To Stand up to China, the West Must First Re-Discover Itself Henry George The Right - “The lack of backbone displayed by Western leaders when dealing with China is symbolic of the malaise that has been gripping Western culture for decades.” 4/21/2020
The Many Problems with Marxism Gerfried Ambrosch The Center - “I recently met up with an old friend, a staunch Marxist, at a traditional Viennese café to catch up and talk about our political differences. After hours of discussion, he admitted, ‘Well, ultimately, it’s a question of faith.'” 4/15/2020
Merion West: Why We Do What We Do Erich J. Prince The Center - “Just as some married couples renew their vows, we, as a publication, will take a moment to do the same and explain why we’re still doing what we’re doing.” 1/31/2020
Nietzschean Thirst Brandon Tucker The Center - “Those known as ‘the rabble,’ whom Zarathustra describes as fit only to be slaves, ultimately dwell within every human soul. It is that lowly thing in each of us which must be pitilessly overcome.” 1/26/2020
I Didn’t Vote for Trump But Strongly Oppose His Impeachment Kevin Turner The Right - “However, now—after seeing how he has been treated by Democrats since he was elected—he will have my vote in 2020.” 1/25/2020
Enough Empathy: the Case for Punching Down Alexander Zubatov The Center - “…because heedless empathy for the worst among us is currently leading us on the downward-sloping path to mediocrity and beyond.” 1/14/2020
Editor’s Choice: The Best Interviews of 2019 Erich J. Prince The Center - As is tradition at Merion West, here are the editor’s choices for our favorite Merion West interviews of 2019. 12/31/2019
Editor’s Choice: The Best Articles of 2019 Erich J. Prince The Center - As is tradition at Merion West, here are the editor’s choices for our favorite Merion West articles of 2019. 12/30/2019
As the Year Closes: Appreciating One’s Political Opponents Matt McManus The Left - “In this spirit I would like to thank all the many individuals who have written or commented on my writing the last year, especially those who have offered sincere and interesting criticisms that have helped me develop my understanding of the world.” 12/12/2019
Why Everyone Is Talking about Josh Hawley Henry George The Right - “Hawley talks again and again about the importance of community and criticizes those on both sides of the political aisle who pay fealty to an individualism that puts the self-creating individual at the summit of what constitutes the good.“ 12/2/2019
Somewhere Between the Marquis de Sade and the Twist Clint Margrave The Center - “…nor could [Houellebecq] have emerged from the hundreds of wallet-siphoning creative writing MFA programs, whose grasp on the American literary world has sanitized literature to an unreadable degree.” 10/27/2019
Jordan Peterson, Nietzsche, and Avoiding Living for Happiness Alone Alessandro van den Berg The Center - “The resistance displayed towards these important thinkers is most regrettable, and for all the Complacent Men quick to criticize them, doing so makes you no closer to achieving your ever so desired—and elusive—’happiness.'” 10/3/2019
Having Lived in the Marshall Islands, I Understand Greta’s Concerns Gabriel Andrade The Center - “In 2016, fleeing Venezuela’s socialism, I took a teaching job in Majuro, the capital of the Republic of the Marshall Islands.” 9/30/2019
Where Tolstoy Departs from Dostoevsky Matt McManus The Left - “Tolstoy was not naïve in thinking that social and political reform would end all forms of evil in human life. Like Dostoevsky, he was very well aware that much wickedness flowed from the pride and vanity of men like Napoleon or the Russian tsars.” 8/12/2019
Sen. David Perdue: Making Washington More Results-Oriented Erich J. Prince The Right - “We need to go back to what the Founding Fathers and Mothers had in mind: a citizen-legislator—somebody that comes here, tries to get results, and then goes home and lets the next person try.” 7/16/2019
Dostoevsky’s Extremely Thoughtful Critique of the Left Matt McManus The Left - “People do not truly want an end to suffering in all cases…They need challenges in order to feel the thrill of victory, guilt over their actions to have a chance at redemption, and the possibility of rejection and hatred to feel any deep form of love.” 7/15/2019
One-on-One with Howard Dean Erich J. Prince The Left - “So I’m going to answer your question, but I want to preface it by saying most people do not vote on policies. They think they do, but they don’t. Even smart, educated people who think they do even more so don’t.” 6/11/2019
We Will All Be Banned Allen Farrington The Center - “TechCrunch uses the word ‘hate’ so many times—and so without any obvious meaning, that it strikes me as likely a form of attempted Pavlovian conditioning.” 6/10/2019
