Constitution Anchors President's Spy Order
John Eastman defends the President's authority to conduct surveillance of terrorist communications during time of war.Involuntary Associations
Liberal democracy will not sustain itself if it does not believe itself to be rationally defensible. Communitarianism and other attempts to "thicken" it that depart too far from individual rights are unnecessarily risky, writes Mark Blitz in the Fall 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Left Behind
Neither romantic environmentalism nor postmodern pragmatism can redeem the legacy of the Progressives, writes Jean M. Yarbrough in the Fall 2005 Claremont Review of Books.The Mind of Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is not simply a recognized scholar of the highest quality. He is an original thinker. The result is an inner consistency that marks all his writings, though each piece never fails to surprise with its freshness, originality, and depth, writes D. Vincent Twomey in the Fall 2005 issue of the Claremont Review of Books.Correspondence
A Blessing unto the Nations
Whatever their disagreements, Judaism and Christianity share their central belief: a single, omnipotent, and just God who created the universe and assigned moral duties to man, writes Joel Schwartz in the Fall 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Fr. James V. Schall on Faith, Reason, and Politics
Ken Masugi continues his series of Advent interviews with political theorist James V. Schall, S.J. The conversation begins with considerations of natural disasters, Tolkien, and the study of theology, and then proceeds to discuss his new book, hell, Pope Benedict XVI, natural law, the Iraq war, and several other topics.First, Do No Harm
American health care is riddled with problems, including rising insurance costs and expensive public programs. The source of the problem, however, is not what many people assume, writes Dr. David Gratzer in the Fall 2005 Claremont Review of Books.The Unlovable Mr. Adams
John Adams may not have been lovable, but his contributions to the early republic were indispensable, writes Forrest McDonald in the Fall 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Support The Claremont Institute
There are dozens of conservative think tanks in America, but the Claremont Institute differs, importantly, from all of them. We are the caretakers and teachers of the principles that gave birth to our great nation. Without a recovery of America's founding principles, there can be no lasting conservative victories in the battles over public policy.Support The Claremont Institute
Claremont Christmas Reading
Recommended reading for the season from Gerard Alexander, William J. Bennett, John C. Eastman, Brian Janiskee, John B. Kienker, Seth Leibsohn, Ken Masugi, Richard Samuelson, Bruce C. Sanborn, and Tom Karako.Constitution's Citizenship Clause Misread
John Eastman takes issue with the notion that the Constitution mandates citizenship for children of illegal immigrants.Forgetting Pearl Harbor
Forgetting Pearl Harbor
The Measure of Greatness
Alas, poor Lincoln! Or is it, poor us? The writers are legion who have sought the "man" beneath the "myth," their point usually being to expose Lincoln as not nearly as great as legend has it, writes Glen E. Thurow for the Fall 2005 Claremont Review of Books.The Crisis of American National Identity
American national identity—our creed, rooted in the principles of the Declaration of Independence, and sustained by our culture—is in a state of crisis, writes Charles R. Kesler in the Fall 2005 Claremont Review of Books.When Winston Churchill Met Mark Twain
Boys Will Be Boys
Parents and professors alike could benefit from a guidebook that is free of the vast superstructure of 99% fact-free feminist theorizing about how sex differences are all just socially constructed, writes Steve Sailer in the Fall 2005 Claremont Review of Books.The Other American Exceptionalism
Europe and America are politically kin, and when in the 1980s Ronald Reagan took his stands for markets and against the Soviets he found ready and stalwart allies in Margaret Thatcher, Helmut Kohl, and other indigenous conservatives. Yet all we hear of these days is the "exceptionalism of modern American conservatism." What happened to Europe, asks Gerard Alexander in the Fall 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Giving Thanks
Some Call it Empire
Our national interest is not served by halfhearted imperialism, but by unambiguous victory against our enemies that in turn secures the peace, writes Angelo M. Codevilla in the Fall 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Imagine There's No Heaven
