by Jordan J. Ballor An integral part of the Christian c…

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August 15, 2020 at 11:04 AM

Matthew J. Franck: Isolation Cinema: Crazy Love

If our best lexicographers are to be believed, the term “screwball,” which originated in cricket and then migrated to baseball to describe a ball thro Isolation Cinema: Crazy Love August 15, 2020 | by Matthew J. Franck What is it that makes screwball comedies so m…

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August 14, 2020 at 11:06 AM

Sally Thomas: A World of Strange Relations: Christian Wiman’s Survival Is a Style

“Once after a lecture,” writes Christian Wiman in his new book of poems, Survival Is a Style, “a woman stood up and read a passage out of some prose I A World of Strange Relations: Christian Wiman’s Survival Is a Style August 14, 2020 | by Sally Thomas Christian W…

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August 13, 2020 at 11:04 AM

Colin J. Smothers: The Foundation of Human Society: A Christian Case for Parental Authority

Most people recognize that intentionally separating a child from his parents interferes with an inviolable human bond and eviscerates a natural law th The Foundation of Human Society: A Christian Case for Parental Authority August 13, 2020 | by Colin J. Smothers P…

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August 12, 2020 at 11:04 AM

Stefano Gennarini: Why the U.S. Commission on Unalienable Rights Should Not Ignore Abortion

If American foreign policy is going to promote human rights as a priority, it has to begin with the right to life. It is a shame, then, that the much- Why the U.S. Commission on Unalienable Rights Should Not Ignore Abortion August 12, 2020 | by Stefano Gennarini D…

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August 11, 2020 at 11:03 AM

Jean C. Lloyd: Why a Generation of Girls Is Fleeing Womanhood

Abigail Shrier has given us a gift—a valuable and costly one. Her decision to write on transgender issues has introduced her to the abuse heaped on th Why a Generation of Girls Is Fleeing Womanhood August 11, 2020 | by Jean C. Lloyd Abigail Shrier’s new book is an…

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August 10, 2020 at 11:03 AM

Andrew M. Yuengert: The Pandemic and Practical Wisdom

The COVID-19 pandemic forces us to confront two realities that we strive to ignore in normal times: the inevitability of tradeoffs and the inability o The Pandemic and Practical Wisdom August 10, 2020 | by Andrew M. Yuengert COVID-19 underscores our need for pract…

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August 8, 2020 at 11:02 AM

Allen C. Guelzo: Reconsidering the Statesmanship of Abraham Lincoln

Three weeks after Abraham Lincoln was murdered, his loyal promoter (and editor of the Chicago Tribune), John Locke Scripps, wrote to Lincoln’s law par Reconsidering the Statesmanship of Abraham Lincoln August 08, 2020 | by Allen C. Guelzo In many ways, Abraham Lin…

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August 7, 2020 at 11:06 AM

Elayne Allen: Angels, Demons, and Unbundled Religion

For most Americans, the idea of demonic possession makes their skin crawl. But certain subcultures might welcome news of such spiritual provocation. T Angels, Demons, and Unbundled Religion August 07, 2020 | by Elayne Allen True encounters with demonic activity ou…

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August 6, 2020 at 11:04 AM

Joseph E. Capizzi: Hiroshima and the “Easy” Thing to Do

August 6 and 9 mark the seventy-fifth anniversaries of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively. The lead-up to these dates has been Hiroshima and the “Easy” Thing to Do August 06, 2020 | by Joseph E. Capizzi The just war ethic cannot justify the…

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August 5, 2020 at 11:03 AM

Robert T. Miller: The Epistemics of First Principles

Paul DeHart recently published at Public Discourse an excellent essay arguing that natural-law moral systems in the Aristotelian-Thomistic tradition d The Epistemics of First Principles August 05, 2020 | by Robert T. Miller All knowledge comes from sensory experie…

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August 4, 2020 at 11:04 AM

Samuel Gregg: The Trouble with Industrial Policy

Since 2016, more and more Americans, from across the political spectrum, have called for local and national governments to expand the scale and depth The Trouble with Industrial Policy August 04, 2020 | by Samuel Gregg There are good reasons to believe that indus…

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August 3, 2020 at 11:04 AM

David VanDrunen: Should Protestants Reject Natural Law? Responding to Common Objections

There has been a resurgence of Protestant interest in natural law in recent years, which would have seemed unlikely even a couple of decades ago. For Should Protestants Reject Natural Law? Responding to Common Objections August 03, 2020 | by David VanDrunen Even …

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August 1, 2020 at 11:04 AM

Matthew J. Franck: Isolation Bookshelf: History Outside the Academy

As a political scientist, I find myself quite naturally drawn to reading history, and thanks to my own teaching and research interests, I have read a Isolation Bookshelf: History Outside the Academy August 01, 2020 | by Matthew J. Franck For reasons that pass all…

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July 31, 2020 at 11:05 AM

Sen. Josh Hawley: Judicial Nominees Must Explicitly Acknowledge That Roe Was Wrongly Decided

I came to this floor three weeks ago to talk about the United States Supreme Court. I come today to revise and extend my remarks. There are now five R Judicial Nominees Must Explicitly Acknowledge That Roe Was Wrongly Decided July 30, 2020 | by Sen. Josh Hawley Ro…

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July 30, 2020 at 11:02 AM

Casey Chalk: Which Americans Are Really “Highly Effective People”?

