Minor Self Indulgence…

This is extremely, possibly excessively self-indulgent but I wanted to collect some of my favourite pieces from 2018. If one writes a lot one often forgets past articles and allows them to drift into the dark, unlovely wastelands of the Internet. These are some pieces I would not abandon.

1. “Reading Chatwin in Silesia“, Front Porch Republic.

I’m very proud of this piece, for integrating my interest in the local and communal with my love of my hometown.

2. “Poland at a Hundred Years of Independence“, American Affairs.

I tend not to write about Polish politics, both because my expertise is limited and because I have no wish to tell Poles what to do, but in this piece I think I offered clear analysis, which is often lacking elsewhere.

3. “Confessions of a Jet-Set Conservative“, University Bookman.

Writing hatchet jobs is always fun, and filleting Max Boot’s lamentable if accidentally insightful cri de coeur for conservatism was especially so.

4. “In Memory of the Spanish Flu“, Quillette.

This might have been one of the least read articles in Quillette‘s history, but the Spanish Flu is a historical phenomenon that deserves more attention, for the sake of its victims and its implications.

5. “A Manifesto for Classical Liberalism“, Jacobite.

This was a mean little satire, but it made me laugh to write it, and laugh harder when people took it seriously.

6. “What Conservatism Isn’t“, Arc Digital.

I don’t have a clear enough worldview to write a statement of principles but in writing what I disagree with I think I shed some light on my beliefs.

7. “In Defence of Male Stoicism“, Quillette.

On what I think is an underappreciated psychological perspective.

8. ““Anti-Imperialism” and Apologetics for Murder“, Quillette.

Exploring the newly relevant history of left-wing third worldism.

9. “The Architecture of Annihilation“, Wandering Near Sawtry.

No one wanted to publish this essay on futurism, urbanism and AI but I was quite proud of it.

10. “The Curious Case of Ron Unz“, The Spectator USA.

The “point and splutter” school of journalism is rather sordid but I thought the case of Mr Unz, a Jewish millionaire who attributes what he thinks was the invention of the Holocaust, the assassinations of JFK and RFK and the alleged “inside job” that was 9/11 to Jewish people was exceptionally interesting, and was glad I managed to explore and address his views without a lot of ad hominem attacks or intrusiveness.

Thank you for reading in 2018. Have a lovely Christmas.