Less well-known than Kirk and Buckley, the pugnacious and discerning Kendall is nevertheless a voice that needs to be revived in the present fractious moment. Read More… In our moment, the nature and meaning of conservatism is disputed, sometimes hotly, and it’s unsurprising to observe participants turn to history for wisdom or support. Either in praise or vilification, current schools frequently mention John Courtney Murray, Russell Kirk, Frank Meyer, Irving Kristol, and William F. Buckley (obviously), among others. The appropriation...

Is there a way to balance economic growth and sound environmental stewardship? If only Pope Francis would take his own advice. Read More… If there is anything we have learned about Pope mentaries on issues ranging from economics to the environment, it is that they invariably add up to a by-now predictable mixture. Parts of this mélange consist of often profound insights and wisdom. But it also reflects straw man arguments, the random assembling of pieces of data plucked out...

For those trapped behind the Iron Curtain, Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four seemed more a documentary than a work of dystopian fiction. How did a man who had never traveled munist Russia get so much so right? Read More… The collocation in the title captures the thoroughgoing exploration of the topic in a phrase: George Orwell and Russia. Masha Karp is not the first to ponder George Orwell’s relationship to Stalinist Russia—and the relationship of both Stalinist and munist Russia to Orwell—but...

The story of John Newton’s conversion is legendary. His hymns, like “Amazing Grace,” perennial favorites. His pastor’s heart, exemplary. His fight for an abolition of the slave trade, monumental. But none of this came quickly or easily. Read More… John Newton (1725–1807) is a pivotal figure in the English evangelical revival or awakening. His is an early example of a settled evangelical ministry in the second half of the 18th century, involving pastoral work, hymn-writing, and even mentoring the likes...

After Walmart shuttered locations due to rising crime, the mayor of Chicago decided the answer was to … open their own grocery stores. What could go wrong? Read More… The city of Chicago is plagued by waves of violence, looting, and plunder dating back to 2020, which was deemed “the summer of looting” by the Chicago Tribune, spurred by the murder of George Floyd while in police custody amid COVID lockdowns. That summer, the Chicago police superintendent called for longer...

The stark polarization that marks our politics may be more a misclassification of certain positions. A little history lesson is in order. Read More… Back in the 1970s, Sixty Minutes had a regular feature called Point/Counterpoint, which came at the end of every show. Each week there would be a different topic. Journalist Shana Alexander would present a standard-issue “liberal” version of the argument while James J. Kilpatrick assumed the “conservative” side. Although the sparring partners sniped at one another,...

More Americans than you think support training in diversity, equity, and inclusion. And why are more and more corporations looking beyond it? Read More… Once considered the highest rising feature of America’s business spaces, the cliffs of corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are slowly eroding under the reliable and unrelenting tide of American apathy. Fewer and fewer businesses are seeking to hire a chief diversity officer, and those who manage to get hired are finding their jobs often paired...

A new documentary about the parable novelist and social critic demonstrates, however unintentionally, why we’ll probably never see the likes of Wolfe again. Read More… Conservatism doesn’t really produce or nurture writers nowadays. The notable exception in the past couple of generations is Tom Wolfe, who died in 2018. Wolfe was universally beloved. He sold millions of copies of his various writings. Wolfe had a distinctive Southern-gentleman plete with “trademark white suit and vest, a high-necked blue-and-white-striped plemented by a...

The latest recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences has contributed much useful data in understanding the role of women in the workforce. Her restraint in policy prescriptions may, in fact, be her greatest contribution of all. Read More… Harvard’s Claudia Goldin is our newest Nobel laureate in economics. Her accumulated efforts have helped us better understand women’s roles in the labor market—both historically and in contemporary society. It’s worth noting that the economics prize isn’t one of...

The Chilean Miracle of the 1990s is usually pointed to as a win for the Chicago School of economics, which advocated laissez faire capitalism, limited regulation, and cuts in government spending. But that was then, and this is the era of Bidenomics and a “post-liberal” New Right. Are free markets as dead as General Pinochet? Read More… Louis Menand wrote a curious article for the New Yorker called “The Rise and Fall of Neoliberalism.” The article is curious on two...