Ronald W. Dworkin

Ronald W. Dworkin is a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, at the University of Virginia. He is the author of four books and numerous magazine essays.

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7 Posts

An image of America personified as a Roma goddess, guided by Minerva, with shield and flag.

From Imperium to Expansionism

Donald Trump is often described as an imperialist and an expansionist and these terms are usually used interchangeably. Neither of these descriptions is meant to be flattering, but the larger problem is that they are imprecise.

Ronald W. Dworkin

24 Feb 2025 · 13 min read

A Very American Madness

America is not fallen; it is simply given to periodic bouts of insanity. The patient is tiresome; the patient is ridiculous; but the patient is stable.

Ronald W. Dworkin

12 Dec 2024 · 17 min read

Selling Happiness Through Illusions

The caring industry’s wellness and positivity products cannot provide self-esteem to those who do not already have it.

Ronald W. Dworkin

30 Aug 2024 · 15 min read

The Radical Humanitarian Doctrine

Those who demand an end to all suffering at any cost exhibit a utopian foolishness.

Ronald W. Dworkin

14 Nov 2023 · 10 min read

Hope, Trust, and Religious Faith

In the 1990s, religious Americans embraced science’s re-definition of spirituality. They would be unwise to repeat this mistake.

Ronald W. Dworkin

17 Jan 2023 · 11 min read

The New Prohibition

The neuroscientific model of addiction is at odds with our freedom to experience the sensual life.

Ronald W. Dworkin

25 Jul 2022 · 10 min read

The Ideological Aversion to Harm Reduction

Putting a patient under general anesthesia is a dangerous business. Waking a patient up from anesthesia is an ugly one. After I turn off the gas the patient typically thrashes and writhes like a sinner in Hell. Yet such resistance has never bothered me. I don’t want good and

Ronald W. Dworkin

17 Mar 2022 · 9 min read