Young people have always probably chafed against their elders. But in Africa, a gerontocratic system was instituted, which at least frustrated the development of a hereditary elite. And we are not without elements of gerontocracy in our own society. I […]
The definitions of ‘Republican’ and ‘Democrat’, and even ‘conservative’ and ‘liberal’, seem to dance in circles. Even the nature of the parties shifts over time. One is an ideology, the other a coalition, they say. But even that fact tends […]
One of the classic books on the history of suburbia is Kenneth Jackson’s Crabgrass Frontier. It came out in 1985, two years before my personal favorite, Bourgeois Utopias, by Robert Fishman. This book notice discusses Crabgrass Frontier in view of […]
As we learn more about COVID-19, I think there are political concerns to be considered. The New York Times, Washington Post, and National Interest have pointed out that dictators — and those who would like to be — are in […]
In recent years we have heard how Christianity, and even Pentecostalism, seem to be losing their grip on the working classes, at least in white American communities. Robert Putnam, author of Bowling Alone, Charles Murray, who wrote Coming Apart, and […]
Ever since Sohrab Ahmari’s attack on ‘David French-ism’ [May 2019] there has been a revival of interest in the blogosphere on the subject of Catholic Integralism. The interesting fact is that thirty years ago I was rather involved in something called […]
Many of us are trying to figure out what God is trying to do by allowing this Coronavirus plague to circulate around the world so dramatically. As I thought about this, I was reminded of a passage in Luke’s Gospel […]
In the classical Christian church we hear much about our identity in Christ. We also have a host of other identities or roles: parent or child in a family; worker in or owner of an organization; a particular church, denomination, […]
This post highlights some quotes from paleoconservative Sam Francis in order to show his foresight for understanding the rise of Trumpism, which has been noted by various writers, especially Michael Brendan Dougherty. The rise of Trumpism was foreseen by a […]
My favorite political scientist, Francis Fukuyama, seems to have a blind spot about the character of bureaucrats and public employees, failing to see that they are just as ‘patrimonial’, a word he uses a lot, as any other interest group. […]