Three Faces of Democracy: Conclusion
State sovereignty died–along with the Old Republic–in a bloody war of conquest, an American Vendée, directed by our first and greatest Jacobin, Abraham Lincoln.
Category: Fleming
Three Faces of Democracy, Part II
I have already touched upon my central theme: the distinctiveness of American democracy from its Greek predecessors and its French successor. I am going to limit myself to three main topics: the persistence of tradition, the treatment of religion and property, and the adherence to federalism.
Mr. Autodidact Is Asked : Where to Begin?
An academic friend about go on a sabbatical in England, writes to ask how he should remedy his deficiency in Greek and Roman history and wonders if it is not the sort of question I frequently receive.
Three Faces of Democracy: Cleisthenes, Jefferson, and Lincoln, Part I
This is the first part of a talk (here revised) given to a group of Telos editors and contributors at Cooper Union in New York. With the exception of Clyde Wilson and Sam Francis, the other speakers were Frankfurt School Marxists. This unlikely mix was stirred up by my good friend the late Paul Piccone.
Poems Submitted to Poetry Contest
These are the poems submitted to the poetry contest. I am soliciting the votes of all readers not related to the contestants. The only contestants eligible for the prizes are those who were in attendance, but I also welcome comments on the contributions of Travis Berg and Asa Plinch
Conventional Blues
Reading an account of Oprah Winfrey hectoring the horde of Democrats and mocking cat ladies, I thought to look up the celebrities who addressed the Republican Convention.
A Primer for Voters, Lesson #4: Weed the Garden
When I ask people about candidates they support–and why–they usually respond by praising their position of abortion or taxes or foreign policy. When I probe further and ask what, for example, J.D. Vance has done to limit abortion, they cite some speech he has given or a position paper, To quote the godfather of Beat poets, “The thing is, they never learn.”
A Primer for Voters, Lesson #3:
It is a truism of political analysts that while most Americans say they do not trust the members of Congress, they tend to trust their own representative. This is a bizarre dichotomy.
A Primer for Voters, #2: The Free Market
We are often reminded that “There is not only no such thing as a free lunch.” This is true in one sense, since, while I may get my lunch free by robbing the restaurant or blackmailing the proprietor or extorting money fraudulently that enables me to spend other people’s money on lunch, but then the restaurant or my victims are paying for the lunch.
From Olympia to Paris, II
The Greeks’ love of competition and conflict is only the reverse side of their strong attachment to friends (including family) and community. These attachment were also a source of the great joy took in creating and celebrating beauty: They loved singing dancing, recitation of heroic poetry, parades, sacrifices and barbecues. All these pleasures were available at the great games
