Man does not live of Sony alone

We may have disagreed with Samuel Huntington on many things, but he was right about the cultural tone-deafness of today's western elites. It is the most lasting heritage of Marxism: the belief that only economics are real, and all other human factors will yield to economic realities.

It is if it changes

This article clearly touched a raw nerve (as confirmed by the multitude of comments), namely the possibility that Christianity may be something so real that it is able to change people. This is a sensitive spot for post-enlightment Western culture, which is based on the assumption that human reason is naturally capable of building civilization, and cannot accept that human reason itself may be in need of redemption.

Big difference

Ross Douthat on the cultural effects of Christmas.

Deepest questions

The Alpha course is a significant phenomenon.

Higher standards

People on both political sides seem excited about the new secretary of education.

Helpless before their finitude

Leon Wieseltier" is sick and tired of the important people.

Under pressure

Don't forget the Copts.

Conflict brewing

Right of conscience regulations are going to be a major political battleground in the next few years.

Inhuman

A North Korean story.

La volonté générale

Czech president Vaclav Klaus meets the children of 1968. They don't care what he thinks, or how people voted. Being true heirs of Rousseau, they EMBODY the will of the people. The poor guy thought totalitarianism ended in 1989 ("19 years ago").

Garbage in garbage out

Spengler sees a silver lining in the economic crisis.

Soma

Just wait until your employer provides you with some good stuff for free.

England is finished

When you read the word "understanding" (as opposed to learning) six times in the same paragraph and hear that children will be taught "practical skills" for "real-life situations" (as opposed to any real content), you can be sure that an educational system is being actively destroyed by a clique of academic pedagogists.

Ideology rules

If you care to know how bad the situation really is in Pakistan, an excellent source is Syed Saleem Shahzad . To him it seems absolutely obvious that the ONLY reason the Pakistanis may crack down on out-of-control Islamic militants is because of the pressure from Washington. That suggests that this plan is probably wishful thinking.

Creeping vocationalism

Victor Davis Hanson again. After you skip the first seven paragraphs on the merits of classical education (nothing wrong there, just a bit cliche), his analysis of what's happening to the university system is quite acute.

Leave them alone

Ross Douthat again, this time on the Republican party and pro-lifers.

Warm and fuzzy and content-free

All of us who work in education have met powerful people like Ms.Darling-Hammond.

The end of the left

Peter Berkowitz reviews the latest book by Bernard-Henry Levy. Apparently BHL regards Nietzsche as the embodiment of the liberal spirit. Since he is a respected philosopher we must hold our judgement, but for anybody else this opinion would suggest excessive intake of cocaine.