Nathan Robinson’s Response to the Right
There is a natural instinct in unthinking people—who, tolerant of the burdens that life lays on them, and unwilling to lodge blame where they seek no remedy, seek fulfilment in…
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Posts by tag
Conservatism
44 posts
The Enlightenment Paradigm: A Response to Yoram Hazony’s “Conservatism: A Rediscovery”
Introduction by Matt McManus He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able…
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“The Conservative Sensibility” by George F. Will. Review.
George F. Will’s The Conservative Sensibility (2019) is a gigantic book that makes a case for why American conservatives should commit to defending right-wing liberalism. It is also intended to…
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“The Authoritarian Moment” by Ben Shapiro. Review
We must firmly reject the notion that speech is violence. Dissent isn’t violence. Disagreement isn’t harm. That’s because politics isn’t an identity; it isn’t a denial of someone’s identity to…
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The Unbroken Thread by Sohrab Ahmari
Sohrab Ahmari is a man searching for something bigger than himself to believe in. When he was very young, his family, leery of the Shia fundamentalism of their native Iran,…
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“The MAGA Doctrine: The Only Ideas That Will Win the Future” by Charlie Kirk
Trumpism has always been more interesting as a phenomenon than as an ideology. This is in part because, as even some of his supporters have conceded, Trump himself is a…
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Sowell the Cynic
In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, the eponymous king is a good and accomplished man. He saves the city of Thebes by solving the riddle of the Sphinx, the embodiment of destiny,…
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Why More Civics Education Won’t Fix US Democracy
Since the Capitol riot of 6 January, calls for increased civic education have resurfaced. Arne Duncan, a former US secretary of education has recently suggested that “just as Sputnik prompted…
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What the Left Can Learn from Right-Wing Thinkers
Some people on the left believe that those on the right have no strong intellectual heritage, that right-wing politics is based on tradition, hierarchy and obedience, and has no need…
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Progressivism and Conservatism: Beyond the Labels
The words progressive and conservative have at least three distinct meanings: their generic definitions, the political ideologies to which the words correspond, and the lifestyles they imply. These are all…
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The Complex Roots of Black Conservatism
Few fixtures on America’s political and cultural scene tell us more about the perilous state of our racial discourse than the phenomenon of black conservatism. While virtually every other confluence…
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Michael Oakeshott and the Critique of Rationalism
Michael Oakeshott belongs alongside F. A. Hayek, Alasdair MacIntyre and, unfortunately, Carl Schmitt as among the most significant intellectual influences on the political right. He was one of the most…
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What Conservatism Is Not
In 2014, Sir Roger Scruton famously proclaimed that “conservatism starts from a sentiment that all mature people can readily share: that good things are easily destroyed, but not easily created.”…
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What Yoram Hazony Gets Wrong About Cancel Culture
The open letter in Harper’s Magazine on the dangers of ideological conformity and the suppression of speech, signed by more than 150 leading writers and intellectuals, has been explosively controversial.…
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“Suicide of the West” by Jonah Goldberg
Alexander returneth to dust, the dust is earth, of earth we make loam—and why of that loam, whereto he was converted, might they not stop a beer barrel? Imperious Caesar,…
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Criticizing Postmodern Conservatism: A Response
My books (available here and here) on postmodern conservatism have enjoyed some interest: including, to my surprise, critical interest from conservatives and moderates. The most sustained effort was a recent…
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Postmodern Conservatism: A Conversation
In this open letter posted on our partner platform, Letter, Matt McManus first outlines the central thesis of his recent book, The Rise of Post-Modern Conservatism: Neoliberalism, Post-Modern Culture and…
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On Politics and Time
For what is time? Who can easily and briefly explain it? Who even in thought can comprehend it, even to the pronouncing of a word concerning it? But what in…
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