In an effort to understand conservatism, I started reading Russell Kirk’s The Conservative Mind. Kirk, via his influential book, is considered the Father of the conservative resurgence that occurred in America and Britain starting in the late 1960’s and reaching its pinnacle in the 1980’s with the Reagan administration in the U.S. and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the U.K. I was raised conservative and first became aware of politics when conservatism was at its apex, but my experiences in the world and a more nuanced study of recent (and ancient) history forced me to question some of my conservative heritage. After reading the introduction and first chapter, it is official…I have been declared a radical by the self-stated non-dogmatic conservatives.
Archive for the ‘Philosophy’ Category
It’s Official: I am not a conservative!! (Shhh! I’m a radical)
Tolstoi: The Effects of the Influence We Grant to Society
In a previous post, I discussed some of Leo Tolstoi’s thoughts on government and human nature based on his book The Kingdom of God is Within You. That book led me to read a novelization of those concepts in Resurrection. This novel will pull you in quickly, and then punch you between the eyes with stories and logic that must be considered.
Gandhi: Desirelessness
I haven’t written much recently because of a heavy reading load. However, I hope to write a lot this summer. Much of my writing will contain themes from Mahatma K. Gandhi, Leo Tolstoi, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The relations will become apparent as the writing progresses. Hopefully there will be a depth and power in their words that will carry my weak words to my intended point. Read the rest of this entry »
A Better Economy
This post was initially a letter to my brother about this book.
The book, The Unsettling of America, is one man’s take on the road that agriculture has taken in the United States and the governmental policies that have led us down that road and the cultural effect it has had and is having on the citizens of the United States. Here is the email:
What is Real?
Just a quick post on Plato’s Republic. Toward the end of the book Plato describes the life which is most satisfying as one in which an object (or a person) is satisfied by real things. For Plato, the most real things are the intelligible mental conceptions of things and therefore the most satisfying life is lived by a person that receives these intellectual pleasures. However, if one adds a spiritual dimension to the these intelligible mental conceptions and defines those eternal and spiritual things as the true reality, there is real power in the following statements:
Democracy and the Potential Loss of Freedom
I was just reviewing the end chapters of Democracy in America and was reminded of the following from Tocqueville:
[Warning: it might hit a nerve]
The Price of Force
I’ve been listening to The Lord of the Rings trilogy recently with my son. I re-read the books a few years back prior to the release of the movie series and really struggled to put my finger precisely on what Tolkien was writing about and what the ring represented. I think I finally figured it out.
Aristotle’s middle class
In Aristotle’s Politics Book IV, Chapter 12, he makes an important point, that if a society wants to progress and last, it must address the needs of and have a large middle class. If not, the political interest of the rich and the poor end up destroying any sense of political freedom. Read the rest of this entry »
Intellectual Tyranny of the Majority
In reviewing Volume Two of Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America I began thinking about the concept of majority-thinking.
Ultimate Reality and America’s Role
An interesting blog that I was informed about has stimulated reading of some speeches from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. From thence comes the following: