Leo Strauss, Spinoza, and an enlightened faith
Love him or hate him, it’s almost impossible to ignore the philosopher Leo Strauss (1899–1973). Few individuals have drawn out so thoroughly some of the implications of philosophy for a range of...
View ArticleA Reply to David Brooks: Don’t apologize for capitalism
In recent weeks, the New York Times has been running opinion pieces in which various columnists expound on a topic about which they have changed their views. On July 21 it was David Brooks’ turn to lay...
View ArticleNatural law limits government and arbitrary power
Any discussion of the nature and ends of liberty and justice inevitably touches upon the role of government and law in society. A good place to begin reflecting upon natural law’s approach to these...
View ArticleEdmund Burke Can Still Inspire the American Right
It’s no secret that the modern American conservative movement is divided today. Issues like the role of government, the place of the nation-state, and the extent to which free markets should prevail in...
View ArticleBetter Economics for a Better, Not Perfect, World
As far as centuries go, the 20th was remarkable for many things, not least among which were wars fought on a scale unprecedented for their destructiveness, as well as convulsive debates about economics...
View ArticleGetting Back to a Mind-Centered Economy
If there is anything that makes people nervous about capitalism, it is surely the prospect of instability. Whether it is the boom-bust cycle or severe financial crises, the up-and-downs that seem to be...
View ArticleCities: An Engine of Progress and Civilization
What is progress? How and where does it occur? Such questions are not easy to answer. Debates about the nature of progress have given rise to entire theories of historical development. Continue...
View ArticleLaudate Deum: Or, Is the Catholic Church Just Another NGO?
If there is anything we have learned about Pope Francis’ commentaries on issues ranging from economics to the environment, it is that they invariably add up to a by-now predictable mixture. Continue...
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