So this is my ‘much-anticipated’ rejoinder to Freddie . The best way I know how to do this is like sewing a button. I want to sew Freddie to my fabric of understanding (but not so close that he, the button, is too tight to the fabric to be usable as a button!). The back of that fabric, . . . . Continue Reading »
I should start off by confessing that this post isn’t at all topical, except insofar as Freddie has challenged the Pomocon stable to explain why postmodern conservative doesn’t just mean "a conservative who should know better" ( TM ). So, with that half-hearted . . . . Continue Reading »
Freddie DeBoer, PoMoCon commenter extraordinaire, has fired a broadside in our direction . James is working on a response . I’m getting ready to do the same. Nicola has penned a snarky rebuttal . Eve rebutted this long ago . Here’s hoping that this heats up. . . . . Continue Reading »
It appears that many intelligent people think I’m completely wrong . Still, in spite of the very sensible responses I’ve read, I’ve not yet been convinced to walk back my argument. But it seems that I should clarify it a little. I write this post from a coffee shop, and the . . . . Continue Reading »
The last thing I want to do is prolong what has become a rather ugly debate over Conor’s suggestion that Palin be dropped from the ticket, but I think there’s some profit in pointing out one misstep in his logic. I could probably state my entire objection in a single . . . . Continue Reading »
One name that should show up on any reading list for postmodern conservatism is James C. Scott, the Yale anthropologist who argues that weak and powerless classes don’t get brainwashed by powerful elites but rather learn how to manifest rebellion against the elites in subtle ways. Being . . . . Continue Reading »
I’ve already promoted Dan Mahoney’s excellent analysis of the socio-political import of 1968, especially from the perspective of France. Our own Peter Lawler provides his original critical commentary here cautioning us that as seminal as ‘68 was, a fuller picture of the . . . . Continue Reading »
Here’s something I say in "Natural Law, Our Constitution, and Our Democracy,’ MODERN AMERICA AND THE LEGACY OF THE FOUNDING (ed. Pestritto and West, 2007): . . . in Locke’s ‘Of Property, the frequent references to God disppear once money is invented—with . . . . Continue Reading »
Contra Ivan, Nick Troester levels a miniature defense of Locke. There is definitely an ‘anti-natural law’ aspect of Locke which actually remains fairly powerfully Aristotelian. If Aristotle was right that the political relationship was fundamentally different in kind from other sorts of . . . . Continue Reading »
The ever-prolific Dan Mahoney revisits the revolutionary upheavals of 1968 , particularly as they manifested themselves in France, and masterfully explores their underlying philosophical significance and continuing social and political ramifications today. The commemorations of these . . . . Continue Reading »
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