Subscribe
Donate
Subscribe
Facebook X-twitter Instagram Youtube

Soulless Societies

First Things
February 5, 2024
Read The Full Story

Peter J. Leithart in First Things reflects on a recent work of political metaphysics, God and the City. Leithart examines one key idea from the book – that a failed relationship between church and civilized society – the “city” – is akin to sundering an individual human being’s body and soul. The two must be in harmony for the whole to be healthy.

Love C2C Journal? Here's how you can help us grow.

More for you

At Least He Paid his Losing Bet

Paul Ehrlich, author of the spectacularly incorrect 1968 best-seller The Population Bomb, recently died at 93. Despite his longevity, Ronald Bailey points out in Reason, Ehrlich did not live to see even one of his numerous apocalyptic predictions come true. The world’s population certainly grew, but not merely larger, richer and fatter too. Most famously, Ehrlich once bet economist Julian Simon that the world was approaching economic collapse – but in 1990 had to mail Simon a cheque.

“It’s feeling like something is about to break”

Markos Kounalakis, writing in Washington Monthly, explains that Cuba’s 65-year-old Communist regime – “one of the world’s longest-surviving single-party states and the oldest in the Western Hemisphere” – is on its last legs. Running out of other people’s money is the least of it worries. Says Kounalakis: “President Donald Trump and his team have all but said that they want to topple the government just as soon as he receives Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender.’”

Socialist Spain: The Future of Us All?

Ixtu Diaz believes recent regional elections in Castile and León, Spain, foretell what could happen throughout the West. Despite past publicized corruption, Diaz points out in The European Conservative, the ruling Socialist Party (PSOE) under Pedro Sánchez was able to keep its 30 percent vote share, which Diaz ascribes to Sánchez’s tight media control, opposition strategies and engagement of far-left voters. Meaning, socialists cling to power despite the people’s somewhat rightward shift.

Reversing Industrial Suicide

Following the loss of 5 million U.S. industrial jobs from 2000 through 2017, Joel Kotkin in Spiked writes of the growing consensus – alone among Western countries, and despite the U.S. left’s hatred of Donald Trump – to revive America’s industries by “reshoring” manufacturing. Today, writes Kotkin, even some of the famously globalist “tech bros” are opening new facilities back home to manufacture tangible, advanced products. One sign of success: China is measurably bleeding in its manufacturing output.

At Least He Paid his Losing Bet

Paul Ehrlich, author of the spectacularly incorrect 1968 best-seller The Population Bomb, recently died at 93. Despite his longevity, Ronald Bailey points out in Reason, Ehrlich did not live to see even one of his numerous apocalyptic predictions come true. The world’s population certainly grew, but not merely larger, richer and fatter too. Most famously, Ehrlich once bet economist Julian Simon that the world was approaching economic collapse – but in 1990 had to mail Simon a cheque.

“It’s feeling like something is about to break”

Markos Kounalakis, writing in Washington Monthly, explains that Cuba’s 65-year-old Communist regime – “one of the world’s longest-surviving single-party states and the oldest in the Western Hemisphere” – is on its last legs. Running out of other people’s money is the least of it worries. Says Kounalakis: “President Donald Trump and his team have all but said that they want to topple the government just as soon as he receives Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender.’”

Socialist Spain: The Future of Us All?

Ixtu Diaz believes recent regional elections in Castile and León, Spain, foretell what could happen throughout the West. Despite past publicized corruption, Diaz points out in The European Conservative, the ruling Socialist Party (PSOE) under Pedro Sánchez was able to keep its 30 percent vote share, which Diaz ascribes to Sánchez’s tight media control, opposition strategies and engagement of far-left voters. Meaning, socialists cling to power despite the people’s somewhat rightward shift.

Reversing Industrial Suicide

Following the loss of 5 million U.S. industrial jobs from 2000 through 2017, Joel Kotkin in Spiked writes of the growing consensus – alone among Western countries, and despite the U.S. left’s hatred of Donald Trump – to revive America’s industries by “reshoring” manufacturing. Today, writes Kotkin, even some of the famously globalist “tech bros” are opening new facilities back home to manufacture tangible, advanced products. One sign of success: China is measurably bleeding in its manufacturing output.

Share This Story

Donate

Donate

Subscribe to the C2C Weekly
It's Free!

* indicates required
Interests
By providing your email you consent to receive news and updates from C2C Journal. You may unsubscribe at any time.