American Catholic

The American Roman Catholic is a curious animal, forever trying to modify the docile, traditional, receptive spirit of the Catholic by the independent, innovative, frontier mentality of the American. Results of his endeavor vary from the impressive and influential to the disedifying and disastrous. His task is never-ending simply because it is impossible: “American” cannot modify “Catholic.”

by Rev. Paul Scalia

Wojtyla's Thought, John Paul II's Pontificate

As the years of his pontificate mount up, so do the books devoted to this singular pope, with the promise of some good things still in store, notably the forthcoming biography by George Weigel. From many angles, one has sought to fathom John Paul II’s secret, or perhaps to glimpse his distinctive gifts at work, a contemplative actor surely but patiently shifting the tumblers of the vault of history.

by Derek E. Cross

The Futility of Coerced Benevolence

Tibor Machan’s Generosity: Virtue in Civil Society provides a fascinating and thorough treatment of the role of virtue in a society characterized by limited government, freedom of association, and economic liberty. Its thesis, according to Machan, is that “Generosity is a moral virtue that cannot flourish in a welfare state or in any sort of command economy, because to be generous is to voluntarily help others in certain ways.

by Gregory M. A. Gronbacher

Written on the Heart

Many Americans likely never heard of the concept of natural law until it was made an issue in the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings. As then, we would do well to consider a good, clear definition. In the broadest sense of the term, natural law embraces the whole field of morality.

by J. Budziszewski

Setting the Record Straight

In recent years, the press has latched onto the work of the Evangelical Environmental Network, an organization formed under the auspices of Evangelicals for Social Action. Because many newspaper reporters and editors view evangelicals as part of the conservative “religious right,” the arrival of evangelicals who sound just like mainstream environmentalists is a news event--sort of a “man bites dog” story.

by Jane S. Shaw

Enviro-Capitalists

Aldo Leopold, one of the fathers of the modern American conservation movement and author of A Sand County Almanac, in his essay “The Farmer as Conservationist” described conservation as “harmony between men and land.” Leopold envisioned the practice of conservation as “not merely a negative exercise of abstinence or caution” but “a positive exercise of skill and insight” whereby the “pure fire of intellect” is made manifest.

by Gregory Dunn

The Evolution of Ronald J. Sider

In 1991, Eerdmans published a revision of Craig Gay’s Ph.D. thesis. Entitled With Liberty and Justice for Whom?, the book’s subtitle conveyed its scope: The Recent Evangelical Debate Over Capitalism.

by Herbert Schlossberg

If Aristotle Ran General Motors

Very rarely does a book of extraordinary insight, expressed in understandable terms, appear. This is one of those books. In it, Thomas Morris applies to everyday business conditions not only the wisdom of Aristotle but also the thoughts of other great philosophers. In doing so, he demonstrates that the ethical way in business helps the firm, the individual, and the economy in general achieve their goals.

by Harry C. Veryser

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.

by Lucas E. Morel

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.

by Leonard P. Liggio

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.

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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.

by Douglas B. Rasmussen