The Very Best of Last Week in Reaction (2016/08/07)

Betsy Ross House, Philadelphia PA.

Last week’s, much extended TWiR is finally up at Social Matter. The judgements of The Committee are final; and they are as follows:

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Honorable Mentions:

Free Northerner: Moral and Natural Consequences. In answer to the question of whether people deserve the bad things that happen to them, Northerner draws a line between rational moral judgement and natural consequences.

Sarah Perry: The Quality Without a Name at the Betsy Ross Museum. Perennial powerhouse Perry contends for a strong objective view of beauty, even from a strictly naturalist perspective, with many (ahem) diverse examples. (She may be an atheist, but she’s a Catholic atheist.)

James A. Donald: No such thing as moderate Islam. Tho’ there are many moderate Muslims, the Islamic system always give status to those who are more radical. Just like Progressivism.

Ryan Landry: The Red Empire’s Manchurian Candidate.. International politics post-WW2 is driven principally by a (mostly) cold civil war between American Blue (State plus hangers on) and Red (Pentagon plus hangers on) empires, with Blue (the more blood-thirsty) winning most of the time, mostly by design. Trump may be the Red Empire’s last best chance to staunch the bleeding.

Kristor: Formalism & the Sacred. Kristor continues to quietly and authoritatively reconcile Menciian principles with long-held Legitimist positions.

Greg Cochran: Trust Issues. A delightful alternative history in which Cochran reimagines the WW2 homefront treatment potential traitors with 21st century moral norms.

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… And the Winner Is:

Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus: Conservatives and Liberals Have Many Things in Common. Cincinnatus counts the ways, including the most fundamental way, in which liberals and conservatives are liberals.