Let me preface this by saying that I’m not being critical of Rawls. I’m just using Rawlsians to clarify why sophisticated people think about being personal these days: One scenario is that genetic enhancement might be regarded as no different from the way we now view elective cosmetic . . . . Continue Reading »
Jeb is clearly the smartest guy in the family Bush. He even looks different from the others. Our poor current president is tanking across the board. Of course he has to fire the disrespectful rogue general-hero, but the dissing is hurting him nonetheless. It’s not like the leaders of other . . . . Continue Reading »
So I’m writing an article about liberal eugenics and all that, and I’m actually using Rawls. Here’s (a very rough draft) snippet: American sophisticates usually speak of the significance of persons in terms of the theory of John Rawls. Rawls has become, many think, the political . . . . Continue Reading »
Over at Times and Seasons, a blog mostly for Mormons, where I am guest, I have posted some thoughts on a “third-order” question that lies behind or underneath the most vital (I think) contemporary political issues. Come on over and join the fray, if you dare. . . . . Continue Reading »
Marc Guerra’s CHRISTIANS AS POLITICAL ANIMALS is now available from ISI Books. You can get it on amazon for $17.79. That’s right! A magnificently produced and beautifully written hardback for that low price. It’s THE pomocon treatise on theology and modern democracy. We can . . . . Continue Reading »
PLEASE GIVE, about all of the above in Manhattan today, is the best movie of the year so far by far. It’s connection to SEX IN THE CITY is a little sex and a lot of City. And the sex portrayed is pathetic—a fat guy and a hugely (emotionally) wounded fading beauty committing adultery . . . . Continue Reading »
So that’s the first of what will probably turn out to be a large number of quotable lines from the very funny GET HIM TO THE GREEK. As far as I know, this is the first really enjoyable movie of the year (CITY ISLAND is a decent but distant second). It would be easy and right to say it’s . . . . Continue Reading »
In the pages of the Wall Street Journal , Peggy Noonan wonders if a string of failures for the Obama administration counts as mounting evidence not only against his primary claim to rule, executive competence, but also against the undergirding premises of liberal political philosophy. The debate . . . . Continue Reading »
Even or especially ordinary people know that when celebrities possess a singular artistic greatness, their lives are not for envy or imitation. Two of the most revered and beloved American celebrities were Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. Certainly their deaths plunged us into grief in a way . . . . Continue Reading »
Celebrities, generally speaking, are fairly irresponsible or selfish—out for themselves. They have less reason than us not to be. They have rare opportunities to do whatever they want whenever they want. And not having been raised (as aristocrats once were) for their privileged lives, they . . . . Continue Reading »
Subscribe
Latest Issue
Support First Things
