Book Reviews

October 21, 2019|Alastair MacIntyre, Classical Liberalism, Conservatism, Michael Oakeshott, Michael Polyani, Reason, Tradition

A Better Guide than Reason—Or Not?

by Virginia Arbery|Leave a Comment

In recovering tradition, how can the presuppositions of a believing culture apply to one bereft of belief?

October 7, 2019|A Short History of European Law, Civil Law, Common Law, Tamar Herzog

European Law and the “Myth of English Exceptionalism”

by Michael I. Krauss|8 Comments

A primer on the intertwined history of civil codes and the common law.

September 30, 2019|Brian C. Rathbun, International Relations, raison d'etat

What Does a Truly Rational Statesman Look Like?

by David Polansky|1 Comment

Brian C. Rathbun explores the psychological difficulty of truly practicing Realpolitik, and what this means for international relations.

September 23, 2019|Charting the Past, Jane Austen, Jeremy Black, Samuel Johnson, Voltaire

A Hasty History of Histories

by David Wootton|Leave a Comment

Jeremy Black’s “Charting the Past“ contains some promising lines of inquiry, but he fails to follow through on them.

September 16, 2019|David Hume, Julian Simon, Karl Popper, Ming Dynasty, Song Dynasty, Stephen Davies, The Wealth Explosion, Thomas Malthus

Advent of the Modern Economy: A Panoramic View

by Alberto Mingardi|6 Comments

Stephen Davies on the institutions and power relations that were key to the formation of Western civilization.

September 9, 2019|Alasdair MacIntyre, John Finnis, Natural Law, Natural Rights

How to Defend Limited Government and the Common Good

by Nathan W. Schlueter|Leave a Comment

A Vindication of Politics helps us remember that there are as many kinds of common goods as there are kinds of human association.

September 2, 2019|culture, Michael Walzer, morality

Defending Liberalism through Thick and Thin

by Mark Blitz|Leave a Comment

Michael Walzer seeks to replace an approach to justice based on academic philosophers’ abstractions with a standpoint that respects political concreteness.

August 26, 2019|John P. McCormick, Machiavelli

A Makeover for Machiavelli

by Michelle T. Clarke|7 Comments

His true convictions have been suppressed by academics propagandizing on behalf of oligarchy, says John P. McCormick.

August 19, 2019|Aristotle, Delba Winthrop, Democracy and Political Science

Aristotle’s Investigation of the True Meaning of Citizenship

by John Hungerford|4 Comments

Delba Winthrop asks whether the political disputes depicted by Aristotle were really about first causes.

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