Sufficient Virtue for Self-Government?

In these days of increasing acrimony and mutual mistrust, how does one apply a prudent realism to politics without succumbing to a poisonous cynicism? Some have taken comfort in James Madison’s reassurance that, though “there is a degree of depravity in mankind, which requires a certain degree of circumspection and distrust: so there are other

Brought to the King

After her shall virgins be brought to the king: her neighbors shall be brought to thee. They shall be brought with gladness and rejoicing: they shall be brought into the temple of the King. Psalm 44:15-16 As James Bogle stresses, in the latest edition of Inside the Vatican, Christ is the one and only Head

The Vice of Republics

Thus dwelt together in love these simple Acadian farmers: dwelt in the love of God and man. Alike were they free from fear, that reigns with the tyrant, and envy, the vice of republics. Henry W. Longfellow, Evangeline We do not have to look far to see what the poet meant when he flagged envy

Asking Questions

I appreciate Ohio Representative Jim Jordan’s exposure of the arbitrary nature of the repressive policies currently foisted upon the American people in the name of “public health.” In this exchange, Representative Jordan stumps Dr. Anthony Fauci by asking when, and on what objective basis, Americans can expect to get our liberty back: As we can

Growing in Civic Fortitude

As we contemplate the failure of our contemporary managerial class to fulfill its natural and constitutional duties, our own responsibility for securing the common good, and complicity in its neglect, demands that we ask a specific question. That question is: what are we going to do about it? The duty of our representatives is to

Seeking New Management

America’s “power elite,” placed at the head of increasingly centralized systems of commerce, culture, and governance, prides itself on fostering a pluralistic attitude, enabling it to rally the various factions dividing our society behind reasonable consensuses on a plethora of issues. How justified is that pride? Consider the resources our diversity-mouthing despots are now squandering

Evaluating our Elites

According to James Madison, the proper task of elected representatives—and by extension, any other body of leaders—is to “refine and enlarge the public views by passing them through the medium of a chosen body of citizens, whose wisdom may best discern the true interest of the country and whose patriotism and love of justice will

Not in Our Stars

Several years ago, Carson Holloway published an insightful essay, describing the election of Donald Trump as a (well deserved) slap across the face of America’s governing elites. Holloway’s argument focuses on a series of policy gaffes, stretching back to the presidency of George W. Bush and extending through that of Barack Obama. Together, by 2016,

What is Political Philosophy?

Philosophy is the love of wisdom. To love something, we must know it. Had our Creator not left the stamp of his own Wisdom upon our soul, we would have no idea wisdom exists, and would be helpless to recognize it even if we happened to stumble upon it. By the same token, no one

What Government is Supposed to Do

Among those of our contemporaries still inclined to ask, many might be surprised to hear what James Madison believed to be the purpose of government. It was not material prosperity, or peace defined as the absence of conflict. Nor was it the defense of individual rights or property interests, per se. Rather, according to Madison: