by jpitney | Mar 11, 2025 | civic virtue, Tocqueville
Daniel Stid at AEI: Tocqueville’s concern about the government’s domestication of nonprofits would no doubt increase after learning how many of them rely on public funding from different levels of government (over and above the subsidy they get via the tax...
by jpitney | Mar 9, 2025 | civic virtue, Civility
Hugo Balta at The Fulcrum: Civility in politics faces numerous obstacles. Hyper-partisanship has created an environment where compromise is often seen as a weakness rather than a necessary tool for governance. When politicians and citizens prioritize ideological...
by jpitney | Feb 13, 2025 | civic virtue
George Thomas at The Atlantic: The founding generation’s fear of demagogues is well known. Alexander Hamilton insisted on the problem in Federalist No. 1: “Of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by...
by jpitney | Jan 8, 2025 | civic virtue, Congress, Deliberation, Elections, House of Representatives, Transparency, Volunteering
Philip Wallach at AEI: As it scrambled to pass a continuing resolution and avoid a government shutdown at the end of 2024, the 118th Congress ended much as it began—with serious doubts as to whether America’s legislature can rise to the level of bare competence. The...
by jpitney | Aug 26, 2024 | Civic Education, civic virtue, Constitution, Separation of Powers
Frederick M. Hess at AEI: Self-government depends on our accepting electoral outcomes or court decisions even when we disagree vehemently with the result. It depends on presidents and voters understanding that the executive branch isn’t empowered to spend billions of...
by jpitney | Aug 11, 2024 | Civic Education, civic virtue, Civility, Higher Education
Former Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) — now president of the University of Texas at El Paso — writes at The Austin American-Statesman: Universities should do more to restore the institutions that matter most by encouraging and requiring students to serve...
