Political Philosophy

“…the questions of politics must focus on how much liberty a society can tolerate before it starts to break down. This is a very old debate, of course. But it’s not a conversation that many critics of ‘liberalism’ seem very interested in having.” - John Ehrett

“Why must Christians agree to disagree over jagged-line political issues? After explaining straight-line vs. jagged-line political issues, we give two reasons: (a) Christians must respect fellow Christians who have differently calibrated consciences on jagged-line issues, and (b) insisting that Christians agree on jagged-line issues misrepresents Christ to non-Christians.” - Themelios

“I know that for now I’ve lost the character argument. It’s well-established that a great number of white Evangelicals didn’t truly believe the words they wrote, endorsed, and argued in 1998 and for 18 years until the 2016 election.

“Regardless of his theocratic aspirations, Vermeule’s constitutional philosophy itself is nonsensical, given that it openly advocates the dissolution of the very constraints that characterize a constitutional order. Vermeule, it seems, would have us all become living constitutionalists of a sort, faithful to our partisan preferences above any objective understanding of the Constitution.” - TAC

“…there is nothing in Professor Vermeule’s essay to suggest that it is the only reasonable approach to securing the common good. More importantly, there are sound reasons to believe that the United States, through its written Constitution, chose a different—also reasonable—approach” - Law & Liberty

“[Vermeule argues that] the Constitution’s most abstract language should be interpreted as affording the government almost entirely unconstrained power over its citizens, a sort of blank check for the exercise of political authority as the sovereign sees fit. But can that practice of interpretation be justified on theological grounds?” - John Ehrett

“Sanders’ preference for government programs over private philanthropy echoes that of ancient pagan rulers. Sanders, a democratic socialist, has said that private charity should not exist, because it usurps the authority of the government.” - Acton

“First, when the terms are left undefined, they seem to describe “kind” and “benevolent” economic systems that will help the poor and raise people out of poverty. They seem equivalent to the good “social programs” in our republic. Second, there is a seeming connection with the early church as described in Acts 2:44-45 which legitimizes these systems in the minds of some Christians.” - Matt Postiff

“Virtue politics, following the ancient Greek philosophers, assumed that hierarchies would always exist in society, so that a principal task of politics was to ensure that those hierarchies would be just ones, based on real distinctions of merit between rulers and ruled.” - The Public Discourse

“Hold ‘property in common’ and divide ‘the profits, not according to each man’s input and labor, but according to each man’s wants.’ Does that sound appealing? Congratulations, you have just applauded a major defender of slavery.” - WORLD