What can I say about the great Arthur Brooks? This is a great, short article that sums up a lot of what I think Robert Putnam was getting at in his book “Bowling Alone,” and indeed what we may be missing out on in all these vapid debates about identity. To put it in Putnam’s […]
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Put down the damn phone! The Bob Putnam Plan for a Better America
It’s no secret that there is something going on with the civic social structures in America today. While it may be attributed to more than just the fact that Americans don’t attend as many dinner parties or Kiwanis meetings, there has certainly been a decline in trust in our institutions, organizations, and our neighbors. It […]
Friday link
I hope everyone is having a great Friday! I spent a little bit of time reading the following article and thought that it nicely follows up with my previous post. Check it out and drop a comment! It’s an interview with with Thomas Chatteron Williams who has a lot to say about the current debate […]
“Essential” Conversation: A Review of “The Lies That Bind”
Kwame Anthony Appiah’s “The Lies That Bind: Rethinking Identity” is an incisive look into identity and its meaning for political conversations today. He helps to define identity, to look at different constituents of identity (religion, race, nationality, culture), and to try and find a place for identity in our consciousness. It is at once a […]
Stories: How to Save America, One Conversation at a Time
“…tolerance and civility are too low a standard for a great country based on competitive excellence. You need to be grateful for the other side, just as you should be grateful for having more than one team in your favorite sports league.” Arthur C. Brooks Historically America has had a problem with racism against people of […]
Subsidiarity and Creative Solutions
I used to think that it was better for people, when speaking politically, to avoid talking about their underlying philosophy, to just focus on solutions. This probably stemmed from my belief that most Americans ultimately want similar things – an end to poverty, a more solid footing for our entitlement programs, a good job for […]
How to avoid the “overdramatic” worldview
When you think about the overall state of the world, are you an optimist or a pessimist? What do you think about where humanity is today? What do you think about where humanity is headed? Below are a few questions about the state of the world we live in; take a moment to think about […]
Small-r republicanism: The Federalist Papers, Part 2
As we move through the latter stages of this presidential primary campaign, with all its disgusting rhetoric and lack of substance, I have sought respite from the depressing news the campaign brings every day, so I have receded into history in my studies. I am poring through the work of some of our greatest leaders […]
The Federalist Papers, Part 1
There has long been an interest among Americans in the rationale and intentions of those who helped write our Constitution. This fascination suggests a consensus that certain qualities of the Constitution played a role in setting the United States on its path to prosperity and international influence. This also suggests that there are many who […]
Every American a Statesman
To continue to piece together the puzzle of partisan polarization, I turned to one of the great scholars of behavioral economics, Mancur Olson. Professor Olson’s work, The Rise and Decline of Nations: Economic Growth, Stagflation, and Social Rigidities seeks to explain how his theories of collective action in societies can lead to suboptimal outcomes in […]
