Author Archives: Andrew Stuttaford

Against the “Ultimate Indignity”

The Economist is a magazine (or ‘newspaper’ as it likes to style itself) that has badly lost its way, abandoning the quirky classical liberalism of a three or four decades ago for a bien pensant Davos liberalism that is as … Continue reading

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The Pope and Peronism

Cross-posted on the Corner. Uki Goñi has written an article for the New York Times on Pope Francis’s Peronist roots.Here’s an extract: Less known is that Perón took his cue from the politicized Catholic leaders of ’30s Argentina. Church leaders … Continue reading

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The Francis Effect?

I’ve no doubt that Pope Francis’s visit to the US will be a great success (and I have very little doubt that Speaker Boehner will come to regret having invited the pontiff to speak to a joint session of Congress). … Continue reading

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“In a battle of facile narratives, the one with more action wins”

Writing in the Independent, Howard Jacobson on reactions to the terrorist atrocities in London ten years ago and some uncomfortable truths about which ‘narratives’ appeal: “We need a counter-narrative.” How often have we heard that since 7/7? We need to … Continue reading

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Pope Francis in Bolivia: The ‘Dung of the Devil’ and Other Matters

Cross-posted on the Corner. Even by the standards of this pontiff, Pope Francis’s speech yesterday in Bolivia to a crowd that included the country’s president wearing a jacket emblazoned with the face of a mass-murderer (Che Guevara, in case you … Continue reading

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Pope Francis and the “Poverty of Ambition”

Writing for the Daily Beast, Joel Kotkin on Pope Francis’s Laudato Si: With Francis’s pontifical blessing , the greens have now found a spiritual hook that goes beyond the familiar bastions of the academy, bureaucracy, and the media and reaches … Continue reading

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Happy Independence Day!

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The Encyclical – Old Nonsense in New (Green) Clothing

Writing in Reason, Brendan O’Neill takes a more secular look at the Pope’s eco-encyclical: Here’s an extract: [W]hat will be the end result of our wicked urge to own things? Mayhem, of course. All the pollution produced in the making … Continue reading

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A Premodern/Postmodern Pope?

Cross-posted on the Corner. From First Things, an interesting take on the pope’s eco-encyclical by R.R. Reno. Here’s an extract: “Everything is connected” is [the Pope’s] mantra in Laudato Si. True to this principle, Francis links his suspicion of science … Continue reading

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Britain’s Government: #PasCharlie

The presence of British Prime Minister David Cameron, no friend of free speech, at the march in Paris after the Charlie Hebdo killings was, in the scheme of things, a comparatively minor moment of hypocrisy. Nevertheless, it’s always helpful to … Continue reading

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