American Conservative, July 24, 2020 How Intellectuals Cured ‘Tyrannophobia’ American presidents have adopted Hobbesian levels of power. by Jim Bovard Almost 400 years ago, English philosopher Thomas Hobbes wrote a book scoffing at tyrannophobia—the “fear of being strongly governed.” This was a peculiar term that Hobbes invented in Leviathan, since civilized nations had feared […]
Trump’s presidency is helping Americans recognize that voting is no guarantee for individual liberty. This is perhaps the most frequently forgotten lesson in politics. Many liberals were convinced that Obama’s election somehow made Americans’ constitutional rights safe, while many conservatives believed that Al Gore’s defeat in 2000 provided the same windfall. In reality, no president can be […]
June 28th is the 300th birthday of Jean Jacques Rousseau, a French philosopher whose writings have cursed political life since the mid-1700s. The New Republic has a good essay on Rousseau’s bitter legacy here. I paid my respects to Rousseau in Freedom in Chains: The Rise of the State and the Demise of the Citizen […]
Jim
Thanks a lot!
timmy taes
The Two and Only is my favorite podcast on the Int
David Smithson
Right you are. Retired now, I worked for many yea
Ron Redrift
Sorry to hear of your tiff with Mr. Wilson; hope i
timmy taes
Well, at least you didn't need a costume for
