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Reply to John J. Reilly Here

Polemical Writings

I seem to do more and more of this as time goes on, and even I am getting sick of the sound of my own voice. I suspect I may be harder to characterize politically even than most people. I believe in effective government: I think that the debate about whether government should be "big" or "small" is pure nonsense. I am a cultural conservative, partly for religious reasons, partly because I think we have overestimated the the malleability of human nature.

Anyway, here are some recent articles you might find interesting.

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2008

Grand New Party (Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam show the way to political realignment through Sam's Club.)

Heroic Conservatism (Michael J. Gerson explains why the Republican Party deserves to lose if it does not mend its ways.)

The Enemy at Home (Dinesh D'Souza advocates defeating the Jihad by embracing Tradition.)

The Enemy at Home (Dinesh D'Souza advocates defeating the Jihad by embracing Tradition.)

America Alone (Mark Steyn explains the end of the world as we know it.)

The Scorpion's Gate [Richard A. Clarke's novel suggests ways to frustrate American policy in the Middle East.]

Third Law Conservatism (An essay where Edmund Burke meets the Singularity.)

Tokugawa America (An essay describing a consistent isolationist policy for the United States.)

Democracy and Populism [John Lukacs employs the dark art of political lexicography to explain the devolution of democracy in the age of celebrity.]

The West's Last Chance [Tony Blankley counsels the shortest way with dissenters.]

Imperial Hubris (Anonymous, also known as Michael F. Scheuer, explains why the West is losing the War on Terror.)

Power, Terror, Peace, and War (Walter Russell Mead tries to explain "America's Grand Strategy in a World at Risk" and largely succeeds.)

Peace Kills: America's Fun New Imperialism (The publication of this anthology by P. J. O'Rourke was, perhaps, mistimed.)

2004 Political Ad (Somebody had to do it.)

An End to Evil (David Frum and Richard Perle's manual for victory in the War on Terror.)

Winning Modern Wars (Wesley K. Clark's second book for the presidential campaign of 2004.)

The Unconquerable World (Jonathan Schell tries to take satyagraha global. A version of this review appeared in American Outlook (Winter, 2004).)

The Flame Is Green (R. A. Lafferty explains the revolutionary tradition.)

The Future of Freedom (Fareed Zakaria describes the worldwide menace to liberty posed by excessive democracy.)

The Coming Collapse of China (Gordon G. Chang provides a cultural and economic account of the end of the People's Republic.)

The Death of the West (Patrick J. Buchanan explains "How Dying Populations and Immigrant Invasions Imperil Our Country and Civilization," as well as other curiosities.)

Questions & Answers on 911 (A very brief appreciation of the significance of the destruction of the World Trade Center.)

Perverse Predictions (The Bush II Administration in prospect.)

The Beginning of Wisdom (This is the best form that the debate about abortion in the US could take.)

Why I Support John McCain (This is now of only historical interest, since the Senator lost the Republican primaries in 2000. Well, you cannot have everything.)

A Republic, Not an Empire (Patrick J. Buchanan explains why the US should not have entered either 20th-century world war.)

Why Bill Clinton Should Resign (Self-explanatory, I think.)

Radical Son: A Generational Odyssey (David Horowitz's remarkable memoir of how the New Left turned sour.)

An Open Letter to E. Michael Jones (Why I no longer write for Culture Wars magazine.)

The Menace of Multiculturalism: Trojan Horse in America (A former Mounty turned college professor warns, among other things, about the dangers of bilingual education.)

Halfway Heaven: Diary of a Harvard Murder (A reminder, if any were needed, that sometimes cultural analysis is bunk.)

The New Absolutes (Has it occurred to you that "tolerance" these days is often Newspeak for "coercion"? Here an advisor to Culture Wars magazine explains why.)

Our Global Neighborhood (This is the report of the Commission on Global Governance, setting out a program of reforms for the United Nations. It is also, if you ask me, a shifty move to help Nongovernmental Organizations take over the world.)

The Twilight of Democracy (The memoirs of a retired CIA analyst.)

Neocons, Theocons and the Cycles of American History (An appreciation of First Things magazine's November 1996 symposium, "The End of Democracy?" This piece was included in a book-version of the symposium and the reaction to it; more information is provided at the end of the article.)

The Politics of Meaning (Michael Lerner's abortive attempt to create a spiritual leftist politics.)

The Education of a Woman: The Life of Gloria Steinem (Really, it was not all her fault.)

How to Prevent a Civil War (This articles explains exactly what to do the next time the United States Supreme Court gets uppity.)

Permanent Interests (Why American foreign policy must be hegemonic. Sorry, but it's true.)

How Abortion Builds Better Families (This is a response to Jerry Z. Muller's influential article in The New Republic [8/21/95] setting out a conservative case for abortion. This piece, too, has received some notice.)

Downsizing is Easy; Government Is Hard (How the Federal Aviation Administration managed not to update the oldest computer system in Christendom.)

Art Lessons (This book review of Alice Goldfarb Marquis's study of the decline and fall of the National Endwoment for the Arts will make you pity the endowment rather than hate it.)

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