With characteristic irony, postmodernism has served the religious cause by attempting to "de-center" philosophical inquiry, thus making it impossible for atheism, or anything else, to stake out the privileged territory of truth, writes Andrew Klavan in the Fall 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Not Your Father's Republican Party
Until recently it was widely assumed that the Republican Party is America's conservative party, writes Adam Wolfson.REVIVING THE "MORAL SCIENCES:
To mark the passing of the venerable Peter F. Drucker, we present an interview from our archives that reveals a man who was much more than the father of modern management.Islam and Europe's Future
What does Islam's spread in the West, and particularly in Europe, bode for the future? Two French intellectuals offer inadequate responses, writes Paul Marshall.Continental Drift
The rejection of the European constitution has killed the dream of a European superstate. What remains to be seen is whether—and which—European states will save themselves by recovering their own freedom, writes Jeremy Rabkin in the Fall 2005 Claremont Review of Books.The Rights and Wrongs of Alan Dershowitz
Alan Dershowitz likes to make claims for "rights," but he cannot explain why they are rightful, writes Hadley Arkes in the Fall 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Eastman to Appear on CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight and Fox News's Big Story Weekend
Rebels Without a Clue
It is one thing to delight in the fatuousness of the Left, but is a serious Left even possible, asks William Voegeli in the Fall 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Bush's Philosophy
As the nomination of Harriet Miers has demonstrated, President Bush's compassionate conservatism falls short of a true, conservative philosophy of governing, writes Charles R. Kesler in the Fall 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Mark Steyn To Speak at Claremont Institute Dinner: Tickets Available
The End of Federalism?
The nomination of Harriet Miers exposes the fault lines of disagreement within the conservative coalition, and appears to have boxed out one significant—perhaps the most significant—component of that coalition, writes John C. Eastman, director of the Claremont Institute's Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence.Herd Animals
Why does the Left so often abstain from defending not only American interests but, after September 11th, the United States itself, asks Mark Helprin in the Fall 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Talking Politics
Michael Oakeshott asserted that human judgments require the subordination of reality to ideas. Philosophy, in his view, analyzes the different types of understandings that serve to organize behavior and create a coherent reality. Different aspects of Oakeshott's political philosophy have made it possible for him to be read as a liberal, pragmatist, historicist, existentialist, or postmodernist, writes Robert Devigne in the Fall 2005 Claremont Review of Boosk.Being Unreasonable
Is reasonableness synonymous with political liberalism, asks Stanley Rosen in the Fall 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Hardships of War
From World War II down to the present, few scholars have had anything good to say about the Japanese relocation project. Why did we do it, asks Charles A. Lofgren in the Summer 2005 issue of the Claremont Review of BooksAdvice and Consent
Miers may turn out to be a perfectly fine justice, but there is nothing in her record which would give us any basis to believe that. Ironically, by attempting to avoid the pitfalls of modern senatorial "advice and consent," President Bush has triggered more stringent scrutiny under the framers' understanding of that term as a check against the nomination of home-state cronies who lack the objective qualifications for the office. The Senate should therefore diligently exercise its check of advice and consent, writes Institute Fellow R. J. Pestritto.Becoming the Bard
Four centuries and four decades after his birth, William Shakespeare remains the most compelling literary and cultural presence in our language. But how did Shakespeare become Shakespeare, asks Mark Heberle in the Summer 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Eastman to Testify Before Congress on Citizenship
Resenting the Heartland's Success
