The Fleming Foundation Cultural Commentary

9

The New Index: Montaigne

We are going to launch the New Year by taking nominations for the New Index of classic books to ban.  To be eligible the book and writer must be either included in some Great Books series or, at least, be a staple of the postmodern curriculum, e.g., The Diary of Ann Frank or The Handmaid’s Tale or The Awakening.

11

You Can’t Lose A Generation You Never Had

I woke up today with this happy thought. Born in April 1945, I am a 8 months too old to be a Boomer. That means I enjoy the rare privilege of not belonging to some stereotyped identity created by sociologists and exploited by marketing geniuses to enslave the minds of anyone dumb enough to call himself a Boomer, Gen Xer, Millennial, etc. Don’t Trust Anyone Under 78!

5

No Exceptions: The Machiavellian Way of Truth

Several commenters have been kind enough to say they liked our recent pieces on the Middle East.  I am grateful for  the kind words. I am no expert on Middle Eastern affairs, though I flatter myself I know a few things about the history of the region. If my way of thinking has any distinctive merit, it is because I have followed a line of thought you can find in such diverse political thinkers as Thucydides, Machiavelli, the Marquis of Halifax, Gaetano Mosca, Roberto Michels, and Sam Francis