Walk into many managers’ offices in America and one will likely see the same books: How to Win Friends and Influence People, Good to Great, and Built Which Americans Are Really “Highly Effective People”? July 30, 2020 | by Casey Chalk Thirty years after its publi…

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July 29, 2020 at 11:02 AM

Paul Oslington: Why are Philosophers and Theologians so Hostile to Economics?

The debate about the effects of capitalism on character is a long-running one. In the eighteenth century, Adam Smith worried that, while the division Why are Philosophers and Theologians so Hostile to Economics? July 29, 2020 | by Paul Oslington Bad writing by ph…

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July 28, 2020 at 11:05 AM

Dwight Lindley: Homer at the Beach

When I go to the beach, the odds are ten to one that I will be confronted with the same phenomenon once so memorably described by John Updike: “a shee Homer at the Beach July 28, 2020 | by Dwight Lindley On Calypso’s island, we encounter both the allure and the da…

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July 27, 2020 at 11:03 AM

Pierre Manent: The Church Has the Form of a City

Catholics, like the French as a whole, have been surprised, stunned, and bewildered by the pandemic and the confinement that responded to it. Like mos The Church Has the Form of a City July 27, 2020 | by Pierre Manent The book of Acts shows that the Catholic Churc…

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July 26, 2020 at 12:02 PM

Featured Collection: Debating Liberalism at Public Discourse

Featured Collection: Debating Liberalism at Public Discourse Does America equal Locke? And is Lockean liberalism a friend or foe to authentic human flourishing? You’ll find these two questions running throughout much of the conversation about liberalism. Email not displaying correctl…

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July 24, 2020 at 11:03 AM

Allen Mendenhall: The News Makes You Dumb

A pernicious notion seems to have settled into the minds of my generation (I’m 36) when we were little boys and girls. It’s now an unquestioned “fact” The News Makes You Dumb July 24, 2020 | by Allen Mendenhall We should stay away from the news lest we fall prey t…

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July 23, 2020 at 11:02 AM

Richard Spinello: “Going Dark” and the Politics of Software Code

In the dim light of dawn, Mohammed Alshamari burst into a classroom building at the Pensacola naval base in Florida and proceeded to gun down eleven s “Going Dark” and the Politics of Software Code July 23, 2020 | by Richard Spinello Apple has been entangled in se…

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July 22, 2020 at 11:03 AM

Zena Hitz: Thought, “the World,” and Education

I am profoundly grateful to have readers like Steven McGuire and Nathaniel Peters, who have engaged with my book at the level of its deepest questions Thought, “the World,” and Education July 22, 2020 | by Zena Hitz Inwardness, intellectual or otherwise, is the so…

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July 21, 2020 at 11:02 AM

S.F. McGuire: Two Cheers for Politics

I remember reading an interview during the Great Recession in which a medievalist employed at a public university admitted he’d have trouble explainin Two Cheers for Politics July 21, 2020 | by S.F. McGuire The intellectual life and political life are distinct ele…

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July 20, 2020 at 11:03 AM

Nathaniel Peters: The Beautiful Uselessness of Learning

Some years ago, I visited the Grande Chartreuse, the mother house of the Carthusian monks, which is nestled in the Alps outside of Grenoble, France. A The Beautiful Uselessness of Learning July 20, 2020 | by Nathaniel Peters The humanities matter because human lif…

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July 18, 2020 at 11:04 AM

Matthew J. Franck: Isolation Bookshelf: College Daze

As we prepare for what promises to be a difficult academic year, my thoughts turn to the challenge of keeping liberal education truly liberal in the A Isolation Bookshelf: College Daze July 18, 2020 | by Matthew J. Franck Like the spirit of liberty itself, the spi…

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July 17, 2020 at 11:05 AM

Samuel Gregg: Hamiltonianism and the American Nation: A Response to Carson Holloway and Bradford P. Wilson

Carson Holloway and Bradford P. Wilson are among America’s preeminent scholars of the life and thought of Alexander Hamilton. Like many others, I have Hamiltonianism and the American Nation: A Response to Carson Holloway and Bradford P. Wilson July 17, 2020 | by S…

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July 16, 2020 at 11:04 AM

Carson Holloway and Bradford P. Wilson: Hamiltonian Nationalism: A Response to Samuel Gregg

