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Discovering the Weight of Glory
According to C. S. Lewis, “there are no ordinary people.” As he wrote, “it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit–immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.” The question is, in which direction are we encouraging them? If Gilbert Meilaender is correct–and he offers plenty to persuade us in this re-release of The Taste for the Other–Lewis understood one’s journey to heaven or hell, to becoming a child of God or of the Devil, as one aided and abetted by fellow travelers.Freedom and Virtue
The English weekly, The Spectator, on July 18, 1998, declared, “the pope has argued that only when individuals give of their own free will are their morals stretched and trained, but most voters adhere to Rousseau and the General Will. They want to give and receive as determined by Parliament.” That the welfare state is the greatest threat to morality and family is a common conclusion of American conservatives.Jacques Maritain
This book brings the considerable talents of the Reverend James V. Schall, S.J., to bear on the writings of an important and influential figure in Roman Catholic political philosophy. It has all the indications of a promising and useful work, but impressed as I am with Maritain’s prodigious output and the high regard in which he is held by serious Catholic thinkers, I must confess I did not like the Maritain I found here.Liberalism Versus Community?
The Essential Communitarian Reader, edited by Amitai Etzioni, is a disappointing book. It is not clearly focused. It reads at times more like the platform of a political party than a set of serious essays designed to challenge the dominant Western political paradigm of the last few centuries. Most of its essays do not come close to addressing the fundamental issues that divide classical liberals and communitarians.Remember the Scriptures
Remember Creation is another in a growing list of books by evangelicals calling for concern about the environment. The fundamental message that Christians have a responsibility to God for wise stewardship of creation is unassailable, and Scott Hoezee’s book artfully makes the case for this. There are, however, serious weaknesses that detract from the book’s usefulness as a source of sound understanding regarding environmental theology, ethics, and science. A Scientifically Flawed Crisis MentalityCry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor
An interesting phenomenon of recent years has been the relative ease with which many former Communist parties around the globe have successfully reinvented themselves as “social democrats,” often with strong “environmentalist” stances. What is disturbing about the political comeback of the cadres is that they are preaching essentially the same illiberal, anti-humanistic, and anti-entrepreneurial message, albeit this time under the banner of “scientific” environmental responsibility rather than Marxist historical imperative.What a Natural Rights Regime Requires
There is a unique satisfaction in seeing a colleague’s work mature into a worthy contribution to the understanding of liberty. Randy Barnett’s articles on contract, the Second Amendment, and the Ninth Amendment have been all important statements. Now, his thinking on liberty flowers into a thoughtful, humble, and frank declaration.A Humane Economy
A student of the Austrian School of economics and an architect of West Germany’s economic reconstruction after World War II, Wilhelm Röpke’s intellectual project was marked by sober thinking about the moral implications of the economic order. Perhaps his best-known work, A Humane Economy (originally published in 1960 and released last fall in a new edition), is the fruit of such thinking.Francis Fukuyama's Unhappy Optimism
Although the decade ended thirty years ago, the 1960s are in many ways still with us. Like Jacob Marley’s ghost, they serve as a haunting reminder of who we once were and who we have become. That the 1960s continue to influence our society is acknowledged by partisans on both the Right and the Left.Adam Smith and the Virtues of Enlightenment
Adam Smith (1723—1790) is best remembered today as the celebrated author of The Wealth of Nations (1776), who defined the workings of market economies and defended principles of liberty. To his contemporaries, particularly his fellow thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith was recognized first for his profoundly original contributions to moral philosophy and natural jurisprudence.The Personalism of John Paul II
Samuel Gregg's book, Challenging the Modern World, ventures to identify the fundamental ideas in the social teachings that John Paul II has influenced and to show the extent to which this development is rooted in his writings prior to becoming pope. Given John Paul's stated intent to supply a Christian alternative to (purely) humanistic philosophies, the concern of his papacy for ethics, and the fact that this is the longest and most dynamic papacy of this century, Samuel Gregg's investigation is indeed an important one.The Splendor of Faith
It has been centuries since the Roman Catholic Church has elevated to the papacy a bishop who is both a deft shepherd and an intellectual giant; these two gifts rarely fill the Chair of Peter simultaneously. Avery Dulles, in his book The Splendor of Faith: The Theological Vision of John Paul II, mentions but two: Leo the Great and Gregory the Great–placing Pope John Paul II in company with the few who have most worthily filled the shoes of the great fisherman.