Robert George’s New Voice

A New Voice for the American Right declares a profile of our editorial board member Robert P. George, written by the prominent philosopher John Haldane and published in the English magazine Standpoint . Haldane, who teaches at St. Andrew’s University, describes Robby as “a leader of American intellectual conservatism, the heir to William F. Buckley Jr, Richard John Neuhaus, Irving Kristol, and Ralph McInerny,” and invokes the judgment of  the  New York Times Magazine to call him ” the leading American voice of thoughtful Christian conservatism.”

Haldane gives a quick summary of his thinking:

Central to his work is the task of understanding and helping others to appreciate what he describes as “the profound, inherent and equal dignity of every human being and all that follows from that about how we should lead our lives, and govern ourselves as communities”. According to George, this takes us to a true humanism that identifies principles of conduct (including justice and human rights) by considering the various fundamental and irreducible aspects of human wellbeing and fulfilment .

In George’s view, religious faith illuminates these principles and helps us to grasp their full meaning and significance, but they may be reasonably affirmed even apart from divine revelation.