Coincidentally, our launch date here was the 150th anniversary of Tocqueville’s death. He passed on April 16, 1859, in Cannes. 150 years and 3 days later, J.G. Ballard, author of creepazoid milennial dystopia Super-Cannes (2000) , died. The first line from Super-Cannes reads as follows: The . . . . Continue Reading »
As many friends of Pomocon have observed, the cult of optimism involves some pretty serious pathologies and distorting effects on individual and social life. But one way of thinking about optimism begins with the suggestion that the optimist’s basic concern is with energy. We will, says the . . . . Continue Reading »
Well, it’s good to be blogging again and many thanks to James for getting us back in business. And not to congratulate myself shameslessly but Peter is right that the Delsol conference was a terrific event. Another issue that came up during our discussions: is part of . . . . Continue Reading »
Once, our own Jim Ceaser summoned forth an evocative dialogue between Con and Pomocon . The drama hinged on how compatible were the two concerning those Three A’s — affectation, authenticity, and authority. Though their subtle advances and defenses could never be mistaken for the likes . . . . Continue Reading »
Rod Dreher calls attention to an essay by Michael Brendan Dougherty , who asks pointed questions about the failure of the thirty-six year old pro-life movement to make any significant gains against a regime of unrestricted abortion. Dougherty’s essay strikes a long and resonant chord with me: . . . . Continue Reading »
An article in yesterday’s Inside Higher Education discusses a new book by a Notre Dame anthropologist that explores the reasons for widespread plagiarism among today’s college students. In particular, its author recommends a departure from the prevailing system of detection and . . . . Continue Reading »
Here is an excerpt from an article on Chantal Delsol I have forthcoming in Perspectives on Political Science : In the place of “true judgment” or prudence, the defenders of international justice satisfy their hunger for rational certitude and analytical specificity with mere . . . . Continue Reading »
We learned last night that Timothy Geithner was confirmed as the Obama administration’s Secretary of the Treasury. While this outcome was never in real doubt, the revelation that he had failed to report upwards of $26,000 in self-employment taxes when he was an overseas employee of the . . . . Continue Reading »
When I suggested on this blog that “all politics is tribal,” Conor Friedersdorf, Daniel Larison, and Andrew Sullivan all slapped me down like I’d talked about their mothers. Which I suppose, in a way, I had. Their argument was that, by comparing politics to family, I had . . . . Continue Reading »
Mr. Deneen’s take (post just before this one) on the Inaugural is the most penetrating I’ve seen, or expect to see. The collusion between Kantianism and Machiavellianism is a very important insight, and in fact one that Harvey Mansfield has always seen very clearly (as in his “Moral Reasoning . . . . Continue Reading »
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