Nature and the Nation

In this episode I examine Jean-Jacques Rousseau's early work, Discourse on the Origin and Foundation of Inequality among Mankind. I look at his examination of the natural man, and his accusations against property and the beginnings of strife.

In this episode I look at Richard McKirahan's study of the presocratics in Philosophy Before Socrates, with a focus on Empedocles, Homer and Pindar.

In this episode I look at the relentless hunger of technology, as described by Friedrich Junger in The Failure of Technology.

In this episode, I examine Karl Jaspers presentation of the masses, and the global apparatus and technique that sustains them, as presented in Man in the Modern Age.

In this episode, I examine the connection between naturalism and crunchy conservatism, as described by Rd Dreher in Crunchy Cons. I especially focus on food and our relationship to it, exploring a secular or pantheistic response to Dreher's Christian approach.

In this episode, I examine the connection between conservatism and nationalism as described in The Case for Nationalism by Rich Lowry, with a focus on the premises that nationalism is old, natural, and powerful.

In this episode I look at the long-running populist current in conservative thought, as detailed by Laura Ingrahan in Billionaire at the Barricades, later released as Busting the Barricades. I pay special attention to Pat Buchanan and Ross Perot, and our failing international trade policies.

In this episode I examine Jeff Flake's Conscience of a Conservative, with a critical examination of Flake's failure to anticipate or understand the rise of Trump. I discuss how, while I share Flake's desire for decency in politics, his principled political stance is ultimately too naive to effectively respond to the corrosive anti-American attacks of modern leftism.

In this episode I examine the classic text The Conscience of a Conservative by Barry Goldwater, drawing attention to the focus of Goldwater and others of his era on federalism and the struggle against communism, with an evaluation of the ultimate result of 20th Century conservatism.

In this episode, I look at Lasch's collection of his last essays, The Revolt of the Elites. I examine his support for populism, criticism of liberal snobbery, and support the use of pragmatism to rebuke the academic left.