When We Make Political Pawns of Children Samuel Forster The Center - “Every January, toddlers hold signs with messages that they cannot possibly understand. But children also hold signs they might passively understand, and teenagers hold signs they probably understand, if only imperfectly.” 6/3/2019
On Trump Hatred: A Plea from the Heart(land) David Eisenberg The Center - “Many features of this region have stood out—but few more prominently than the generosity of its people. They are devoted to their churches; they volunteer their time; they give to charity; they start charities; they adopt children.” 5/13/2019
The Enduring Relevance of Philip K. Dick Matt McManus The Left - “We turned to technology as a substitute for our inability to deal with the persistent riddles of existence and the lack of meaning in our life in a post-God era.” 5/10/2019
Interview with Former Rep. Tom Davis: Can Earmarks Fix Congress? Erich J. Prince The Right - “In my district, I wasn’t just Tom Davis—I was ‘Mr. Woodrow Wilson Bridge.’ I was the guy who closed Morton and got 3,000 acres donated to the county. Those were the kinds of tangible efforts where people may not like my party, but they saw some redeeming qualities in me to keep me around.” 4/26/2019
Slavoj Žižek, Jordan Peterson, and Atheists Who Believe in God Allen Farrington The Center - “Peterson’s importance is his powerful and influential insistence that religion is not arbitrary or malevolent—that in every developed form we encounter it, religious stories are archetypal of the human condition in a way nothing else can or ever will be.” 4/25/2019
Lincoln Chafee Joins Erich Prince: Lessons from Running for President Erich J. Prince The Left - “In my opening statement I said, ‘In thirty years of public service, I never had a scandal.’ The murmur of boos in the audience—I guess they saw that as a dig at the other candidates.” 4/23/2019
The Cinnabon Made Me Do It: Surprising Influences on Moral Behavior Christian Miller The Center - “These factors seem to have a demonstrable impact on our behavior, and yet are morally irrelevant in the sense that they should not matter to what a morally virtuous person would do. What should we make of results like these?” 4/22/2019
What Notre Dame Says about Civilization Henry George The Right - “The destruction of Notre Dame has shaken our complacent belief in the permanence of things and the ability for our culture to last without care and cultivation. It reveals and reminds us that life is a fragile thing, and even the strongest bastions dedicated to the eternal can still be brought down.” 4/17/2019
Interview: Vice President Mondale Comments on Today’s Democratic Party Erich J. Prince The Left - “I told one of the other senators, ‘You’re a very pleasant, sweet person. But deep down, the public wants a son-of-a-gun. You’ve got to get stuff done.'” 4/11/2019
Editor’s Choice: The Best Political Speeches of the Past 55 Years Erich J. Prince The Center - A few recent political speeches worthy of the history books. 3/7/2019
Interview: Jonathan Haidt on What Underlies Polarization in America Erich J. Prince The Center - “In a sense, the Founding Fathers feared democracy because of the tendency of people to be carried away by their passion and easily led astray by demagogues, and I think that our modern polarization, augmented by social media, could well bring their worst fears to reality.” 1/30/2019
Editor’s Choice: The Best Articles of 2018 Erich J. Prince The Center - A look back at our editor’s choices for our favorite Merion West articles of 2018. 12/31/2018
Editor’s Choice: The Best Interviews of 2018 Erich J. Prince The Center - A look back at our editor’s choices for our favorite Merion West interviews of 2018. 12/28/2018
Analysis: Why Is Iowa a Purple State? Matthew Pinna The Right - What factors make Iowa in play for both Republicans and Democrats? 12/1/2018
Interview with Nassir Ghaemi: Can Mental Illness Make More Effective Politicians? Erich J. Prince The Center - “One of the basic concepts I had was that if there are some benefits to having some depression manic symptoms; the corollary is that there are some limitations to being normal and mentally healthy.” 11/17/2018
Interview: How Dollars and Cents Propel Sensational Media Coverage Erich J. Prince The Center - “I suggest that the ebbing of polarization has already been occurring. We’re just not aware of it because of what’s presented to us in the media. If you look at the polling numbers, Democrats and Republicans are minorities; the plurality of Americans identify as independents.” 9/10/2018
Jordan Peterson and Living with My Disability Henry George The Right - This article is more personal. I have some experience with Peterson’s description of suffering, and I believe that what he says is right. 9/2/2018