About Schmitt

Some readers would find it strange that I, a self-described tory, would express general agreement with a Chronicle of Higher Education article linking contemporary Republican political rhetoric with the political writings of Carl Schmitt (pictured right), a right-wing German writer who belonged to the Nazi party but whose writings still inspire right-wing and left-writing polemicists today.  But I do. I’ll even go one step further by recommending it as essential reading.

We are, after all, a liberal nation, albeit one constructed on ancient social, cultural and moral foundations — in a manner of speaking, radical whiggism tempered by tradition.

In this respect, I am a liberal who believes that open, public discourse is critical to the success and survival of the American system and that consensus is vital for this dialogue to occur.

The sort of scorched earth, slash-and-burn rhetoric associated with Ann Coulter and the like eats away at this consensus like an acid and is alien to American liberal idealism. The same holds true for the writings of Carl Schmitt.