Everything is dirty. Nothing works. But everything’s also more expensive. And oh, by the way, you don’t have privacy anymore.
That is how I described life in the US to a friend who had been living abroad for a bit …
The Munk Debate on the Crisis of Liberalism
On Friday, George Will squared off against Sohrab Ahmari in the Munk debate on “the crisis of liberalism.” But the crisis didn’t come up.
Will is a prominent conservative commentator who writes for the Washington Post. Ahmari is an author, …
Confronting Pandemic Tyranny
I am pleased to share this splendid review of The New Abnormal by Paul Seaton, originally published in Law and Liberty.
In 2019, Aaron Kheriaty was a professor of psychiatry and chair of medical ethics at the University of California …
Liberal as a Political Adjective: 1769–1824
The digitization of text has enabled us to prove that liberalism started with Adam Smith and friends. Liberalism 1.0 was Smithian liberalism.
I show the origins, nature, and character of liberalism 1.0 in a new study, “‘Liberal’ as a Political …
Covid in the Age of Woke
Before I start, let me pose a question for you to ponder. How many people around the world have been helped to retain their sanity, and perhaps even to escape self-harm, by the existence of entities like Brownstone in America …
Explaining the Crisis through Jacques Lacan
The psychoanalytic theorist, Jacques Lacan, has some surprising conceptual tools up his sleeve, some of which can bring some clarity in the oft-confusing world in which we live at present. His theoretical and philosophical oeuvre comprises a wide spectrum, most …
Banishing Ghosts after the Pandemic
My wonderful wife handles all of the Halloween planning for our family. She arranges the costumes, the candy, puts up the decorations, and manages the inevitable costume parties.
This year my wife chose a Ghostbusters theme. In our front yard, …
The Politics of Disdain
I am pleased to publish here a brief excerpt from an article originally published in City Journal with my colleague Emily Burns, a research analyst, writer, and member of our censorship working group at Brownstone Institute.
Several commentators have claimed …
Chronicles of an Unvaccinated Leftist
Being a person with a left-leaning ideology, the subject of prejudice has always intrigued me. Understanding society, how people think, and how people react to social changes and progress is challenging. With that in mind, out of nowhere, without being …
Did Liberalism Fail?
If we are going to survive we need a coherent political philosophy. I’m not convinced that we have one right now. In the movement for medical freedom we’ve gotten really good at describing the current crisis and critiquing the other …
The True Test of One’s Commitment to Free Speech
One’s commitment to the foundational, noble ideals of Western, liberal society is most revealingly tested in times of emergency and mortal danger. Core principles such as individualism, bodily autonomy, tolerance, pluralism, and informed consent are easy to support in abstract …
The Depopulation Bomb: A Halloween Sci-Fi Tale
The following fictional story may or may not bear resemblance to events in real life.
Imagine, if you will, that you are a first-generation high tech gazillionaire. In fact, at one time you were said to be the richest man …
Brownstone Institute at Year Three
Brownstone Institute’s third annual conference and gala is upon us. It’s a good time to reflect on where we’ve been and where we are going.
Before we begin, this much is obvious: lots of very powerful people want this institution …
Where is the Left today?
There is something presumptuous lurking in the very phrase, “the Left”. Under a show of cosmopolitan inclusion, the term hides a reality of unconscious parochialism. The parochialism is both geographical and historical in nature.
First there is the implicit geographical …
Covid Amnesty: Is Mercy the Answer?
Mercy is a missing ingredient of our modern society.
As we fire 280-character social missiles, learn the necessary aim and outrage for maximum effect, update, and reload to fire again into the volley, I worry we might be forgetting about …