The recent passing of Michael Novak prompted me to take up his masterpiece once again. I first read The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism in the 1980s. At the time, I had no illusions about socialism. It was obviously a failure, economically, politically, and morally. But like so many of my . . . . Continue Reading »
Alberto Rodríguez's film “Marshland” is a haunting combination of detective tale and truth-and-reconciliation case study. Continue Reading »
In the three centuries since the prince-elector of Hanover became George I of Great Britain, few power brokers have been more detached from the populace they affected than Rabbi Menachem Shach (1898–2001). Born and bred in Lithuania, where he devoted himself to Talmudic study with some of the . . . . Continue Reading »
Elections can make you wonder about where you live. It can be frightening to share so little in common with neighbors and fellow-citizens. Especially when they elect people to rule over you. Continue Reading »
If Catholic Republicans accept the logic that abstention is almost always a selfish and unjustified act of free-riding, then they admit that they have no exit threat and undermine the incentive for a candidate like Trump to respond to their complaints. They need the exit threat as a bargaining chip. And the exit threat will be credible only if the voters are actually willing to use it. Continue Reading »
When I vote for one of the major party candidates for president this year, it will in good part be as an act of solidarity with people for whom talk of the “privilege” of voting is more than rhetoric. Continue Reading »
A new paper suggests young Americans are giving up on democracy. When we discard our traditions, we can fall for many things, including, apparently, authoritarianism. Continue Reading »
The First Things Podcast, Episode 5. Also featuring: Book talk with Rusty Reno and “Stump the Editors.”
Might we do well to admit, not that democracy is a bad thing, but that too much democracy can harm a country's constitution? Continue Reading »
Social media tend to magnify the expansive self, encouraging participants to stake out a virtual identity within the ethereal territory of the world wide web: “This is who I am, like it or not!” “My political beliefs are part of my identity; to call them into question is to call my very identity into question.” Continue Reading »
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