Late last year, Adrian Vermeule published “‘It Can’t Happen’; Or, the Poverty of Political Imagination,” an article that critiques what he calls the “futility trope” used by conservative critics of postliberalism.

Either Catholics consider the genius and limits of both Charles De Koninck and Jacques Maritain, or they disregard them both. The latter is unacceptable, given that surrendering the genius is too high a cost.

“As one might expect, for some, MacIntyre’s proposition to retire the concept of human dignity rang some alarm bells.”