Between 1920 and 1933 America engaged in a “Noble Experiment”—prohibiting “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes” via the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. The amendment was repealed in 1933. As
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A couple of months ago, when I first began writing for Intellectual Takeout, I wrote a piece about the difference between arguing and quarreling. I referred to G. K. Chesterton’s quip, concerning his relationship with his brother, that they were always arguing but they never quarreled. Chesterton’s point is that arguing is good, whereas quarreling
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Consumer advocate Ralph Nader was interviewed by Lydia DePillis of Pacific Standard magazine on Monday, and the left-wing populist had some interesting things to say. You can read the entire interview here, which is pretty colorful and interesting. (Nader is nothing if not blunt and entertaining in his assessments.) Below are some of the highlights.
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In November 2012, I attended a conservative State Policy Network (SPN) conference the week after President Obama had won reelection. As you might imagine, the mood among the conservative think-tank attendees was rather somber. In spite of all their efforts over the past four years, the more liberal presidential candidate had defeated the more conservative
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One important skill of critical thinking is distinguishing facts from “factoids.” An example of the latter is the oft-repeated statistic that “50 percent of American marriages end in divorce.” That’s been repeated so often that most people believe it, but it’s actually been debunked. We’re all familiar with debunking. But what happens when, ironically enough,
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America’s education system is increasingly “democratic.” It expends tremendous amounts of money and energy on ushering all students toward college and on closing “gaps” between high- and low-performing students. But according to C.S. Lewis, these concerns indicate a wrong understanding of democracy as it applies to education—one that indeed threatens a nation’s survival. In 1944 he wrote the
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