Category: Essay

Liberalism’s Pathological Aversion to Suffering

When firmly set within the framework of liberalism, human ‘progress’ is largely understood as the ongoing process of privileging technique and technological advancement to eliminate suffering—suffering chiefly seen as pain.

Giants’ Footsteps

The example of the 21 Coptic Martyrs of Libya, poor, simple, faithful men, can strengthen us. Let their example give us fortitude to follow Him wherever He leads, and if it costs nothing less than everything, so be it.

Words, Not Deeds: The New Measure of Virtue

Virtue-signalling is not new. But it has enjoyed a special burgeoning in recent decades, not least because modern culture sooner rewards noisy displays of passion than less visible acts of virtue.

The Cave Beneath the Cave

Today, the image of the cave is regarded with suspicion. It seems to call for rule by experts and social engineers, for a tyranny of technocrats: a dubious, if not diabolical, prospect.

Hegel: The Revolutionary Afterlife, Part II

The revolutionary afterlife of Hegel’s political thought is proof of the power of a philosophical system, once seized by less cautious hands, to outpace its original creator.

On Hunting and the Moral Law

The hunt is almost the perfect antithesis of the ‘online community.’ In the hunting community, we know little of each other’s opinions. Our bond is not established by views or factions, but by our experience of belonging.

Ties that Bind: Wendell Berry, the Bible, and Port William

Wendell Berry’s stories are an effective evocation of the world he loves and wishes to defend; as one friend put it to me: “His stories make me love what I should love and hate what I should hate.”

Lessons From a Great-Great-Great-Great Grandfather

In an old hand-written Jesuit journal and a couple of letters, guarded in the Sanctuary of Loyola’s historical archive in Spain, I found a story of grace, love of God, and generosity that my family lore had already forgotten.

Certainty in an Age of Stupidity

Certainty in an Age of Stupidity

One way to limit how much insanity one absorbs is to simply limit our exposure. But this is merely a stopgap. One needs interior fortification to navigate the maze of madness, and this fortification can and should range from the silly to the sublime.

September 21, 2022
Hunt Saboteurs and Nazis

Hunt Saboteurs and Nazis

The connection between anti-hunting attitudes and fascism may, in fact, be a deep one.

September 20, 2022
Ireland’s Recent Elections in Historical Context

Ireland’s Recent Elections in Historical Context

In the current climate, Sinn Fein’s brand of neo-Marxist secularism, abetted by deceitful propaganda of the kind at which Communists excel, has been able to hoodwink a great many Irish voters into supporting their neo-Marxist policies.

September 18, 2022
The Aftermath of the Invasion:<br>Travelling to Irpin and Bucha

The Aftermath of the Invasion:<br>Travelling to Irpin and Bucha

A common sentiment among the population is that Ukrainians cannot afford to indulge in woe but should do their best to rebuild, regain lost wealth, and live on.

September 17, 2022
The Metaphysics of Dogs<br>From Tobit, to Dominic, to Dante, Part II

The Metaphysics of Dogs<br>From Tobit, to Dominic, to Dante, Part II

“The world is full of devouring wolves, and you, unfaithful dog, know not how to bark.”

September 16, 2022
The Natives are Getting Restless:<br>How Elitist Hypocrisy is Giving Rise to Populist Revolt

The Natives are Getting Restless:<br>How Elitist Hypocrisy is Giving Rise to Populist Revolt

The policies that have provoked these protests differ, but there is a common conviction driving the backlash: the elites imposing these agendas do not and will not suffer the consequences of their own policies.

September 16, 2022
The Unlikely Survival of Sacred Office

The Unlikely Survival of Sacred Office

Placing one’s social role ahead of one’s personal preferences is certainly a sacrifice, but the assumption by some that such a sacrifice must make it impossible to live authentically or happily is far from being true.

September 15, 2022
Gummy Bears and Humanism

Gummy Bears and Humanism

In radically diverse societies lacking a clear religious and cultural majority, it becomes obvious that worldviews sometimes harbour radically different ideas of what it means to be human.

September 14, 2022
Why Bother?

Why Bother?

Perhaps people have bought into the various scarcity programs of recent years—the scarcity of social contacts during the pandemic, scarcity of energy, scarcity of food—because it makes them feel alive again.

September 12, 2022
Energy, Inflation, and Taxes

Energy, Inflation, and Taxes

This essay may not be a plug-and-play survival guide to inflation, but it should help to explain where you can go and what information you can find, in order to educate yourself on inflation, specifically energy costs.

September 11, 2022
Sympathy for the Devil: The Unlikely Uses of Michel Foucault

Sympathy for the Devil: The Unlikely Uses of Michel Foucault

To use the Foucauldian jargon, the new left-wing aristocrats are forever manufacturing ‘epistemes’—that is, structures of knowledge—which serve to sustain their dominance of Western society.

September 11, 2022
Folk Music and Dancing with Children

Folk Music and Dancing with Children

Listening to pop music—like the rest of modernity—marks an education in unreality, which is no education at all. Folk music, on the other hand, is invariably rooted in the concrete reality of life.

September 10, 2022