principles

March 27, 2015

Local Government Can Be Big Government Too

Small-government conservatives often share a regrettable trait with their big-government liberal opponents: they frame the issue almost exclusively in terms of the size and scope of the federal government. Although conservatives sometimes expand their view and include state governments, the focus tends to miss the local governments, city and county municipalities, that can have a considerable impact on an individual’s life. Continue Reading...

December 07, 2012

Defining Subsidiarity Down

Patrick Brennan graciously noted my engagement with his piece on subsidiarity, charitably calling it “substantive.” He takes issue, however, with my “pace Brennan.” He rightly responds that “the very point of the book to which my chapter is a contribution is a ‘comparative’ perspective on subsidiarity.” Continue Reading...

August 01, 2011

What the Common Good Isn’t

It looks like Congress will vote later today or this evening to raise the debt ceiling and avert a possible default by the United States Treasury. How the debt ceiling compromise will fair when measured against Acton’s Principles for Budget Reform it is too early to know, but one thing is certain: if the deal contains a single budget cut for even the most ineffective of social programs, we’ll hear screams of protest from Jim Wallis and his Circle of Protection. Continue Reading...

August 18, 2009

Jaffa on How Marx May Win After All

This from a new Uncommon Knowledge interview with Harry Jaffa: The society of the future is one in which the moral distinction that is based upon the Judeo-Christian and Greek traditions will dissolve. Continue Reading...