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Beyond Liberty

We are nearly two years into the post-Cold War era—an era as yet without a name—and we have awakened to the sobering reality that democracy is easier to desire than it is to sustain. The painful experiences of nations as disparate as Czechoslovakia, Nicaragua, South Africa, and the . . . . Continue Reading »

When Nice People Do Bad Theology

Sure, Walker Percy already said it, but that was as a good-natured joshing, a passing joke. Now it's hit the pages of the Wall Street Journal; everybody's in on it. The November 29, 1990 Journal reports a national survey conducted by the University of Wisconsin's Center of . . . . Continue Reading »

Back to Fundamentals

This volume, containing sixteen essays (including the useful introduction by editor Norman Cohen), constitutes a valuable reference source on American Protestant and other forms of religious “fundamentalism.” There is a little something here for everyone. The essays, for one thing, range from . . . . Continue Reading »

Capitalism and the Disorders of Modernity

For most people in America, all those not familiar with the complicated ideological positioning on the right end of the political spectrum, the term “conservative” evokes images of the board room, the country club, and the Episcopal church located not far from the latter. In other words, the . . . . Continue Reading »

The Necktie Gap

The Resurgent Liberal: And Other Unfashionable Prophecies by robert reich random house, 303 pages, $19.95 There are no liberal neckties. At a conservative gathering one will generally find a smattering of Adam Smith neckties. In the back of conservative magazines, there are likely to be one-column . . . . Continue Reading »

Conservatism Against Itself

The question before us is whether cultural conservatism is compatible with economic liberalism, the political philosophy of capitalism. Since the answer will depend, in the first place, on just what is meant by cultural conservatism, I propose to begin, not with an abstract definition of this term, . . . . Continue Reading »

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