Rule or Paralysis
Much has been written about how Viktor Orbán supposedly engineered a political system tailored to his own advantage—only for it to ultimately turn against him. I cannot claim insight into…
Why Orbán Still Matters
At this stage in the development of the European branch of Western civilization, several underlying trends are becoming difficult to ignore: First, the populations of European countries are, on the…
Testing Social Change
Conservatives—among whom I would count myself in this context—have long warned against unconsidered changes to social norms, cautioning that such innovations may carry risks we do not fully understand. When…
Simplifying Blame
One of the basic findings of psychology is that wherever strong emotions are involved, it becomes very difficult for us to observe a conflict with any degree of balance. We…
The Expert Illusion
Philip Tetlock has spent decades studying the art—and failure—of forecasting. He gathered a vast archive of predictions, both published and private, tracked which ones came true, and sorted the results…
Rethinking Limited Government
It was once taken for granted that in times of war, government must be strong, decisive, and—if necessary—nearly unconstrained. Only such a government could marshal the resources required for victory.…