10 Greatest Speeches of All Time

03/09/201803/08/2018 Brandon Christensen Links citizenship, Douglas MacArthur, RealClearHistory, republicanism

That’s the topic of my latest column over at RealClearHistory. Obviously, I took a break from my World War I-themed posts to do this one. Here is an excerpt:

4. Duty, Honor, Country speech by Douglas MacArthur: May 12, 1962. General Douglas MacArthur was a divisive figure in his day. For many, he was too martial for a constitutional republic, too outspoken for a General, and some of the policies he argued for (foreign and domestic) were a bit too hawkish for my stomach. William Manchester’s biography of Douglas MacArthur, American Caesar, helped show me how important republican governance was to the General, though. MacArthur thought deeply about republicanism and the effects that war had on a republican citizen’s virtues and characteristics. I have the slight advantage of having Manchester’s work on MacArthur etched into the back of my mind while reading through the latter’s speech, given to cadets at West Point two years before his death: “His name and fame are the birthright of every American citizen. In his youth and strength, his love and loyalty, he gave all that mortality can give. He needs no eulogy from me; or from any other man. He has written his own history and written it in red on his enemy’s breast.” You can read the whole speech here.

These columns are aimed at a different crowd that what I am used to here at NOL, but I think I do a pretty decent job of weaving rather mundane topics (great speeches from an American point of view) into the fabric of more fundamental questions about our global society. Read the rest to find out if I’m way off the mark on this one.

Nightcap

03/08/201803/08/2018 Brandon Christensen Links craftsmanship, eccentricity, Switzerland, work

The Forgotten Everyday Origins of ‘Craft’ Sarah Archer, the Atlantic
Changes in the Nature of Work Jacques Delacroix, NOL
Why America Can’t Go Swiss on Guns Kevin Sullivan, RealClearWorld
Eccentric culture is what makes the West unique Rémi Brague, Montréal Review

Nightcap

03/07/201802/27/2018 Brandon Christensen Links China, individualism, internationalism, racism

China Portrays Racism as a Western Problem the Economist
Pure Racism and Chinese Dining Jacques Delacroix, NOL
Imagining a New China Fiammetta Rocco, 1843
A German’s View of China’s Rise Peter Gordon, Asian Review of Books

Nightcap

03/06/201802/28/2018 Brandon Christensen Links British politics, GDP (PPP) per capita, institutions, media studies

The Left’s Double Standard on the Power of Media Madeline Grant, CapX
What Happens Next for British Left? Zoe Williams, Times Literary Supplement
Americans are richer and happier than Europeans Scott Sumner, EconLog
South Africa decides Zimbabwe is an instruction manual Johnathan Pearce, Samizdata

Lunchtime Links

03/06/201803/06/2018 Brandon Christensen Links bureaucracy, Chris Dillow, David French, eh.net, governance, Hugo Kirk & Reid Smith, Mark Koyama, National Review, New York Times, Politico, RealClearDefense, Sendhil Mullainathan, separation of powers, state-building, Stumbling and Mumbling, Syria, Tyler Cowen, wage gap, Xenogoth

Mormons and California’s Gold Rush

03/06/2018 Brandon Christensen Links California, Gold Rush!, Historiat, Jacques Delacroix, Mormons, New York Times, protectionism, RealClearHistory, Samuel Brannan

The folks over at RealClearHistory have enjoyed my weekly column so much that they’ve invited me to write a second weekly column for their Historiat blog. I was tasked with writing the introductory essay for a blog that has been dormant for 3 years. Here’s an excerpt:

Initially the Mormon leadership in Nauvoo sought to establish a new homeland in northern California – which was far enough away from the American, Mexican, and British governments to be considered safe – and Brannan was tasked with the initial wave of settlement. Once Brigham Young reached the Salt Lake valley, however, he changed his mind and decided that the state of Deseret should be run from Salt Lake City instead of northern California. Much of this decision had to do with the fact that the trek from Nauvoo, Ill. to Utah was so arduous, and there was little inclination to keep pressing onward to northern California through the Great Basin’s high altitude desert. But Samuel Brannan’s success in San Francisco, coupled with his earlier wayward fancies, also played a part in Brigham Young’s decision to establish the Mormon church’s capital in Utah instead of northern California. Samuel Brannan was competing with Brigham Young to be the leader of the Mormon church.

Please, read the rest. I am not quite sure if there will be a specific day assigned for my Historiat posts, but my regularly-scheduled Friday column is still a thang.

I haven’t seen anybody here explain why Trump’s protectionist tariffs are horrible (yet), so here’s Jacques on the topic. Here is the NY Times on the same topic.

Nightcap

03/05/201802/26/2018 Brandon Christensen Links Henry George, innovation, populism, Robert Nozick

Europe’s new counter-revolution Jan Zielonka, OUPblog
Neutrality Loathsome Irfan Khawaja, Policy of Truth
German Digitalisierung versus American innovation Andreas Kluth, Handelsblatt
Land Value Tax: An Idea Whose Time Has Come Philip Bess, American Affairs

Nightcap

03/04/201802/25/2018 Brandon Christensen Links administrative law, constitutionalism, legal history, rule of law

The NLRB-Damore Memo Ken White, Popehat
Justice Sotomayor on legislative history Jonathan H Adler, Volokh Conspiracy
Bad legal news from China Scott Sumner, EconLog
Hobbesians vs. Rechtsstaaters Federico Sosa Valle, NOL

Nightcap

03/03/201802/25/2018 Brandon Christensen Links Antarctica, central planning, gun rights, scientific method

The Awesome, Amazing History of Antarctica Rhys Griffiths, History Today
Centrally Planned Security Doesn’t Work Either Jeffrey Tucker, Daily Economy
Gun Control: Centralized vs. Dispersed Rick Weber, NOL
Antarctic Ice Study Finds Freezing, Not Melting Douglas Fox, National Geographic

Nightcap

03/02/201802/24/2018 Brandon Christensen Links behavioral ecology, First World problems, labor unions, Syria

Male Violence Throughout History William Buckner, Quillette
The Police Have No Obligation to Protect You Tho Bishop, Power & Market (Mises)
Life in Syria Continues to Get Worse Krishnadev Calamur, the Atlantic
The Architectural Sacking of Paris Claire Berlinski, City Journal

World War I: a pity

03/02/201803/02/2018 Brandon Christensen History, Links British Empire, Dervish state, Ottoman Empire, Somalia, Somaliland, World War I

I will be dedicating many, if not most, of my columns at RealClearHistory to World War I over the next few months, mostly because it’s been 100 years since an armistice ended a war that was supposed to end all wars. Some of my thoughts will be heavy, but some, like this week’s, will be playful:

3. The Dervish state. This small state in the Horn of Africa was renowned throughout Europe and the Middle East for ably fending off challenges from Italians, the British, and the Ottomans during the roughly 25 years of its existence. The Dervish state openly resisted attempts at colonization during the Scramble for Africa and was recognized as a major ally by the German Empire and the Ottoman Empire. Being a small, independent state in the Horn of Africa, Dervish’s leaders played it smart and offered Ottoman and German troops assistance lightly, preferring instead to pay close attention to the realities of its allies’ war situation. When Istanbul and Berlin surrendered in 1918, no tears were shed by the Dervish. The state was conquered by the British Empire two years later, in 1920.

The piece is about some of the countries that played lesser roles in World War I. Please, read the whole thing. Any suggestions for next week’s column? (Bearing in mind that the theme is World War I.)