Richard responded to one of my Eunomia posts on nationalism, and I have been slow in replying, but I think this question still deserves some attention even though we have batted it back and forth for months.  All of us often speak about both communism and nationalism as if they were singular and monolithic for the purposes of general discussion and … [Read More]

Grant Havers’ post on a number of prominent learned Tories included a brief mention of one of my favorite modern philosophers, the Canadian George Grant, whose criticisms of the American right and American empire anticipated many of the objections that we have been making in recent years.  It also reminded me of Grant’s deeper criticism of the American empire as a … [Read More]

“I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. ... I mean, that’s a storybook, man.” Thus did Joe Biden famously describe his rival for the nomination, Barack Obama, to the The New York Observer, a year ago. Biden, however, thought Obama might not be able to win the fall election, … [Read More]

Opinions vary with respect to the ongoing conflict in Iraq, but we can all agree that the struggle for Europe, 1939-45, was “the Good War.”  Or can we?  Not if Pat Buchanan is right, and he presents a serious argument in Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War, one of the finest achievements of his career.  His principal thesis is that the … [Read More]

In the spring issue of the City Journal runs an essay by Bruce Bawer, entitled “An Anatomy of Surrender,” in which he describes the West’s acquiescence of “creeping sharia.” Bawer cites numerous examples of censorship and self-censorship from both America and Europe. They prove that critical views about Islam are no longer tolerated. Bawer points out that attempts to roll back … [Read More]

Now that Hillary Clinton has mercifully pulled the plug on her presidential campaign, the talking heads are consumed with the idea of her accepting the vice-presidential slot. According to some polls, a majority of Democratic voters concur, pining for Hillary to join a “dream ticket.” For once, the chattering class and rank-and-file Democrats are right. Hillary Clinton should run for vice … [Read More]

Liberalism views much of history as a morality play.  The past was very bad.  We are making progress.  The future will be better.  But every new achievement serves also as an indictment.  The past is guilty of offending the liberal goals of inclusion and equality.  As Lawrence Auster has noted, every advance of inclusion and equality is an indication of how … [Read More]

Like a catfish slipping off deck into cool, polluted waters, I’m back in NYC tonight—staying in an Orchard Street apartment rented off Craig’s List, taking a much needed vacation from hazardous trees, menacing highway entrance ramps, dour Yankees, and undergraduates. At long last, I can hear not a single cricket, bird, or bee—but instead the buzz of the street, and a … [Read More]

The question of whether or not to see “Sex and the City” is easy to answer: if you are a man, no. There is nothing here for you. If you are a woman, still no. The sugary cocktail of glamour and sentimentality may prove addictive; those DVD box sets aren’t cheap, and watching them will make you dumber. For sensible people, … [Read More]

CITTA DI CASTELLO, UMBRIA—A few years before the end of the 19th century, King Leopold of Belgium summoned his favourite banker, Baron Lambert, for an intimate chat over lunch. “My dream is to have a little place in the sun,” said the monarch to the banker, “somewhere down south, where everyone runs around without clothes on so I can relax a … [Read More]