Mission Statement
"Who would still dare to undertake projects that require thousands of years for their completion?" — Friedrich Nietzsche
“The failure to read good books both enfeebles our vision and strengthens our most fatal tendency—the belief that the here and now is all there is.” — Allan Bloom
“I’m the little Jew who wrote the Bible / I’ve seen the nations rise and fall / I’ve heard their stories, heard them all / But love’s the only engine of survival” — Leonard Koan
Nigel Tufnell, David St Hubbins, and Derek Smalls stand beside Elvis's grave. David: "Well, this is thoroughly depressing." Nigel: “It really puts perspective on things, though, doesn't it?" David: "Too much. A little too much fucking perspective." — This is Spinal Tap
Every two weeks (or so), I write about the present based on my studies of the past and premonitions of the future. My perspective is a synthesis of the above four quotations: interest in long-term thinking, appreciation for ancient wisdom, the historical grounding of an enduring witness, and a willingness to take the piss.
I write for myself, for the unknown reader, and for posterity. Adopting the long view means avoiding narrow, presentist definitions of left and right. It means looking out to see where bad ideas have led us in the past, and where, without opposition, they may lead us again in the future. If I’m wrong, history will judge—or, more likely, forget I ever existed.
Core recurring themes include:
Can the nation-state survive the post-national moral imagination?
Can the West regain civilizational confidence without collapsing into polarization and radicalism?
Can universalist ethics coexist with particular loyalties instead of hollowing them out?
Can the Jews stop being a scapegoat for the above tensions, and instead provide a model for how to resolve them?
Out of the crooked timber of humanity, can any straight thing ever be made?
The answer to the last question is “no.”
