It’s in crises that we discover who our friends really are. And one thing amply confirmed by our present corona-nightmare is that those whom Alexis de Tocqueville called “true friends of liberty” are an increasingly rare breed these days. Since…
When the future author of Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville, arrived in Newport harbor, New York, at eight o’clock on the evening of May 9, 1831, it didn’t take him very long to realize that he was entering a…
Whenever anyone thinks of economic success stories, Latin America doesn’t exactly leap to mind. For the most part, modern Latin American economies have been characterized by corruption, cronyism, statism, populism, boom-bust cycles, failed reform efforts, and colossal meltdowns. There is,…
In April and May, French voters will head to the polls to decide who will succeed François Hollande as their President. France’s constitution invests the French presidency with even greater powers than an American president’s. But for all the power…
Whether it’s the rise to national prominence of Vermont’s self-described democratic socialist senator Bernie Sanders, the election of a beyond-stereotypical 1970s sandal-wearing bearded-lefty, Jeremy Corbyn, as British Labour leader, polls estimating that 36 percent of Americans millennials have positive views…
Civilizations come and civilizations go. While some prove capable of inner renewal, there’s no guarantee that any given culture will maintain itself over long periods of time. Today we continue to admire the achievements of Greece and Rome. As distinct…
When visiting my native Australia in late-July this year, I was invited to attend a book-launch at the New South Wales state parliament in Sydney. The main speaker was the now ex-Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott. It breaks no confidence…
In the lead-up to the release of Pope Francis’ new encyclical Laudato Si’, most commentary focused on its likely-implications for the world’s climate change debate. An effort to influence that discussion—much of which has, like Al Gore, long since faded…
“There are countries which are rich and countries which are poor. And there are poor countries which are growing rich. And then there is Argentina.” This saying, attributed to the 2010 Nobel Laureate for Literature, Peru’s Mario Vargas Llosa, is…
While Europe’s governments and financial markets have been fixated in recent months by the ongoing fiscal and political disaster otherwise known as Greece, the challenges facing one of the EU’s smallest members are, frankly, quite minor compared to what may…