Category: Political Theory
Polis/Counter-polis: On the Civic Benedict Option
October 2016 was a simpler, more innocent time. We were all youths, wet behind the ears; we look back at ourselves with a kind of bemused affection. Rod Dreher assumed, surely—we all assumed—that Hillary Clinton would win in November, that...
On Gratitude and the Fifth Commandment
We are pleased to publish this guest feature from Dr. Eric Hutchinson of Hillsdale College. In my first two posts, we’ve seen what the classical two-kingdoms distinction was for the sixteenth century Reformers, whether “Lutheran” or “Reformed,” and also the...
Forget Milo. Roger Scruton Can Make CPAC Great Again
We are pleased to publish this guest feature by Bryan Baise. On Monday, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) rescinded their invitation to Milo Yiannopoulos after a video recording emerged which many interpreted to be a defense of pedophilia. Milo has...
On the Executive Order Regarding Refugees
Over the weekend, I suggested that the text of the now infamous and widely criticized Executive Order on refugees was, as written, “neither insane nor obviously unChristian.”
An Introduction to the Reformed Doctrine of the Two Kingdoms
I’m really excited to publish this post today from my friend Eric Hutchinson, classics professor at Hillsdale College. One of the projects I see Mere O taking on in the coming days is trying to outline some basic principles of political...
The Christian Statesman and the Gospel to the Poor: A Christian Classical Liberal Perspective
Over the next week we’ll be running pieces multiple pieces on political economics. The chief question we are addressing is “What duties a Christian magistrate has to the poor?” In today’s post, Dylan Pahman of the Acton Institute is giving a...
Dr. Moore and the Politics of Dinner Parties
I’m pleased to publish this essay by Susannah Black reviewing Dr. Russell Moore’s recent Erasmus Lecture given last weekend in New York City. On Monday night I got on the E train in Forest Hills and headed to the Union...
Betraying Politics: The Mystique of Public Life
This is a fun week—for the second time in as many days, we’re debuting a new writer here at Mere O. It’s a delight to be able to publish this guest piece from John Shelton. “Everything begins as a mystique...
Hamilton, Meritocracy, and Patriotism
I held out for as long as I could. My resistance was sustained chiefly by a stubborn contrarianism that resists as many trends as possible, particularly those that can be credibly connected to New York City, Washington, San Francisco, or Los...
Why Christians Can Support Tighter Immigration Restrictions
Today we have another long-form piece, this one coming from Stephen Wolfe. I’m pleased to run this piece chiefly because Stephen does a good job of trying to focus the debate around the specific principles that undergird our thinking about an...