A Dismal Tradition

by Philip Hamburger

The recent senatorial attacks on judicial nominees due to their Catholicism are part of a longstanding tradition. Continue Reading »

11 Jan 2019

Lay Collaboration and Episcopal Authority

by George Weigel

An appropriate pastoral response to a genuine crisis should be vigorously defended at February’s global gathering of bishops.  Continue Reading »

9 Jan 2019

Thank You, First Things Readers

by R. R. Reno

Your generosity gives us a solid basis on which to confront the challenges of 2019. Continue Reading »

8 Jan 2019

Another Decade of First Things

by The Editors

Our top print articles published since January 2009. Continue Reading »

1 Jan 2019

Letters

by Various

Muslim Progressives Paul Rowan Brian (“Muslims in American Politics,” November) has deftly laid bare the source of Muslims’ predicament in the United States: their profound anxiety over being accepted as “real” Americans, and the tendency of this anxiety to overcome their confidence in the . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jan 2019

Lincoln Lost, Douglas Won

by Allen C. Guelzo

Everyone on that hot, dusty August afternoon in 1858 in the square at Ottawa, Illinois, knew who one of the men on the platform was. That man was Stephen ­Arnold ­Douglas, the senior U.S. senator from Illinois whose seat was up for ­re-election that year. Although Douglas stood only . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jan 2019

Undoing the Demos

by Darel E. Paul

Globalists:  The End of Empire and the Birth of Neoliberalism by quinn slobodian harvard, 400 pages, $35 On April 15, 1994, in Marrakesh, ­Morocco, representatives of 124 countries signed an agreement ­effecting the greatest legal and institutional reform of the world economy in history. The . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jan 2019

Let’s Rebalance

by R. R. Reno

On election night, Tuesday, November 6, returns came in. There were wins and losses. My blood pressure rose and fell, exulting in victories and anguished in defeats. But morning came, and the evening’s ardor had drained away during the night’s sleep. More dispassionate, I mulled over a question . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jan 2019

Fear Today

by Frank Furedi

More than any other philosopher, Thomas Hobbes highlighted the claim that fear serves as a foundation for establishing the authority of the sovereign ruler. But fear has served not only the cause of political authority. Fear has always played a central role in the evolution of morality and in the . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jan 2019

Inside Amazon

by Dan Hitchens

Hired: Six Months Undercover in Low-Wage Britain by james bloodworth atlantic, 288 pages, $19.95 What single image best sums up Amazon, which this year became, after Apple, the world’s second-ever trillion-dollar company? Is it the grinning face of Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and very . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Jan 2019