“Disenchantment, Actually.” Doug Sikkema reviews The Myth of Dis enchantment: Magic, Modernity, and the Birth of the Human Sciences by Jason Ā. Josephson-Storm. He’s not entirely convinced: “Yes, religion and magic remain ubiquitous; but they are now performed against a backdrop in which disenchantment is regarded, in ways conscious and unconscious, as true.”
“The One Theory to Rule Them All.” Peter Blair on the practice and theory that might follow liberalism.
The Hauenstein Center hosted a Progressive/Conservative Summit last month. Speakers included three FPR contributors: Patrick Deneen (who responded to Mark Lilla), Eric Miller, and Susan McWilliams.
“Foreign Investors Shrug Off Miami’s Rising Sea Levels.” Roben Farzad reports on the property market in south Florida. When land becomes just another commodity, weird things happen.
“The Importance of Cultural Nationalism in an Era of Distrust.” Alexander Zubatov argues we need an “aesthetic canon” to ground a unified cultural conversation.
“Denver Diner with ‘Good, Honest Food’ Names Itself for Kentuckian Wendell Berry.” If you don’t want to tweet about Wendell Berry, I guess you could name a restaurant after him. #Branding
“‘The World-Ending Fire’ Collects 31 Essential Wendell Berry Essays.” Richard Horan reviews the latest compilation of Berry’s essays. (Recommended by Tom Murphy.)
“Escape From Facebookistan.” Micah Sifry demonstrates what should be obvious by now: politicians and Facebook are co-dependent, and this relationship isn’t serving the common good. (Recommended by Matt Stewart.)
“John Ruskin: Fit the First.” Alan Jacobs ruminates on John Ruskin’s response to the corruption of political economy in his day. And Jacobs has plans to continue thinking with—and after—Ruskin: “what I am trying to imagine is a Ruskinian approach to our own moment that uses digital technology against technopoly, that sees art and economics and politics as mutually animating (for good or for ill), and that can situate all these reflections within a serious theological framework.”
“Google’s Selfish Ledger is an Unsettling Vision of Silicon Valley Social Engineering.” Vlad Savov reports on discussions at Alphabet regarding ways to engineer and direct human traditions. (Thanks to Aaron Dillow for bringing this to my attention.)
