Integralism

Once again, public opinion polls have disappointed isolationists and others who want the United States to have a minimalist foreign policy. Almost overnight, a large swath of America now wants to counter Russia, and elected officials who want to keep their jobs have responded.

The New Right cannot be bothered with foreign threats because they are rationing political capital for an ideological fight at home. That’s bad enough. Even worse, they seem less interested in transcending tyranny and more interested in learning from it.

Providence does not favor nations that imagine they can pursue holiness while escaping reality and responsibility.

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.

“The Unbroken Thread” by Sohrab Ahmari shows us that our human capacities and loves are not and cannot be strictly contained within the horizons of philosophic liberalism.

Proponents of religious economy theory point to evidence suggesting that religious adherence decreases when a government actively promotes a church or hinders other beliefs.

Rather than taking each other’s strongest arguments, people arguing over Catholic Integralism often defeat straw men or completely dodge arguments. This does not advance the conversation so that learning and mutual edification may occur.

While quarantined with my family during the COVID-19 pandemic, the following five lessons with international affairs applications have come into focus.

If we are going to get anywhere in this debate about liberalism, we should take on the strongest arguments from our opponents and not their weakest or most caricatured. While I do not think Christians should see liberal democracy as the enemy, I do think its critics often have a point.