Matt McManus - Quillette

The Frankfurt School and the Allure of Submission

For Fromm, Horkheimer, and Adorno, this project could only end in a desire for mass death. This is because, in a nihilistic sense, death is the ultimate form of order, stripped of all the anxieties and challenges which come with life.

Matt McManus

4 Sep 2019 · 8 min read

The Argument for Equality and Fairness

Some progressives may indeed be primarily motivated by resentment, but that does not in itself invalidate the argument to pursue greater equality.

Matt McManus

14 Aug 2019 · 10 min read

Human Dignity and Human Rights

But it does mean that arbitrary factors, such as whether one is born into a wealthy family or happens to be part of some historically elevated demographic, should not determine where people end up

Matt McManus

13 Jul 2019 · 7 min read

The Inner Nature of Freedom

The primarily political differences, therefore, emerge over how best to realize freedom, and of course, what freedom itself means.

Matt McManus

22 Jun 2019 · 10 min read

Michael Oakeshott and the Intellectual Roots of Postmodern Conservatism

For instance, postmodern conservatives are reticent to trust rationalistic arguments made by cosmopolitan “elites” who stress that we have moral obligations to all individuals, regardless of where they come from.

Matt McManus

25 May 2019 · 10 min read

Why We Should Read Heidegger

The ascendancy of technical reason and instrumentalization, Heidegger thought, generated highly inauthentic individuals who were unable to live meaningful lives.

Matt McManus

4 May 2019 · 10 min read

Why We Should Read Nietzsche

My sense is that Nietzsche is best understood as a radical individualist; one who insists passionately that our duty in life is to become what we are. But what kind of person is that?

Matt McManus

22 Apr 2019 · 11 min read

Why We Should Read Marx

Marx was an acute social analyst whose insights have appeared in novel places. Even conservative and pro-capitalist figures—from Max Weber to Joseph Schumpeter—have at times grudgingly conceded the accuracy of his analysis on many points of importance.

Matt McManus

17 Mar 2019 · 10 min read

Why We Should Read Rousseau

It is certainly the case that Rousseau was not an unambiguous friend to the liberal Enlightenment.

Matt McManus

2 Mar 2019 · 10 min read

How Should We Read the Totalitarian Philosophers?

This is particularly true of Marx and (especially) Heidegger, who gave concrete support to parties and proposals that resulted in the deaths of millions of people.

Matt McManus

30 Jan 2019 · 10 min read

On the Value of Truth

Very few of us can actually deal with too much truth, so we rarely enquire too deeply into the justifications for our beliefs.

Matt McManus

16 Jan 2019 · 11 min read

The Frankfurt School and Postmodern Philosophy

The claim that the work of postmodern philosophers is a continuation of Marxism by other means is quite strange, both philosophically and politically.

Matt McManus

3 Jan 2019 · 9 min read

On God and Politics: Comparing Žižek and Peterson

Both claim to not believe in some God who literally exists as an independent being. Both believe that a proper conception of God engenders support for the individual and personal freedom.

Matt McManus

31 Oct 2018 · 11 min read

The Virtue of Nationalism—An Internationalist's Critique

The second and most impressive section of the book lays out Hazony’s principled arguments for adopting a vision of the world order characterized by an 'order of independent nation states.'

Matt McManus

5 Oct 2018 · 11 min read

Understanding Postmodern Conservatism: A Reply To Aaron Hanlon

Professor Hanlon argues that, far from independently causing Trump, many postmodern theorists can actually help us understand the rise of Trumpism.

Matt McManus

4 Sep 2018 · 11 min read