The heart of Samuel Francis's brilliant criticism of contemporary American conservatism is found in his essay "The Other Side of Modernism", included in the present collection.
Just a few years ago we had a bicentennial celebration of the Constitution. Republicanism and federalism, the two most salient features of the Constitution, were never mentioned. Instead we had a glorification of multiculturalism and the central state.
The customary approach to immigration by libertarians has been a simple one.
By profession M. E. Bradford was a literary scholar, and Original Intentions, issued shortly after his untimely death, manifests his sure touch for the nuances of words.
Peter Abelard confounded the readers of Sic et Non by placing side-by-side opinions of the Church Fathers that seemed contradictory, while offering no reconciliation.
"You ought to see...some things that are regularly said over the airwaves in America today," the indignant president announced. "There is nothing patriotic," Clinton preached, about "pretending that you can love your country but despise your government."
The cords that bind the Union together are weaker than they have been in more than a century. Many states are entering into political revolt against federal encroachment. But this situation is no departure from American tradition. Revolting against consolidated government has been a key to keeping the government in check.
Patrick Allitt's excellent book may be approached at two levels.
David Frum has identified a central problem affecting much of the American Right.
