Conservatism

September 25, 2019

Adam Smith wasn’t laissez-faire: Samuel Gregg responds to Adrian Vermeule

To Adrian Vermeule, the theory at the core of liberalism is Adam Smith’s “invisible hand,” the name Smith gave to the process through which participants in the market indirectly benefit from the collective actions of self-interested individuals. Continue Reading...

September 19, 2019

Sohrab Ahmari’s biggest mistake

The debate between Sohrab Ahmari and David French has sparked a useful conversation about the means and ends of liberty. In that discussion, both men make valid criticisms and both sometimes fall short, but a recent column by Ahmari reveals perhaps the most glaring error in his perspective. Continue Reading...

September 11, 2019

Can a big bad state deliver us from evil?

Thirty five years ago the American novelist Thomas Pynchon asked the question, “Is It O.K. To Be A Luddite?” The occasion was the then 25th anniversary of C.P. Snow’s Rede Lecture, “The Two Cultures of the Scientific Revolution,” which argued, way back in 1959, that our culture was increasingly polarized into “literary” and “scientific” factions unable to understand each other. Continue Reading...

July 29, 2019

Brazil needs a right-wing intellectual movement

That Brazil experienced a surprising political movement and elected a right-wing government after decades of a democratic socialist regime, many people already know. However, a political movement is not enough to change the future of a nation. Continue Reading...

July 11, 2019

Bolsonaro’s first 6 months

Jair Bolsonaro has completed his first 6 months as the president of Brazil. After nearly being killed by a socialist militant during his campaign and a surprising victory in the 2018 elections, the conservative politician has, against the odds, accomplished what few people could have imagined. Continue Reading...

July 01, 2019

Is social media the source of our social problems?

The British economist John Kay made a powerful argument in his 2011 book Obliquity: Why our goals are best achieved indirectly that the best way to achieve any complex of broadly defined goal is indirectly through a gradual process of risk taking and discovery. Continue Reading...

July 01, 2019

Letter from Rome: American vs. European Nationalism

Last month’s Sohrab Ahmari-David French debate was the more recent skirmish about the meaning of American conservatism. Acton’s Joe Carter has helpfully compiled a reading list without appearing to favor one side over the other. Continue Reading...

June 28, 2019

What Willmoore Kendall can teach us about America

Willmoore Kendall defied the norms of many mainstream intellectual movements. Those who knew him recall a “typical strangeness” that characterized the man and his works. He was a solitary figure who has been largely forgotten in today’s conservative conversations. Continue Reading...

June 26, 2019

What does politics have to do with virtue?

One of the highlights of my summers working at the Acton Institute is leading discussions with our interns over major ideas, thinkers, and issues. This afternoon we had a spirited and thought provoking discussion about conservative critiques of liberalism. Continue Reading...

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