Why Tocqueville? Why Today?

by James Poulos

In part two of my Atlantic interview , I say a few words on a subject that brings pomocons and front porchers together (for a bench-clearing brawl or a bout of hope and healing)? . . . . Continue Reading »

25 Jun 2009 0

Three’s a Crowd

by Will Wilson

Eve Tushnet’s review of the Shakespeare Theatre production of Noel Coward’s Design for Living is up at the American Spectator . The play’s us-vs.-them shtik always had something unpleasant about it, as in the servant-problem humor in which working-class characters exist solely as . . . . Continue Reading »

24 Jun 2009 0

Good News, Bad News for Ivan

by James Poulos

Teaching by PowerPoint is out . . . . . . and teaching by Twitter is in. . . . . Continue Reading »

23 Jun 2009 0

A Note on Tone; or, the Perils of Aphorism

by James Poulos

Freddie responds to my tweet on Iran, solidarity, and fashion: I could imagine that James’s refusal to show solidarity with the protesters (or at least his discomfort in the same) is the product of apathy or fear of the other. I think, applied generally and not specifically, that’s a . . . . Continue Reading »

21 Jun 2009 0

The Twain Meet Cute

by James Poulos

A.O. Scott on the latest Woody Allen film: [ . . . ] Mr. Allen’s imagination has returned to Manhattan after that invigorating European sojourn afflicted by an extreme case of jet lag. In spite of a few up-to-date references — to Barack Obama, red states and gay people, for instance . . . . Continue Reading »

20 Jun 2009 0

Demand, Reward — Profit

by James Poulos

I’ve said elsewhere that our vision of politics is being corrupted by a well-meaning but misguided epistemology of compassion: increasingly, we consider the person or group demanding a right to be the most trustworthy source of information about whether they deserve it. Anyone aggrieved, we . . . . Continue Reading »

11 Jun 2009 0

From Unions to Arrangements

by James Poulos

The most important theme, I’d say, in the below. . . . . Continue Reading »

4 Jun 2009 0

The Fatal — Or Is it Fateful? — Conceit

by James Poulos

Since the mid-’80s, a long progression of doomsayers have warned that our declining market share in the patents-and-Ph.D.s business augurs dark times for American innovation. The specific threats have changed. It was the Japanese who would destroy us in the ’80s; now it’s China and . . . . Continue Reading »

4 Jun 2009 0

What We Mean By Empathy

by James Poulos

Prof. John Hasnas is an excellent seminar leader, and, like Conor , I cheer on his clearsighted reiteration of the kinds of blindness to future or systemic consequences that a viscerally emotional approach to jurisprudence can bring. Yet Bastiat, whom Hasnas cites, seems to me vulnerable to perhaps . . . . Continue Reading »

3 Jun 2009 0

A Secular Political Philosophy

by Ralph Hancock

Charles Taylor’s monumental (or at least huge) A Secular Age is, I suppose, old news already, but, as usual, it has taken me a long time to figure out how to undo Taylor with his own statements, and so now of course I have to share. Finally I’ve figured out this out, and I thought you . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jun 2009 0