Ideas Still Have Consequences

by John M. Howting

Cultural traditions are more important to man than GDP. They give him a sense of the transcendent, affirm his place in a hierarchy, and create a sense of “we” and “us.”  Continue Reading »

6 Dec 2018

Origami of the Soul

by Timothy Reichert and Francis X. Maier

The modern state typically inspires two antithetical interpretations. Progressives see the state as a means to restrain capitalism, level the economic playing field, ensure equality, and liberate the individual from the dead hand of traditional forms of marriage, family, and sexual morality. . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jun 2018

Letters

by Various

ECONOMISM Richard Spady’s article “Economics as Ideology” (April) has some excellent insights. Spady argues that economics functions as an ideology when it imposes its rigid anthropology—dominated by a simplistic, utility-maximizing mythology of the individual—on the material it . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jun 2018

The Dangers of Economism

by Mark Bauerlein

Richard Spady discusses his essay “Economics as Ideology,” published in the April 2018 issue of First Things. Continue Reading »

4 Apr 2018

Economics as Ideology

by Richard Spady

Economics can serve as an ideo­logy. But it can be something other than an ideology. It can be a social science, for instance, most immediately concerning things about money, and extending to the calculus of social and cultural exchanges where notions of benefit and utility operate. Economics is . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Apr 2018

Hillary Clinton and Rich, White, Crooked Liberalism

by Pete Spiliakos

Maybe Clinton had trouble prioritizing working-class whites because of her status as a rich, liberal white person who gained her wealth from influence-peddling. Continue Reading »

27 Apr 2017

Evolving Toward Africa

by Peter J. Leithart

Modernity doesn’t have a single northern source. In some ways, the West is now catching up to Africa. Continue Reading »

21 Apr 2017

How Many Foreigners Is an American Worth?

by James R. Rogers

How should Christians respond to the tradeoffs of globalization? Continue Reading »

14 Mar 2017

America Needs Work

by Max Torres

Last December, with a push from President-elect Donald Trump, Carrier Corporation decided to retain around eight hundred jobs in Indiana that it had slated to shift to Mexico. Commentators from George Will to James Pethokoukis and the Wall Street Journal criticized the episode as a violation of . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Mar 2017

Our Faint-Hearted Nationalists

by Pete Spiliakos

A conservative nationalism that can’t speak to both recent immigrant populations and anxious working-class whites will lose to left-wing cosmopolitanism. Continue Reading »

16 Feb 2017