Leo Strauss is often blamed for inspiring neoconservatism, and by extension, the most zealous forms of interventionism it produced.
In his latest, @RonDodson adds to the writings of those who have worked to correct the record on a Straussian approach to foreign policy.
In his latest, @RonDodson adds to the writings of those who have worked to correct the record on a Straussian approach to foreign policy.
A truly Straussian foreign policy is realist in understanding and restrained in action, because it recognizes that both domestic and international politics are governed by the tragic limits of human wisdom and the necessity of prioritizing one’s own polis.
As Thucydides saw, nations move by fear, honor, and interest.
Realism teaches us to see the world as it is.
Restraint teaches us to act justly within it.
Together, they form the patriotic ethic of responsibility: do the right deed, in the right measure, at the right time.
Realism teaches us to see the world as it is.
Restraint teaches us to act justly within it.
Together, they form the patriotic ethic of responsibility: do the right deed, in the right measure, at the right time.
Straussian prudence—phronēsis—calls us to defend the good life of our own citizens, not to universalize our ideals by force.
Strauss notes throughout history, that empire dissipates virtue, and self-government cultivates it.
Strauss notes throughout history, that empire dissipates virtue, and self-government cultivates it.
By accepting the limits of power, restraint preserves both liberty and virtue. Both Washington and Lincoln knew this, and so too should our leaders today.
To recover that wisdom is the moral task of American statecraft in our time.
To recover that wisdom is the moral task of American statecraft in our time.
Read @RonDodson's latest here. americanmind.org/salvo/foreign-…
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