Russell Arben Fox

Russell Arben Fox
191 POSTS491 COMMENTS
https://inmedias.blogspot.com/
Russell Arben Fox is a Front Porch Republic Contributing Editor. He grew up milking cows and baling hay in Spokane Valley, WA, but now lives in Wichita, KS, where he runs the History & Politics and the Honors programs at Friends University, a small Christian liberal arts college. He aspires to write a book about the theory and practice of democracy, community, and environmental sustainability in small to mid-sized cities, like the one he has made his and his family's home; his scribblings pertaining to that and related subjects are collected at the Substack "Wichita and the Mittelpolitan." He also blogs--irregularly and usually at too-great a length--more broadly about politics, philosophy, religion, socialism, bicycling, books, farming, pop music, and whatever else strikes his fancy, at "In Medias Res."

Recent Essays

Canaries in a Coal Mine? (APSA Reflections)

Wichita, KS I just returned from my near-annual pilgrimage to the American Political Science Association's annual convention...this year held, ironically enough, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada....

Can Health Care Be Local?

Wichita, KS Over the past couple of weeks, I've written a few things on the current debate over health care reform. A couple of smart...

Lessons from a Motorcycle Mechanic

Wichita, KS Let's pause a moment and be grateful that the job market for political theorists is so bad. Because if it wasn't, Matthew Crawford,...

Monty Python’s Shop Class

As so often seems to be the case, the Monty Python troop somehow managed to make Matthew Crawford's point about the enduring value of...

In Praise of States (and Why There Should be More of Them)

Wichita, KS Over the July 4th weekend, we made a quick trip south to Dallas, and were blessed with a brief look at that particular...

On Canada, Conservatism, Tories, and Blackberries

Wichita, KS In honor of Canada Day, in the fine federation (though these days, in the eyes of a majority of Canadians, less a federation...

What’s Modernity Marx Got to Do With It? (FPR vs. PoMoCon, Part Drei)

Wichita, KS Blogger though I am, I can't deny that there is a major advantage to arguments conducted through the slower media of paper (to...

Communitarianism, Conservatism, Populism and Localism: An Updated Survey

Wichita, KS Michael Sandel's giving of the prestigious Reith Lectures for the BBC (hat tip: the ever-watchful Harry Brighouse at Crooked Timber) has prompted me...

The Front Porch Cyclist talks Autarchy

I have been remiss in following up on some superb thinking that has been going on, partly prompted by my earlier link to his...

Every Jar a Victory

Wichita, Kansas We feared that we'd missed out on fresh strawberries this year, both because there was an early April freeze and snowstorm that killed...

David Byrne tells us to Ride our Bikes

When hipsters like the former lead singer of the band Talking Heads are coming out in favor of the "pedaling revolution", can the masses...

Summertime Blues

Wichita, KS. I'm more than capable of putting on my localist and communitarian hat(s) during the fall, winter, and spring: I defend the public...