Very interesting essay by Patrick Deneen…

November 19, 2012 By 5 Comments

…over at the very much worth reading Front Porch Republic, asking, “Is there a conservative tradition in America?”

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: 5 Comments
  • Justin

    Thank you for posting this, Mark.

    FPR is a ‘web’-journal that I hope will become more popular in Catholic circles — at least to encourage more thoughtful discussions on religious, political and cultural trends. I’ve been a faithful follower (of you as well!) ever since I was ‘linked’ to the website.

    If you’re (and the rest of your readers) not familiar with this blog yet, please be sure to check it out: http://divinewedgie.blogspot.com/. It is written by Dr. Matthew John Paul Tan (what a name, right?), and it contains very thoughtful reflections/blog posts that seek to “expose the unarticulated presumptions of contemporary cultural phenomena within an urban context, as well as highlight the revolutionary capacities of the intellectual, liturgical and cultural treasures of a robustly orthodox Christianity, particularly as enacted within the Catholic Church.” With an objective like that, how can you not check it out!…Enjoy!

  • Mark S. (not for Shea)

    What a great essay.

    Very well stated what we now commonly call “conservative” is anything but, and much of what we call “liberal” today is anything but.

    Putting aside all arguments of FoxNews or MSNBC for a moment, the large core value of modern conservativsm and GOP politics seems to be a sort of “every man for himself” social Darwinism. As an orthodox Catholic, I cannot support that. On the other hand, what ought to be the core value of liberalism (“we’re all in this together”) very much fits with orthodox Catholicism — except that nearly all modern liberals have tossed this out the window. If every citizen has an inherent value that must be defended, one could never justify abortion.

    Which is why as a citizen who is trying to be a good Catholic, I can’t support either party. I don’t buy the lesser of two evils argument, especially since both major parties seem to be hell bent on some pretty major evils. No lesser about them, they’re just different flavors.

  • Ted Seeber

    He only has pro-life family values as 5th on the list. I think it’s more like 10th. I’d add “worship of the rich”, “collectivism hidden in the free market”, “defense of resources”, “transferring costs from private to public”, “federal monopoly on currency”, and “federal monopoly on law” as six values that American Conservatives actually hold as higher priorities than either the Personhood of the Unborn or Protecting Human Life From Conception until Natural Death.

  • ivan_the_mad

    Ha, yes! The difference between the two parties’ ideologies is the difference between different stages of liberalism. “Evil at a slower pace” is a phrase made more credible when premised with that.

  • kath

    Haven’t read the article yet but it just hit me that we now have the explanation of why Notre Dame is undefeated and No. 1 this year. What’s different at ND this year? PATRICK.DENEEN!! Unassailable logic. Case closed.