The Tale of Two Revolutions and Two Constitutions
The closing of the XXX Olympic Games, in both French and English, reminds me of Charles Dickens who in the nineteenth century wrote famously about the Tale of Two Cities—Paris and London–separated by a...
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A New American Myth
In politics, our myths are more important than our history. The stories that tell us who we are as a nation are the most powerful political tools in times of economic, military or cultural stress....
View ArticleThe Conservative Mind at 60: Russell Kirk’s Unwritten Constitutionalism
In his great work, The American Republic, written in 1866, the American Catholic political writer Orestes Brownson – who ranks with Calhoun and John Adams as among the finest political minds America...
View ArticleThe Right against America
Robert Nisbet was certainly a conservative theorist of some prominence, as Mike Rappaport indicates. Mike was picking up on Steve Hayward’s post, which called to task today’s “quantum conservatism” for...
View ArticleOakeshott and the American Founding
Many American conservatives view Michael Oakeshott with puzzlement. Although he is recognized around the world as a conservative thinker, a careful reading of his work yields the conclusion that he...
View ArticleThe Constitution Created an Expansive, not a Strictly Limited Federal Government
The revolution of 1787-1791 overthrew a constitution that strictly limited the federal government in favor of one with general welfare and necessary and proper clauses that allowed the federal...
View ArticleThe Extinction of American Liberty? Ted McAllister responds:
Lamentably, I find myself in general agreement with the thoughtful commentaries on my essay by the three respondents, C. Bradley Thompson, Steven Grosby, and William Dennis. This is not to say that...
View ArticleHow to Throttle Aristotle
Aristotle’s Politics has undergone at least nine English translations in the last few decades.[1] Over the centuries, its advocates have included those who enslaved American Indians and those who...
View ArticleA Republic Formed from Reflection and Choice
The Constitution that emerged from the Philadelphia Convention on September 17, 1787 meant nothing. But after a period of mature reflection and calm consideration, the American people, through their...
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The Conservative Imagination of Russell Kirk: A Conversation with Brad Birzer
Brad Birzer comes to Liberty Law Talk to discuss his upcoming biography of Russell Kirk entitled Russell Kirk: American Conservative. Our discussion focuses on the nature of Kirk’s conservatism and his...
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An Eternal Introduction
When I read the preface, I thought: What a great story awaits the reader. The authors of The Constitution: An Introduction, Michael Stokes Paulsen and Luke Paulsen, father and son, spent nine summer...
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The Wrath of Cons
David Brooks is in an angry and spiteful mood. Perhaps he’s even getting to be a bit unhinged, as history is putting his vision of American conservatism onto its rubbish heap. As Ben Shapiro recently...
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Freedom and the Natural Law: A Conversation with John Lawrence Hill
Is the natural law necessary for any enduring consideration of freedom and responsibility? Answering in the affirmative is John Lawrence Hill who joins us in this edition of Liberty Law Talk to discuss...
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Rebuilding the Liberty Narrative: A Conversation with Gordon Lloyd
There is nothing more arduous than the apprenticeship of liberty, Tocqueville informs. While equality in modern democratic society is a natural tendency—one that grows without much effort—it is liberty...
View ArticleThe United States Must Not Become a “Normal Country”
Peter Thiel gave an interesting speech endorsing Donald Trump. Many people are very unhappy about the endorsement. I am ambivalent about this aspect, because it is beyond my poor powers of calculation...
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The Conservative Mind at 60: Russell Kirk’s Unwritten Constitutionalism
In his great work, The American Republic, written in 1866, the American Catholic political writer Orestes Brownson – who ranks with Calhoun and John Adams as among the finest political minds America...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Oakeshott and the American Founding
Many American conservatives view Michael Oakeshott with puzzlement. Although he is recognized around the world as a conservative thinker, a careful reading of his work yields the conclusion that he...
View ArticleThe Constitution Created an Expansive, not a Strictly Limited Federal Government
The revolution of 1787-1791 overthrew a constitution that strictly limited the federal government in favor of one with general welfare and necessary and proper clauses that allowed the federal...
View ArticleThe Extinction of American Liberty? Ted McAllister responds:
Lamentably, I find myself in general agreement with the thoughtful commentaries on my essay by the three respondents, C. Bradley Thompson, Steven Grosby, and William Dennis. This is not to say that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Throttle Aristotle
Aristotle’s Politics has undergone at least nine English translations in the last few decades.[1] Over the centuries, its advocates have included those who enslaved American Indians and those who...
View Article