Austin Stone

Alan Jacobs over at the American Scene has asked whether it’s really true that all libertarians believe human nature is fundamentally good. He seems to think one can pull off being a libertarian who believes in original sin—"you just have to believe that our inevitable corruption . . . . Continue Reading »

If you’re as impressed as I am that so many non-insane people are not only willing to identify themselves publicly as Pomocons but cogently explain how and why, you may enjoy a trip to your local library or Vastly Anonymous But Clean and Convenient Megachain Bookstore. If so, add these to the . . . . Continue Reading »

Here’s something from my "Christian American Political Realism (in CHRISTIANITY AND POWER POLITICS TODAY, ed.. E. Patterson (2008):  "As Harvey Mansfield writes, our ‘manly’ desire to display our nobility as indispensably important, transcendent beings is . . . . Continue Reading »

Both Will and Helen, right here on this blog, have instructively discussed the difficulties associated with the often promiscuous assignment and declaration of rights in political discourse today. If we look at the American founding narrowly from the perspective of its Lockean influence, . . . . Continue Reading »

Given what she just wrote , I’m hoping Helen can hit this one out of the park. Over at LadyBlog, Bonnie Lindblom quotes a professor at Northwestern University saying the following: "Conservatives worry about societal collapse, liberals worry about a world without deep feelings and . . . . Continue Reading »

Jumping up and down eagerly, I’d like to point you to Ivan Kenneally’s article on neuroscience and the soul . Ivan blogged about it previously here . I may be horribly misreading the article, but it seems to me that the problem lies more in reductionist accounts of human experience . . . . Continue Reading »

In the latest issue of Perspectives on Political Science , I organized a symposium on Peter Lawler’s most recent book (since last I checked) Homeless and at Home in America . Besides the brief introduction and an article that I contributed, there are also brilliant pieces by . . . . Continue Reading »

Helen is fond of telling me that I "haven’t gone far enough." Turnabout is fair play. The trouble with rights language isn’t that it clings, fluke-like, to an existing moral framework . If rights were simply an inefficient middle-man, I wouldn’t mind keeping them around. . . . . Continue Reading »

The ever-prolific Dan Mahoney revisits the revolutionary upheavals of 1968 , particularly as they manifested themselves in France, and masterfully explores their underlying philosophical significance and continuing social and political ramifications today. The commemorations of these . . . . Continue Reading »

Happy Pulpit Freedom Sunday! I’ll be celebrating by going to Mass and then getting waffles, but if I were Protestant and living outside of New York I might be celebrating it by listening to a sermon about the ‘08 elections. The Alliance Defense Fund is sponsoring today’s event, in . . . . Continue Reading »