The beginning, it has been wisely said, is more than half the whole. For any political society, the story of the founding moment is a natural reference point, a distinctively powerful source of orientation for its members’ reflections on their present and future course. Americans of late are sharply divided over the proper direction and […]
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Natural Law and the Rights of Conscience
Among the most profound conflicts dividing Americans today is that between progressive elites and champions of conscience rights. The former, intent on putting the culture wars behind us, are vigorously harnessing the influence of governmental, professional, and corporate bodies to effect the legal and social normalization of practices (such as abortion and same-sex marriage) they […]
The Problems and Promises of Party in History and Politics
Political parties are an integral part of modern representative democracy. Among other things, they are instruments for finding and promoting political leaders, organizing competition for office, representing and adjudicating between various interests and opinions, and formulating policy. Yet it was not easy for Americans in the early republic to learn how to live with party […]
Experts vs Citizens in the American Republican Tradition
This past August, I had the good fortune to attend a week-long summer institute on “America in the Republican Tradition,” hosted by the Jack Miller Center in Philadelphia. The daily roundtable discussions provided an opportunity to grapple with many contested questions in the American republican tradition, including what it means to treat people as citizens. […]
Republicanism – A Going Concern
In Philadelphia, at the recently opened Museum of the American Revolution, there is an exhibit that proclaims “a republic means the well-being of everyone.” Surrounded by artifacts, both physical and theoretical, from the American war for independence, this statement stands out. If republican government ensures the well-being of everyone, was the United States a republic […]
