Wilfred M. McClay

It was not very long ago that most scholars and political observers assumed federalism to be an utterly dead issue”an intellectual relic every bit as antique as the divine right of kings. Obviously, the political tides of the day have shifted dramatically”though it still remains to be seen how . . . . Continue Reading »

We acquire language through repetition, and in everyday life the repetition of a word helps fix its meaning. But not always. Especially not in the academic world, where the most intense intellectual commerce often involves exchanging, and haggling over, the semantic equivalent of wooden . . . . Continue Reading »

From all appearances, it is now back in style to be critical of American individualism. Indeed, that critique has never gone entirely out of style, and for very good reasons. But views on these matters also seem to follow cycles which, if not of Schlesingerian predictability, are nevertheless . . . . Continue Reading »