What Is Culture? People answer this question in many different ways. Some are inspired by philology, others by all kinds of philosophical and social systems. So many contradictions have arisen around defining culture, and the related word “civilization” gives rise to so many contradictions that international congresses of scholars and professors have … Read more
Many talk of the threat of civil war in an increasingly polarized America. The antipathy of the left for the right has certainly reached a high level of irrationality and vitriol. No area of culture and politics is exempt, as conflicts seem to have sprung out spontaneously over the past few decades, … Read more
Public discourse is in a sad state these days. People are not even talking about issues or political problems. Long gone are the times of lofty discussion about ordered liberty and inebriating individualism. Today things are getting ugly. The unpleasantness was brought to light by the Sohrab Ahmari-David French brawl over how … Read more
When I was much younger, I remember listening to a song from the band REM which begins with the words: The world is collapsing around my ears I turned up the radio but I can’t hear it… Nearly thirty years ago, in the idylls of the fading century, that song was poetry. … Read more
When we say Americans are divided and polarized, it can conjure up the image of cloth stretched to the point of ripping. However, this image does not represent everything we are experiencing as a society. Indeed, the social fabric is already torn. The united America we once knew no longer exists. Instead, … Read more
The adjective Catholic is rarely employed to describe the ideal economy we need. Many would see its use as mere window dressing to make the free market appear a bit more compassionate. Everyone knows that the business of creating wealth comes from industry and business. The accountant’s ledger is the only true … Read more
There is talk of a new American civil war. Indeed, the vitriol of opposing parties is reaching levels heretofore unseen. It is especially vicious now over the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy. There is nothing civil about this coming war. For now, it is still a culture battle, but it might be … Read more
“There is no God in this book.” Thus reads the provocative first sentence of Jonah Goldberg’s latest release, The Suicide of the West: How the Rebirth of Tribalism, Populism, Nationalism, and Identity Politics is Destroying American Democracy. This declaration is perhaps an unintended summary of the book about the crisis in the … Read more
On March 10, the Irish Society for Christian Civilisation, joined over a hundred thousand pro-lifers who flooded the streets of Dublin, in the All Ireland Rally for Life. The record-breaking rally was especially timely in light of attempts to repeal the Eighth Amendment in the Irish Constitution that recognizes both the mother … Read more
Historical eras, like people, have their own defining traits. There is always a particular virtue or vice, hero or villain, war or revolution that indelibly marks a whole year, decade, or even century, making it easy to summarize these eras with a single phrase. The Ancien Régime , the period of French … Read more