– July 8, 2021The Chinese Communist Party recently celebrated its 100th birthday, which came accompanied by grand celebrations and a stirring speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping. In the speech Xi recounted the history of the party and the achievements of the People’s Republic of China. He also reiterated some of China’s top priorities such as continuing to modernize its military, maintaining economic growth, preserving its political model, and resisting foreign attempts to curtail its objectives.
While China has certainly made great strides both economically and politically, a look past the soaring rhetoric reveals more problems than strengths.
Many China experts in the United States certainly took alarm at Xi’s speech such as Gordan Chang, who was quoted in Fox News when they wrote,
It should be safe to say that the United States is finally starting to move past Covid-19 as herd immunity nears closer and closer. The debate over whether lockdowns were a good pandemic response has been raging since day one with each side attempting to grasp at whatever immediate evidence is available.
The overwhelming evidence at this point seems to suggest that after controlling for various outliers, most sweeping policy responses like stay-at-home orders and business closures have very little correlation with stopping Covid-19. After factoring in the economic and social damage of lockdown policies, the case for their long-term use becomes untenable. This fact has been hinted at almost since the beginning of the pandemic and increasingly confirmed by the latest data.
The year is 1535 and Saint Thomas More is on trial for high treason for refusing to acknowledge the legitimacy of King Henry VIII in an ongoing feud with the Catholic Church. More posed a now-famous question to the jury that roughly goes as follows:
“Some men say the earth is flat. Some men say the earth is round. But if it is flat. Could Parliament make it round? And if it is round. Could the king’s command flatten it?”
This question was both common sense and profound. Of course, the government could not change the shape of the Earth. However, by accepting this premise the jury also must accept that there were natural and just limits on the power of government, including King Henry. Such a realization is in line with the concept of the natural law which sets forth the basic tenets of a free society such as the value of individual freedom and private property. The idea of the natural law sets forth a universal system of natural right and wrong such as don’t hurt othe
Wed, 03 Mar 2021 18:52 UTC
I don t think anyone needs a reminder that social justice is a touchy subject in higher education. As someone who spent three years at my alma mater working under the Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, I would know. As someone who also was and still is highly involved in Classical Liberal and Conservative intellectual circles, I was in the odd middle ground of people who didn t care much about taking sides. I just wanted people of all backgrounds to get a quality education.
I certainly saw the need for more diversity on campus whether that was ethnic, cultural, financial, or intellectual. I m sure we can all agree that that kind of diversity is the spice of life. You should be able to go to college and truly open your mind to the world, whether that be partaking in interesting cultural experiences or learning about the biggest ideas, be it Karl Marx, Aristotle, or Friedrich Hayek. I don t care if you want to party all day at a frat or sta