On election night, Tuesday, November 6, returns came in. There were wins and losses. My blood pressure rose and fell, exulting in victories and anguished in defeats. But morning came, and the evening’s ardor had drained away during the night’s sleep. More dispassionate, I mulled over a question . . . . Continue Reading »
The present moment is one of growing discomfort, both in America and in Europe, with the regnant liberal political theory often described as liberal democracy. It is frequently said that the only genuine alternatives to liberal democracy are Marxism and Fascism, but I don’t believe this is . . . . Continue Reading »
The Fifth Republic has only been successful when its president has both embodied noblesse oblige and sustained its populist element. Continue Reading »
What defines the essence of populism? What is it for, and what is it against? T. S. Eliot had some insights into this question nearly one hundred years ago. In Notes Towards the Definition of Culture, Eliot drew a fruitful distinction between the upper class and the elite. Class . . . . Continue Reading »
Suicide of the West: How the Rebirth of Tribalism, Populism, Nationalism, and Identity Politics Is Destroying American Democracy by jonah goldberg crown, 464 pages, $28 Jonah Goldberg exemplifies the decadence and dysfunction of today’s public discourse. According to his new book, the West . . . . Continue Reading »
On a clear June day in 2017, two million people lined the route of the New York Pride Parade to cheer as floats sponsored by Deutsche Telekom, Nissan, Facebook, and Toronto-Dominion Bank went by. Marchers wearing #Resistance T-shirts led the way, followed by ranks of New York’s Finest marching . . . . Continue Reading »
To say that Viktor Orban is anti-Semitic is outrageously wrong. Continue Reading »
Italy’s new government represents the most radical challenge yet to the order that has dominated Europe since World War II. Continue Reading »
After the 2016 election, when white working-class voters turned out for Donald Trump, the New York Times and the Washington Post sent their reporters to the hinterlands of Pennsylvania and West Virginia to see just what had happened. And off they went, like D.C. commuters sent . . . . Continue Reading »
Blood pressure is rising. Folks are worried about “illiberalism.” In a November issue of the Washington Post, Anne Applebaum warned of a rising “neo-Bolshevism” assailing the West: “Donald Trump, Viktor Orban, Nigel Farage, Marine Le Pen and Jaroslaw Kacyniski.” Others have more . . . . Continue Reading »
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