There's no reasoned argument behind the liberal elite vitriol for middle America, just a lot of hurt feelings, writes Kimberly Shankman.A Curious Contradiction
The way race and identity issues are discussed on college campuses today baffles most Americans largely because the prevailing ideologies don't rest on any principled foundations, writes Conor Friedersdorf.Rebelling Against the Ruling Class
Will small religious colleges offering traditional curriculums be able to compete with the established Ivy League schools no longer serious about education, asks Travis Kavulla, a 2004 Publius Fellow of the Claremont Institute.Big Man on Campus
For a long time our universities have needed a talented, iconoclastic outsider to come along and give a full and brutally honest account of all their follies and excesses. Tom Wolfe's offering is brutally honest as far as it goes, but it is not quite, as we might have hoped, a Book in Full, writes Michael Anton in the Summer 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Colorblind Justice
It is becoming clear that Justice Thomas's jurisprudential philosophy is more in line with the principles of our nation's founders, and hence with the Constitution they framed, than any other sitting Justice's is, writes John C. Eastman in the Summer 2005 Claremont Review of Books.The Wit and Wisdom of Justice Scalia
During his 20 years on the High Bench, the gregarious, poker-playing, opera-loving, former University of Chicago law professor has emerged as the Court's most outspoken, high-profile, and personally colorful member, writes Ralph A. Rossum in the Summer 2005 issue of the Claremont Review of Books.National Geographic Spins 9/11
National Geographic's recent special on 9/11 reflected the CIA's spin on the world. It was filled with conjecture based on bad sources, and a few outright falsehoods.The Price to Pay
Would slavery have dies out on its own without a bloody Civil War? Not in the Deep South, writes Mark Guglielmo.The Superdome as Hooverville
The demand for robust and efficient government is permanent, but the debate over how much nastiness it can mitigate is ongoing. It would be very surprising if the government's inadequate response, over a period of days, to a natural disaster affecting one region of this continental nation would affect this debate in a way that compares to the impact of a nationwide economic calamity that got worse and worse over a period of years, writes Institute Fellow William Voegeli.Slavery and the Founders, Again
Benjamin Franklin has sometimes played the part of the founders' antislavery conscience in retellings of the founding story. The irony of this is that Franklin's position on slavery, taken over his whole life, or even the last years of his life, was not what it may appear, writes Steven Forde.The Forces of Decomposition and The War on Terror
A grievance culture has taken hold in the West, both in England and America—and at exactly the wrong time. Where not long after 9/11 we were angry, we now have become sad, or depressed and confused; and too many have replaced our concept of evil with all manner of diagnoses of syndromes and root causes. We are at war, and yet we are indulging a culture of grievance, writes Claremont Institute Fellow William J. Bennett.Gaza and Victory?
Proslavery and Progress
The 19th-century opponents of the American Founders' principles exhibited a single pulse of relativism and nihilism, which ultimately found its culmination in Progressivism's radical egalitarianism rather than slavery's volatile inegalitarianism, writes Scot J. ZentnerThe Continuing Debate
If we regard the preservation of our regime as our foremost foreign policy objective, we can expect that debates about the tools of intelligence, public diplomacy, counter-terrorism, preventive war, and much else will be as contentious for us as the founders' earlier debates about sanctions, navies, and armies, writes Karl Walling.Flawed Critique
The most interesting and important debates over foreign policy within the United States often take place on the Right. And in that debate, the "realist" policy alternative is sure to find a prominent place. When it does, its advocates will no doubt look to Henry Kissinger, writes Colin Dueck.Progressivism, Then and Now
A refusal to see any good at all in old progressivism makes it harder to put the real radicalism of today's Left in perspective, writes Andrew E. Busch.Beyond Venus and Mars
Europe has more than enough technology, money, and soldiers to compete with America militarily. It chooses not to, writes Gerard Alexander in the Summer 2005 Claremont Review of Books.The Revolution of 1792!
