Does freedom entail responsibility, punishment, and reward? What is the role of compulsion, will, and choice in human action? St. Thomas Aquinas vigorously defended the reality of free will, not simply because he felt that it was divinely revealed—“He himself made man from the beginning, and left him in the hand of his counsel” (Sirach … Continue reading Aquinas on Free Will, Sin, and Ethics
Philosophy
Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy (5/5): Why Does Machiavelli Favor Republicanism?
The Discourses of Livy shows that Machiavelli favors a republic over all other forms of government—even though the real political dialectic is between republics and non-republics (i.e. tyrannies). Machiavelli prefers republican governance mostly for state and practical purposes. While Machiavelli certainly is a fan of liberty and order, he does not believe people are naturally … Continue reading Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy (5/5): Why Does Machiavelli Favor Republicanism?
Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy (4/5): The Utility of Religion
Machiavelli was not a religious believer but believed in the social utility of religion. The question of God, salvation, and the immortality of the soul did not matter to him. What mattered to him was the reality of religion in life and how religion is useful for nations and why a nation’s vitality is tied … Continue reading Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy (4/5): The Utility of Religion
Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy (3/5): Libido Dominandi, Individualism, and Greatness
One of the peculiar twists of Machiavelli is how he inverts the Augustinian worldview. Saint Augustine of Hippo famously said that man, in his fallenness, lusted for domination. Man, in his estrangement and depravity, lusted to control others. Fallen man lives in conflict. Machiavelli inherits this anthropological truth but turns it on its head. It … Continue reading Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy (3/5): Libido Dominandi, Individualism, and Greatness
Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy (2/5): Political Conflict and Historicism
The central theme of book one is how the best form of political governance, or how the Roman republic became a more perfect republic, is through conflict. Machiavelli does not believe in the “from heaven” concept of constitutions. Nor does he agree with the classical political philosophers (Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, etc.) that the best political … Continue reading Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy (2/5): Political Conflict and Historicism
Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy (1/5): Polities and Political Forms
Niccolò Machiavelli is either scorned or considered the realist thinker par excellence. Even those who laud his realism may keep distance from his moral implications of politics. Such readings of Machiavelli have, more recently, been challenged thanks to individuals like Quinton Skinner, Harvey Mansfield, and Philip Bobbitt. Many people remember Machiavelli for his primer for … Continue reading Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy (1/5): Polities and Political Forms
The Anatomy and Specters of Fascism, VII: Islamism
In concluding our series in examining fascism, its roots, its concrete manifestations, and its legacies, we have noted what is fascism and what is not fascism. The common threads of fascist thought include: the synthesis of the people with the state for militaristic and warring ends (since conflict defines life through and through), that fascism’s … Continue reading The Anatomy and Specters of Fascism, VII: Islamism
The Anatomy and Specters of Fascism, VI: White Nationalism and the “Alt-Right”
Having explored the historical, and actual, roots of fascism, it is time to transition to the specters of fascism and understand why those groups often labelled “fascist” today – while certainly having some affinity and commonality with fascism, are not fascist. In this post where will examine the “Alt-Right,” “Identitarianism,” and “Pan-Europeanism,” as three of … Continue reading The Anatomy and Specters of Fascism, VI: White Nationalism and the “Alt-Right”
The Anatomy and Specters of Fascism, V: Spain, Vichy, and the Nazi Allies
As we complete our tour and analysis of “historical fascism,” or what German scholar Ernst Nolte called “fascism in its epoch” (Der Faschismus in seiner Epoche, 1963), we turn to the more contentious historical movements that have sometimes been associated with fascism but scholars have generally regarded as not having been fascist (though certainly benefiting … Continue reading The Anatomy and Specters of Fascism, V: Spain, Vichy, and the Nazi Allies
The Anatomy and Specters of Fascism, IV: Nazism
Of all the fascist movements, German fascism (or “National Socialism”) is probably the most famous and least understood. Fascism in Germany was the epicenter of the brief life of fascism, produced a number of intellectuals – serious and forgotten – from which we are able to derive a lineage of fascist philosophy. While antecedent roots … Continue reading The Anatomy and Specters of Fascism, IV: Nazism
