Conservatism

February 22, 2021

Law and morality: not a simple affair

The role of the state, in spheres ranging from public morality to the economy, is one of several axes around which debates about the conservative movement’s future are presently revolving. In a 2020 article, I critiqued common-good constitutionalism for its misreading of how the natural law tradition treats the role of the state and law vis-à-vis morality. Continue Reading...

February 17, 2021

Rush Limbaugh, RIP: 6 quotations on socialism, the Founding Fathers, and life

The most popular conservative personality of modern times, Rush Limbaugh, passed away this morning at the age of 70 from complications due to lung cancer. While neither an intellectual nor a writer – he did not earn a college degree – his quick wit and pithy turn of phrase communicated the message of a free and virtuous society to their largest consistent audience. Continue Reading...

January 08, 2021

The four cultural crises revealed by the D.C. riots

On Wednesday, rioters broke into the U.S. Capitol building, vandalized the halls of government, and caused mayhem that left five people dead, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. These sickening scenes of destruction did not come out of the blue. Continue Reading...

September 11, 2020

David French’s Christian vision for economic freedom

Given the recent wave of populism and protectionism sweeping across the American Right, we see increased criticism of free markets among conservatives – complete with lengthy debates about the purpose of the nation-state, the role of the market in civil society, and whether classical liberalism has any enduring value in an age of technological disruption and globalization. Continue Reading...

April 01, 2020

April Fools’ Day: Italians are not joking around anymore as civil unrest builds

Culturally the first of April – April Fools’ Day – is the same in Italy as in America. It’s a day of practical jokes and laughs. Only here it’s called April Fish Day, because it is related to the ancient end of the Pisces or Fish sign in the zodiac. Continue Reading...

March 03, 2020

For Roger Scruton, philosophy and culture were inseparable

It’s almost two months since the death of perhaps the twentieth century’s most important conservative philosopher, Sir Roger Scruton, but discussion of the significance of his work and life continues to occupy a great deal of space in journals, opinion pieces and on the airwaves. Continue Reading...

February 24, 2020

Continuing the work of Russell Kirk: A portrait of conservatism’s home

Sixty-two miles north of Grand Rapids, MI sits the village of Mecosta with a population of only 450. Right off Main Street, tucked away in an arbor of oaks and ferns, stands a large brick house. Continue Reading...

February 04, 2020

Sir Roger Scruton was a fearless ‘Knight of the West’

The late Sir Roger Scruton has been given many titles since his death on January 12. He’s been hailed as the “greatest conservative thinker of our age,” Britain’s “intellectual dissident” and beauty’s best modern defender. Continue Reading...

January 13, 2020

Hayek, Catholic social teaching, and social justice

Last week David Deaval, Visiting Professor at the University of St. Thomas and 2013 Novak Award winner, wrote a very thoughtful essay on Fredrich Hayek, the question of social justice, and Catholic social teaching at the Imaginative Conservative. Continue Reading...

January 09, 2020

Gertrude Himmelfarb: Teacher of the Free and Virtuous Society

Since the passing of Gertrude Himmelfarb I have been reflecting on just how much she taught me through her voluminous historical scholarship. In this week’s Acton Line Podcast I interviewed Yuval Levin, Resident Scholar and Director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at AEI, who was also her student. Continue Reading...

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