The American Founders' impressive falling out during the 1790s continues to raise doubts among scholars about the wisdom of their earlier words and actions. What does this blossoming partisanship teach us about American self-government, asks John Zvesper.From Bullets to Ballots
Letter to the Hebrew Congregation at Newport
Farewell Address
Why Progressivism is Not, and Never Was, a Source of Conservative Values
If conservatives have in common a desire to "conserve" or restore something that they think has been lost with the onset of modern liberalism, they occasionally become confused about what it is, exactly, that ought to be restored. But if conservatives are to accomplish anything, they first must get straight what it is they want to conserve. This means going with the founders, not with Theodore Roosevelt, writes Institute Fellow R. J. Pestritto.Claremont Institute APSA Panels
Significant Diversity
Several cultures came together to produce one common Western Civilization, but that does not make the cultures indistinguishable, writes Walter J. Nicgorski.The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
Letters and Conversations of Hamilton and Jefferson
Letter to George Mason
Letter to Judge Spencer Roane
Letter to John Taylor
First Inaugural Address
National Gazette articles
The Federalist, Number 10
The First Report on Public Credit
Report on the Subject of Manufactures
Historical Documents
Jefferson's Second Inaugural Address
Letter to Elbridge Gerry
Inaugural Address
Order
Praise for
Lusting After Wisdom
If you go in for a school of philosophy that will be entirely ignored 900 years down the road, it's best to complement it with a steamy love life so that at least the literature departments will pay attention to you, writes Sarah M. Bramwell in the Summer 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Lost in Translation
When reading and translating Petrarch, one must have an ear for theology and Scripture, not to mention Dante, writes Anthony Esolen in the Summer 2005 Claremont Review of Books.New Light on the Torah
Robert Alter's new translation of the Torah is a spiritual refreshment, and an intellectual and scholarly treat, writes Jaroslav Pelikan in the Summer 2005 issue of the Claremont Review of Books.Exceptionally Conservative
For the last half century, America has been developing a dramatic refutation of the thesis that capitalism drives out conservatism, writes Kenneth Minogue in the Summer 2005 Claremont Review of Books.A Progressive's Progress
Christopher Hitchens could be on his way to establishing himself as an essayist of the same caliber as Orwell, writes Steven F. Hayward in the Summer 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Unbalanced
For modern liberals, the idea of enduring discord is intolerable. Since we can find consensus at home, we must be able to find consensus in the world. And then, just as the boundary between government and private life at home can be erased, the boundary between one state and another in the world can be transcended, writes Jeremy Rabkin.APSA Annual Meeting, 2005
Young Man Eloquent
By 1790, at the age of 31, William Pitt the Younger was the greatest statesman in Europe, writes Barton Swaim.Claremont Institute Inaugurates New Book Series
Playing God
In the attempt to spur human evolution through eugenics, religious and secular opinion has not always disagreed, writes Michael Toth in the Summer 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Outsourcing Our Children
The lives of our children have worsened as increasing numbers of women have begun to work outside the home, writes F. Carolyn Graglia in the Summer 2005 Claremont Review of Books.One Nation Under God?
Perhaps the most overlooked aspect of last year's Pledge of Allegiance case, was the division it caused among three of the Supreme Court's more conservative judges, writes Vincent Phillip Muñoz in the Summer 2005 issue of the Claremont Review of Books.Legal Brief
Those who take the Constitution seriously all agree that judges must first consider the original intent of the men who framed and ratified the Constitution. But what exactly is the content of that original intent, asks Brian E. Birdnow.The Claremont Institute's Summer Interns