Superficial observers often mistake as novel political phenomena what are in fact reappearances of longstanding, deeply rooted propensities. Ten years Hamiltonian Nationalism: A Response to Samuel Gregg July 16, 2020 | by Carson Holloway and Bradford P. Wilson Sam…

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July 15, 2020 at 11:03 AM

Ryan T. Anderson and Mary Eberstadt: Mary Eberstadt on What Plagues the West

Public Discourse is launching a new feature where we interview leading intellectuals to learn more about their work and what it means for the challeng Mary Eberstadt on What Plagues the West July 15, 2020 | by Ryan T. Anderson and Mary Eberstadt “Post-revolutionar…

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July 14, 2020 at 11:04 AM

Daniel E. Burns: The State of Social Conservatism and the Role of Public Discourse

Bad times often produce good thoughts. The golden age of Athens coincided with the Peloponnesian War. The end of the Roman Republic gave us Cicero; th The State of Social Conservatism and the Role of Public Discourse July 14, 2020 | by Daniel E. Burns Public Disco…

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July 13, 2020 at 11:02 AM

Ryan T. Anderson: Religious Liberty Is Important, But It’s Not Enough

The past two weeks brought welcome rulings from the Supreme Court on religious liberty. We should celebrate these victories, because religious liberty Religious Liberty Is Important, But It’s Not Enough July 13, 2020 | by Ryan T. Anderson The religious liberty tri…

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July 12, 2020 at 11:02 AM

Yahya Cholil Staquf: Responding to a Fundamental Crisis Within Islam Itself

When US attorney Stephen Rasche left his practice and moved to northern Iraq to assist its long-suffering Christians, he confronted a grotesque realit Responding to a Fundamental Crisis Within Islam Itself July 12, 2020 | by Yahya Cholil Staquf If we are to abolis…

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July 11, 2020 at 11:01 AM

Ligia De Jesus Castaldi: Democratic Lawmaking and the Creation of International Abortion Rights

Abortion has never become a legal right, in any nation, through a truly democratic process. International comparative law studies on abortion legaliza Democratic Lawmaking and the Creation of International Abortion Rights July 11, 2020 | by Ligia De Jesus Castaldi…

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July 10, 2020 at 11:04 AM

William Carroll: Darwin, Marx, Aquinas, and China

Over the past several years I have visited more than a dozen Chinese universities, speaking on “Thomas Aquinas, Creation, and Contemporary Science.” O Darwin, Marx, Aquinas, and China July 10, 2020 | by William Carroll What often intrigues my Chinese colleagues an…

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July 9, 2020 at 11:03 AM

Andrew Latham: Just Peace Theory: A Syllabus of Errors

In recent years there have been troubling indications that what seemed to be settled Catholic teaching regarding war and peace may no longer be, well, Just Peace Theory: A Syllabus of Errors July 09, 2020 | by Andrew Latham The Catholic Church should not abandon J…

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July 8, 2020 at 11:02 AM

Randall Smith: Whose Nation? Which Nationalism?

Yoram Hazony’s book The Virtue of Nationalism has provoked an important debate about the virtues and dangers of nationalism. “Nationalism is the issue Whose Nation? Which Nationalism? July 08, 2020 | by Randall Smith Americans are in the midst of an important deba…

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July 7, 2020 at 11:05 AM

Paul R. DeHart: On the First Principles of Moral Reason

In a recent essay at Law and Liberty, F. H. Buckley sought to rehabilitate the old charge that natural law and natural lawyers commit the so-called na On the First Principles of Moral Reason July 07, 2020 | by Paul R. DeHart No natural lawyer in the classical natu…

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July 6, 2020 at 11:04 AM

Robert Lowry Clinton: Textual Literalism and Legal Positivism: On Bostock and the Western Legal Tradition

Much ink has been spilled about the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, in which Justice Neil Gorsuch held that the plain meaning o Textual Literalism and Legal Positivism: On Bostock and the Western Legal Tradition July 06, 2020 | by Robert Low…

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July 5, 2020 at 11:02 AM

Mark Shiffman: Black Americans and the Fourth—and Fifth—of July

In 1852, fourteen years after his escape from slavery, Frederick Douglass was invited by abolitionists in his newly adopted home of Rochester, New Yor Black Americans and the Fourth—and Fifth—of July July 05, 2020 | by Mark Shiffman A great war was fought. Slavery…

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July 4, 2020 at 11:05 AM

Matthew J. Franck: Isolation Bookshelf: Independence Day Edition

In many parts of our country, a thoughtless, convulsive form of iconoclasm seems to have come over many of our fellow citizens. Statues of Columbus an Isolation Bookshelf: Independence Day Edition July 04, 2020 | by Matthew J. Franck Americans love America because…

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