by Henry Oliner | Jan 24, 2021 | Philosophy, Politics, Progressivism
Greg Weiner’s Madison’s Metronome explains the subtle yet critical difference between a republic and a democracy. If a republic is only to be a representation of the popular will, a convenient mechanical tool to execute majoritarian democracy, then there...
by Henry Oliner | Jan 20, 2021 | Politics, Progressivism
From Holman Jenkins, Jr. at the Wall Street Journal, America the Unextreme: If extremists want to believe they are secretly in league with mainstream politicians, they get enough help already. Digital microtargeting was expected to worsen the temptation of politicians...
by Henry Oliner | Jan 16, 2021 | Politics, Progressivism
From Thomas Koenig at National Review, A Republic Not a Democracy: As James Madison wrote in Federalist No. 10, a republic is a form of government “in which the scheme of representation takes place.” Madison recounted how flawed “popular government” had proven...
by Henry Oliner | Jan 12, 2021 | Politics, Progressivism
But I think I detect today a certain public scepticism when intellectuals stand up to preach to us, a growing tendency among ordinary people to dispute the right of academics, writers and philosophers, eminent though they may be, to tell us how to behave and conduct...
by Henry Oliner | Jan 10, 2021 | Politics
From Peggy Noonan in The WSJ, Bring the Insurrectionists to Justice: True conservatives tend to have a particular understanding of the fragility of things. They understand that every human institution is, in its way, built on sand. It’s all so frail. They see how...