Appendix I: The Debt Assumption Issue
Appendix II: Thomas Jefferson's First Inaugural Address
Bibliography
Glossary
Chapter 7. Foreign Affairs Delay the Republican Victory
Chapter 8. Suppression, Protest and the Revolution of 1800
Chapter 9. Conclusion: The Revolution of 1800 and Party Government
Chapter 1. First Principles
Chapter 2. The Lessons of Constitution Making
Chapter 3. Anxious Confidence
Chapter 4. Doubts and Disunity
Chapter 5. The Republicans Organize
Chapter 6. The Republicans Persuade
The Horror
The massive death and violence of the 20th century's wars may have had a widespread and debilitating effect on man's imagination, but current literary theory is too limited to understand this phenomenon, writes Daniel Sullivan.Chronology
Preface
Prologue
Introduction
Identity Crisis
Presidential rhetoric could be a good way to understand American identity, but not when it's analyzed through a narrow multicultural lens, writes Glen E. Thurow in in the Summer 2005 issue of the Claremont Review of Books.Between Idealism and Realism
The Bush Doctrine addresses the inadequacies of conventional foreign policy wisdom in a post-9/11 world, though this new formulation may have problems of its own, writes Adam Wolfson in the Summer 2005 issue of the Claremont Review of Books.President Grant
Ulysses S. Grant's character is inherently unattractive to modern historians. Yet, as president, Grant demonstrated that he was as courageous and steadfast as he had been in battle, writes Stephen K. Tootle.The Long Detour
In the years between Goldwater's defeat and Reagan's triumph, movement conservatives would find no refuge in Nixon's dream of a new Republican majority, writes William Rusher in the Summer 2005 issue of the Claremont Review of Books.Claremont Policy Conference, Aug 4-7 in Aspen
Bookless in America
After victory in the Cold War and the death of many of conservatism's founding fathers, one senses on the Right not only a generational shift but also a growing distraction or inattentiveness, as though the campfires are burning down, writes Charles R. Kesler in the Summer 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Le Morte de Christopher
Gentleman, scholar, poet, and spy Paul Christopher manages repeatedly to save Western Civilization. Is it worth it, asks Douglas A. Jeffrey in the Summer 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Prelude to Greatness
Ronald Reagan's 1976 presidential campaign, which is often given short shrift even by Reagan enthusiasts, laid the groundwork for 1980, writes Andrew E. Busch in the Summer 2005 Claremont Review of Books.The Right Stuff
Considering the immensity of what was accomplished and the improbability of its occurrence, the success of modern conservatism is nothing short of remarkable. And much of its success would have been unthinkable without the inspiration, verve, and genius of Bill Buckley, writes Michael M. Uhlmann in the Summer 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Summer Reading
After some barbecue and a dip in the pool, enjoy a good book this summer. A few recommendations from the Claremont Institute.Claremont Institute at the Supreme Court
Claremont Institute Announces 2005 Abraham Lincoln Fellows
Within the last week, the United States Supreme Court dealt severe blows to two pillars of American Constitutional order, property rights and religion. The Court majority in both cases reached its desired result by partly ignoring and by partly twisting the clear meaning of the Constitution. These cases should be a clarion call to restore the authority of the Constitution to our laws and our government.
The Lincoln Bedroom
Seven scholars assess C.A. Tripp's The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln in the Summer 2005 Claremont Review of Books. Featuring Michael Burlingame, Joan L. Flinspach, Lucas E. Morel, John Y. Simon, Edward Steers, Jr., and Daniel W. Stowell, with an introduction by Allen C. Guelzo.Uncommon Law
For some time now American law ingeneral and constitutional law in particular
have been seriously out of whack.
Two linked historical developments explain
how this happened, writes Stephen B. Presser in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.
Shaking Loose
Even today it is widely believed that the unraveling of Communism was due to the arrival of Mikhail Gorbachev as Soviet party boss; that only marginally, if at all, did the evil empire's collapse result from revitalized U.S. resistance, writes Derek Leebaert.Reading Heidegger
It is only a small exaggeration to say that each of Martin Heidegger's works seems to be the key to his thought. For a reader attuned to Heidegger, every book is bracing and magnetic, writes Mark Blitz in the Summer 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Profiles in Diversity
The signs of erosion on our campuses are undeniable, but our academic leadership is not talking about a more competitive curriculum, higher standards of academic accomplishment, or the critical need freely to debate important issues. Instead, it remains obsessed with a racial, ideological, and sexual spoils system called "diversity," writes Victor Davis Hanson in the Summer 2005 Claremont Review of Books.The Voice of Right-Wing Comedy
In the great talk radio revolution of the 1990s, Paul Shanklin is an unsung hero, writes Alec Mouhibian.From Them to Us
For immigrants, cultural loss can often be the price of making it in America. But a strong ethnic identity can facilitate the creation of a strong American identity, writes Noah Pickus in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.The Right Stuff
No Child Left Behind
We need sober and reasoned discussion about how best to cope with the consequences of falling birthrates, writes Mark Krikorian in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Manhattan Institute Launches Report on Trial Lawyers in California
Professional Oversight
The falsification of data on gun ownership by Michael Bellesiles. Plagiarism by popular historians Stephen Ambrose and Doris Kearns Goodwin. The classroom fabulations of Joseph J. Ellis. Is there a crisis in American history, asks Peter S. Onuf in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.A Revolutionary Historian
An appreciation of the life and work of this revolutionary historian by Hans L. Eicholz in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Strange Creatures
Within 100 years, Russia has drifted from Third Rome to Third International to Third World. In the upheavals of post-Soviet collapse, Russia pursues an often frightening quest for national identity, writes Joey Tartakovsky in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Two New Books on Woodrow Wilson
The Ambassador Nobody Knows
Certain of the mainstream media have suggested that by appointing officials who support his administration's policies, President Bush has demonstrated a troubling audacity. So whom did President Bush nominate to represent the United States in the United Nations Commission on Human Rights? Funny you should ask. He happens to be a friend of mine.Better Late Than Never
It seems that the Bush Administration has only just begun to think about the war we are in. Better late than never, writes Angelo M. Codevilla.Tyranny And Utopia
At a time when a variety of utopianisms have emerged with renewed force, it is useful to brood once more upon the rage emptied on the world by Stalin and his magnates. They, too, had the very best of intentions, writes Charles H. Fairbanks, Jr., in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Power and Policy
It is increasingly difficult for today's college students to understand exactly what was involved in American foreign policy debates prior to the end of the Cold War. They need to be reminded of how American Exceptionalism still connects power with policy, writes Sidney A. Pearson, Jr.More with Less
Bill Clinton's memoir is prolix, disorganized, and far longer than it needed to be. Onewinds up asking of the book, as of the presidency, "Why could he not have done better?" writes Fred I. Greenstein in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.
Conservatism at the Local Level
Malaise Forever
Whether Carter was our first pacifist president or simply a Guinness Book narcissist is up for discussion. What seems beyond dispute is that Carter was the worst president of the modern era, writes Jonathan V. Last in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Cowboy Justice?
Capital punishment signals that there are some acts that are so morally heinous that they deserve the most serious punishment a society can inflict. But this does not mean that citizens should uncritically accept the practice of capital punishment in those states that retain it, writes Christopher P. Manfredi.Learning the Law
Looking at the ideas that unified American constitutional law at the end of the 19th century gives a glimpse of a world in which the American university aimed not to undermine but to preserve and pass on the teachings of the American Founding, writes Eric R. Claeys in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Join Bill Bennett and the Claremont Institute in Aspen, Aug 4-7
What (Most) Women Want
Our differences should not be the source of bitternessor resentment, but the recipe for genuine complementarity of the sexes, writes Christine Rosen in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.
