Two from Benito Mussolini and Giovanni Gentile’s The Doctrine of Fascism (1932): “Fascism sees in the world not only those superficial, material aspects in which man appears as an individual, standing by himself, self-centered, subject to natural law, which instinctively urges him toward a life of selfish momentary pleasure; it sees not only the individual […]
Fascism — three quotations from the source Read More »
Mao Zedong, in keeping with Marxism, argued this about the nature and purpose of art: “In the world today all culture, all literature and art belong to definite classes and are geared to definite political lines. There is in fact no such thing as art for art’s sake, art that stands above classes, art that
Art and morality, Mao and Warhol Read More »
Here’s Albert Shanker, who was president of the American Federation of Teachers for twenty-three years, from 1974-1997: “When schoolchildren start paying union dues, that’s when I’ll start representing the interests of school children.” The quotation’s accuracy is disputed, but it captures perfectly the relevant stances in education’s structurally adversarial dynamic. As in legal proceedings, attorneys
Teachers unions and what’s good for the children Read More »
My article, co-written with María Marty, was published in PanAm Post: The opening: “Pope Francis has given us several glimpses of his position on liberalism. His are criticisms are direct and sometimes crude. And while the Pontiff got some points sort-of right, his message revealed mostly a lack of knowledge—or an intentional denial—of the principled
The Pope’s Four Big Mistakes About Libertarianism — article published Read More »
Here’s Dr. Ann Laing, superintendant of the Racine, Wisconsin Unified School District: “The African-American families are the ones who are most prone to enroll their kids in the fly-by-night schools that cropped up after vouchers existed, and they don’t know how to make good choices for their children. They really don’t. They didn’t have parents
Educational paternalism and race — superintendant Ann Laing edition Read More »
Stephen Fry was asked: If you were to meet God, what would you say? His answer: “How dare you create a world in which there is such misery?” For that he is being investigated by a government for violating blasphemy laws. In the 21st century. In Europe. On the philosophy: my introductory lecture on the
Blasphemy: Stephen Fry and the Problem of Evil Read More »
Excerpt from Reflections on the Failure of Socialism (1955) By Max Forrester Eastman (1883-1969) People who read these reflections may wonder how I arrived at the understanding that socialism has failed. I am describing the whole experience in another book, but here a brief glance at the intellectual road I traveled may be helpful. It has
Max Eastman on abandoning socialism [text] Read More »
When Nazi Germany and fascist Italy were defeated, the great historical question was: Will liberalism or socialism prevail in the world? The ensuing mix of cold and hot wars and ideological battles reached their climax in our generation — with the fallout from the Soviet Union’s collapse, the enduring sadness of Cuba, the ongoing mess
Our generation’s question: Liberalism or Fascism or Socialism? Read More »