May, 2010

A Contrast of Caricatures

by Jacob T. Levy
Reaction Essay
May 20th, 2010

Jacob T. Levy argues that there is very little new in Phillip Blond’s Red Tory synthesis. It is, he argues, a traditionalist and even an aristocratic form of protectionism. Blond’s conservatism, Levy argues, rests on what is ultimately a story of decline, but this story is badly sourced and doesn’t stand up to historical scrutiny.

Read: A Contrast of Caricatures

* * *

The Dead End of Contemporary Liberalism

by Patrick J. Deneen
The Conversation
May 18th, 2010

Patrick J. Deneen opens this month’s issue with a generally sympathetic synopsis of Phillip Blond’s thoughts on modern liberalism. Both market-liberalism and state-liberalism profess to serve the same master — the autonomous individual. Yet in reality, these two varieties of liberalism only sap the community and strengthen the centralized state. If we want to be free of the tyranny of the state, we need to understand where it comes from, and what can fight it — namely, civil society.

Read: The Dead End of Contemporary Liberalism

* * *