The Jewish Canary
Academia has made Jews the canary in the coal mine in the sense that if universities are indicators of social trends, and anti-Semitism is becoming more acceptable there in the guise of anti-Zionism, then there is a problem society-wide, writes Asaf Romirowsky.Mainly Incorrect
Deflating paleocon propaganda is easy, but what's really at stake is the conservative movement's success. As conservatives, we disgrace ourselves when we promote books that seek to discredit the principles of the American Founding, writes John B. Kienker in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.The Future of Patriotism
Every teacher and parent who has sorted through the piles of American history textbooks published in the last 30 years will know what a rare occasion it is to find one bold enough to affirm the old-fashioned patriotic sentiments held dear by so many Americans, writes David J. Bobb in the Spring 2005 issue of the Claremont Review of Books.Orson Welles at 90
Born 90 years ago, Welles became a legend by turning the great works of art and literature into commentaries on himself, writes Thomas S. Hibbs.Mr. Smith's Washington: Then and Now
The Senate's bitter dispute over whether to curb the filibuster brings to mind the most famous movie dramatization of a filibuster, in Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), writes Spencer Warren. Mr. Smith, however, like other movies for which Capra is well known, is about much more than a Senate filibuster.New Totalitarians
Are the politico-religious doctrines that motivate today's religious terrorism the re-emergence of the same spiritual phenomenon that underlay fascism and Communism, asks Dougles E. Streusand in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.The "S" Word
Between the warring camps of "internationalists" and "imperialists," Jeremy Rabkin suggests a third path, one built upon the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, writes John Yoo in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Redeeming the Enlightenment
The Enlightenment is much more than the caricatures purveyed by its presumably more enlightened critics, writes Michael P. Zuckert in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Rediscovering the Self
As we ponder our limits as human beings,it is doubtful that the passions that put us "out
of the mind" are either an adequate response to
our predicament or the deepest source of self-knowledge
about it, writes Susan Collins in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.
The Straussians are Coming!
As to what Straussians think, what sort of work they do, what they understand themselvesto be defending, their attitude toward the insights of postmodern thinkers; on all these topics the errors pile up like snow in a blizzard, writes Clifford Orwin in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.
A Libertarian Constitution
Did the U.S. Constitution enact into law a sweeping and highly libertarian theory of natural rights and limited government, asks Nelson Lund in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books,.The Limits of Spontaneous Order
Friedrich Hayek was an influenceon Ronald Reagan and a substantial
influence on Margaret Thatcher, not to
mention on a legion of lesser lights in the conservative
and libertarian movements. In the
Soviet Bloc he was an inspiration to the oppressed
and, after the fall of Communism, a
guide along the road from serfdom. Given this
record, Hayek's name should be better known, writes Peter McNamara in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.
Latin America's Greatest Storyteller
The sages of Stockholm condemned Jorge Luis Borges for his political views. It did not seem to matter that he had been on the right side of the major struggles of the 20th century, writes Thomas Meaney in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.The Ancient Constitution
Rule of law was a common-law concept, not a political idea. It meant that the kingdom operatedby known rules and constructions of law, rather
than according to the arbitrary dictates of the
King or Parliament, writes Richard A. Samuelsin in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.
The Highest Things
The late Frederick Wilhelmsen used to say thatCatholic political philosophy is political philosophy
done by Catholics. In other words, if you
accept Christian revelation, you simply go about
philosophizing in light of its truths. You reason
about revelation. But is that still philosophy, or
has it been fatally polluted by an irrational faith
that is blindly accepted, asks Robert R. Reilly
In Markets We Trust
Within a century of its founding, America outstripped the nationsof Europe to boast the world's highest per capita gross domestic product. In
the 1990s, the U.S. economy grew at twice the
rate of Europe's and three times that of Japan's.
Generations of scholars have pondered the genesis
of this American exceptionalism, writes Richard Vedder in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.
Bursting the Chains
The global spread of democracy suggests that the "promise of liberty," in Bush's phrase, is capable of being felt by men and women in almost every culture. But it does not prove that culture is irrelevant, writes Charles R. Kesler is the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Be Good, Be Good
The sum of all secular wisdom, ancient and modern, can be found in some of Mark Twain's advice, writes Christopher Flannery in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.Modern Republicans
No Bleeding Heart
The New Deal was good politics, passable economics, and a masterpiece of catastrophe avoidance, writes Conrad Black in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.The World at Work
To think about globalization is tothink about its controversies. Its critics
see a set of beliefs and programs
aggressively promoted by globalizers. Most of
the latter, however, see only a natural process, writes Thomas Blau in the Spring 2005 Claremont Review of Books.
