J.D. Vance – Religion & Liberty Online

February 05, 2025

Fusionism and the Problem of Order

Fusionism—the union of libertarian political economy and traditional Judeo-Christian morality and spirituality—has been dubbed “the dead consensus” for some time. The consensus persists among American conservative intellectuals, but few have the energy to defend it against recent attacks. Continue Reading...

August 30, 2024

Toasters and Trade: How Misguided Policies Could Burn the American Dream

This weekend, Americans will celebrate Labor Day and the unofficial close of summer with barbecues, parades, and a few extra lazy days before the onset of fall. This year happens to mark the 130th official Labor Day holiday, signed into law by President Grover Cleveland in 1894. Continue Reading...

July 25, 2024

National Conservatism and the Great Controversy Reborn

I have tried for years to understand just what National Conservatism is. I now know. After reading dozens of essays, writing three, attended two NatCons, and engaging in innumerable conversations, I finally see the essence. Continue Reading...

October 16, 2021

Constitution protects nonprofits despite political activism

A healthy state protects life, secures liberty, and defends property. A totalitarian state does the opposite: it arbitrarily kills, compels, and seizes property. J. D. Vance recently appeared on Fox News with Tucker Carlson to discuss a verbal altercation between Arizona State University students, one of whom was the recipient of a Ford Foundation fellowship. Continue Reading...

December 23, 2020

‘Hillbilly Elegy’: the choice to change vs. the choice to leave

J.D. Vance goes from washing and reusing plastic forks at home to posh dinners with seven utensils per setting. The new Netflix film adaptation of his memoir catches the details of knives and forks but misses the “meat” of Vance’s story. Continue Reading...

April 28, 2020

J.D. Vance and the politics of resentment

Resentment is a complicated emotion, a curious mix of disappointment, disgust, anger, and fear. The villainous court composer Antonio Salieri in Miloš Forman’s Academy Award-winning film Amadeus is a study in resentment. Continue Reading...

August 24, 2017

When online conformity mobs imitate government coercion

The social-media outrage machine is rather predictable these days. It doesn’t take much for companies and celebrities to offend the cultural consensus, spurring online mobs to respond, in turn: not through peaceful discourse or by turning their attention elsewhere, but by fomenting rage, abuse, and assault on the subject(s) in question. Continue Reading...

June 12, 2017

When Lightning McQueen brought jobs to rural America

“Main street isn’t main street anymore. No one seems to need us like they did before.” Americans continue to face the violent winds of economic change, whether stemming from technology, trade, or globalization. Continue Reading...

April 25, 2017

Why J.D. Vance is bringing venture capital to the Rust Belt

As Americans continue to face the disruptive effects of economic change, whether from technology, trade, or globalization, many have wondered how we might preserve or revive the regions that have suffered most. Continue Reading...