Category: Social and Political Philosophy
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You Want Anti-Government? I’ll Give You Anti-Government
Contrary to the willful misrepresentations of contemporary liberals, conservatives are not anti-government. To oppose big government is not to oppose government. This passage from Pierre-Joseph Proudhon's General Idea of the Revolution in the Nineteenth Century (1851), conveys a genuine anti-government point of view: To be governed is to be kept in sight, inspected, spied upon, directed,…
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The Converse Callicles Principle: Weakness Does Not Justify
Might does not make right, but neither does impotence or relative weakness. That weakness does not justify strikes me as an important principle, but I have never seen it articulated. The Left tends to assume the opposite. They tend to assume that mightlessness makes right. I'll dub this the Converse Callicles Principle. The power I have to…
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Immigration Legal and Illegal
A reader from Down Under poses this question: America is experiencing immigration problems somewhat like Australia's. The idea of 'multiculturalism' some would say is beginning to show its flaws. Who do you believe should be allowed to enter your country? Please feel free to be as politically incorrect as you like.1. First of all, one…
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Fruitful Tensions
Mike Rand e-mails, I was interested to see your recent correspondence and post on the radical vs the conservative. I couldn't help but notice that there is a potential parallel between this and a common interest of yours [ours?], the productive tension between Aristotle and Plato. A radical may be liable to point out that…
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The Conservative Versus the Radical
The following excerpts are from Richard Weaver's 1960 essay, "Conservatism and Libertarianism," reprinted in Life Without Prejudice and Other Essays (Chicago: Henry Regnery, 1965), pp.157-167: It is my contention that that a conservative is a realist, who believes that there is a structure of reality independent of his own will and desire. He believes that…
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Is Socialism Merely an Expression of Envy?
No, but neither is capitalism merely an expression of greed. I expand on this theme here.
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The Principle of Subsidiarity
David A. Bosnich, The Principle of Subsidiarity: One of the key principles of Catholic social thought is known as the principle of subsidiarity. This tenet holds that nothing should be done by a larger and more complex organization which can be done as well by a smaller and simpler organization. In other words, any activity…
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Ernst Bloch on Law and the State
Ernst Bloch, like Theodor Adorno, is a leftie worth reading. But here are two passages replete with grotesque exaggeration and plain falsehood. Later, perhaps, I will cite something from Bloch that I approve of. The offensive passages are from the essay, "Karl Marx, Death, and the Apocalypse" in Man on His Own: Essays in the Philosophy…
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I Get a Rise Out of Aristotle
Michael Gilleland, the Laudator Temporis Acti, in his part-time capacity as 'channel' of Aristotle, submits this delightful missive: Dear Dr. Vallicella: You wrote: "Society and its various coercive and noncoercive arrangements exist for the sake of the individual and not the other way around. Given that the individual is the locus of value and the reason…
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A Common Liberal Fallacy: The Diachronic Red Herring
Much opposition to contemporary political conservatism involves a curious argumentative fallacy that I shall dub the Diachronic Red Herring. A liberal succumbs to this fallacy when he (i) appeals to the past accomplishments of liberalism to justify contemporary liberalism while ignoring the ways in which contemporary liberalism has come to occupy extreme positions; and (ii)…
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Understanding Conservatism and Tradition
An outstanding essay by James Kalb.
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Notes on Anarchism III: Wolff on the Conflict Between Authority and Autonomy
This post is the third in a series. The first discussed authority, the second autonomy. The topic at present is the alleged conflict between them. The state lays claim to moral authority, to the right to rule and the right to be obeyed. If it has the right to command and be obeyed, then the citizen has…
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Notes on Anarchism II: Wolff on Autonomy
This post has a prerequisite. We now explore the concept of autonomy as discussed by Robert Paul Wolff on pp. 12-18 of In Defense of Anarchism. 1. "The fundamental assumption of moral philosophy is that men are responsible for their actions." (12) Wolff intends moral as opposed to mere causal responsibility. But if we are morally…
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Notes on Anarchism I: Wolff on Authority
Robert Paul Wolff's In Defense of Anarchism (Harper 1970, 1976) is a good book by a clear thinker and master expositor. Here is a first batch of interpretive and critical notes. I use double quotation marks when I am quoting an actual person such as Wolff. Single quotation marks are employed for scaring, sneering, and…
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‘One Man’s Terrorist is Another Man’s Freedom Fighter’
Often and thoughtlessly repeated, 'One man's terrorist in another man's freedom fighter' is one of those sayings that cry out for logical and philosophical analysis. Competent analysis will show that clear-thinking persons ought to avoid the saying. Note first that while freedom is an end, terror is a means. So to call a combatant a…