When the Panic Becomes Policy, Wisdom Must Step In

By |2020-03-29T17:45:42-05:00March 29th, 2020|Categories: Coronavirus, Economics, Imagination, John Horvat, Josef Pieper, Moral Imagination, Philosophy, Politics, Wisdom|

When set in motion, panic does not care what is in the way of its mad flight. All must be sacrificed—economy, society, and even worship—in the name of irrational fear. Moreover, it proves difficult to stop. What is missing in our reaction to the coronavirus pandemic is wisdom. In the face of the coronavirus [...]

How to Rediscover the Order of the Universe in a Postmodern World

By |2019-10-16T22:18:34-05:00October 16th, 2019|Categories: Beauty, Books, Culture, John Horvat, Modernity, Order|

There is an order of the universe. How refreshing are these words! They cause a certain joy, especially in our days of chaos. If an order exists, then God exists who is its Creator and source. We might then exclaim with the Psalmist how all creation gives glory to God and elevates our souls [...]

Why Liberalism’s Pantheon Failed

By |2019-06-23T18:45:31-05:00June 23rd, 2019|Categories: American Republic, Christianity, John Horvat, Liberalism, Politics|

For most of our history, the American liberal consensus held that the nation’s God was Christian. However, modernists undermined this consensus by welcoming in secular idols through the back door. They turned the temple into a pantheon. A great debate is raging among conservatives about the future of the movement. At stake is the [...]

500 Pastas: Why America Lacks a National Cuisine



Christmas Gifts That Will Help Your Children Get to Heaven

By |2018-12-21T13:16:20-06:00December 21st, 2018|Categories: Christmas, Gifts for Imaginative Conservatives, John Horvat|


Gift Challenges for Imaginative Conservatives

By |2018-12-10T11:52:44-06:00December 10th, 2018|Categories: Beauty, Christmas, Culture, Culture War, Gifts for Imaginative Conservatives, John Horvat|

Not unlike the times of Our Lord, we live in the paradox of a world in disorder yet under the appearance of order. Beneath the veneer of optimism and prosperity, many people experience lives of trial and suffering due to the lifestyles of frenetic intemperance they have adopted. […]

How Do We Restore the American Order?

By |2020-04-02T01:50:26-05:00November 25th, 2018|Categories: American Republic, Civilization, Culture War, Freedom, John Horvat, Ordered Liberty|

This is America’s tragic situation: The unifying framework of the American creed is now broken. The result is an America that is coming apart. On every American coin, there is the Latin expression, e pluribus unum, meaning “one out of many.” The motto is a celebration of the variety found in America expressed by [...]

The Battle of Empty Minds: Can’t Anyone See Beyond the Hatred?

By |2018-11-16T00:51:51-06:00November 11th, 2018|Categories: Ideology, John Horvat, Modernity, Social Order|


The Church and the Marketplace

By |2018-08-17T11:39:59-05:00August 18th, 2018|Categories: Catholicism, Economics, John Horvat|

I fear for the time when all vestiges of the Church are scrubbed from economy. Then there will be no more familial caregivers. The family will be reduced to a mere collection of selfish individuals. The moral law will be erased by the unbridled passions of frenetic markets… The adjective Catholic is rarely employed to [...]

The Mouse That Roared & Defeated Walmart

By |2018-07-24T10:02:47-05:00July 23rd, 2018|Categories: Economics, John Horvat, Social Order|

Everyone is taught to believe that gigantic retailers are the most efficient distributors of goods to the general public. Small stores may be able to fill tiny niches. They may be quaint and picturesque. However, only the gigantic retailers have the capital and economy of scale to offer everyday lower prices and variety to [...]

Mending Walls: Why Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

By |2020-03-25T12:37:16-05:00July 8th, 2018|Categories: Civil Society, Community, Immigration, John Horvat, Robert Frost, St. Thomas Aquinas|

The liberal rage against the border wall has much to do with the nature of boundaries. Walls, borders, and fences are manifestations of restraint. Fallen humanity naturally resists the restraints of order that keep the unbridled passions under control. Walls are needed to keep the peace… “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,” [...]

Why Society Needs to Cultivate a True Elite Class

By |2019-03-11T14:42:21-05:00June 26th, 2018|Categories: Civil Society, Culture, John Horvat, Leadership, Social Order|

All healthy societies must have elites. The real question is: How do we cultivate true elites who will fully carry out their proper role in society? The problem with our present, meritocratic elites is that they do not know how to carry out these obligations… There was a time when the nation was ruled by [...]