The techniques for reinventing the wheel get more and more sophisticated. All too often, the reinvented wheel is less serviceable than the old one. I am reminded of an old Johnny Hart comic strip in which the caveman shows off his new triangular wheel, boasting that it improves on the square wheel because it eliminates one bump.
I’ve been composing a book about the application of some of Thomas Aquinas’s political and theological insights to our own time. When I submitted the manuscript to an academic publisher, half of the editorial board was favorable, but the historians wanted me to say a lot more about things like who influenced him.
In a country like ours, that likes to think of itself as a republic, rulers might adopt any of three different patterns for the relationship between themselves and ordinary people, three different attitudes toward their role:
Sometimes people say, “Truth is relative, so if I say there is a God, then there is, and if you say there isn’t a God, then there isn't.” How would you reply? I think this statement is similar to "I have my beliefs and you have yours, so let's agree to disagree."
I've read various explanations of socialism and communism, but they aren’t clear. Such phrases as "owned by the community," for example, sound vague and ominous to me. Would you consider defining and differentiating these two things at your website?
There is a lot to dislike about the president. Mr. Trump is a sneerer, mocker, boaster, and person of bad character. But Mr. Obama (like his vice president) was also a sneerer, mocker, boaster, and person of bad character.