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The Last Twinkie

by John Horvat II November 21, 2013November 29, 2012

Written by Gary Isbell * From an economic point of view, it was an almost insignificant event. A major American firm lamentably went bankrupt as many do. These things are to be expected in the present financial climate. However, from a cultural point of view, this particular failure, and the manner in which it happened, … Read more

High-Frequency Trading: Markets on Steroids

by John Horvat II November 21, 2013November 27, 2012

The purpose of the stock market is to provide liquidity to investors who know with certainty that they can buy and sell their shares at any time. In this way, the market serves as a constant encouragement to invest capital in sectors of the economy while limiting risks. Thus, the market fulfills a need in society and can contribute to economic prosperity.

However, it is no secret that the stock market has often favored reckless activities and speculation that depart from this purpose. It has given rise to crashes, manias and panics that turns this instrument of sound investment into a financial casino where everyone plays the market in hopes of cashing in at the right moment. Stockbrokers are always coming up with new ways to beat the market. Such practices are perfect examples of what has been called frenetic intemperance – a reckless and restless spirit inside modern economy that seeks to throw off all restraint.

Embedding Honor in Society, Restoring Trust

by John Horvat II April 11, 2017November 26, 2012

We must ask how a rule of honor can be restored. To this we would reply: fill society with principles, ideas and moral values and the influence of the rule of money will greatly diminish. Free Audio Book: Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society—Where We’ve Been, How We Got … Read more

The Massification of the Culture Leads to the Massification of People

by John Horvat II April 19, 2016November 25, 2012

massified — “extreme individualism leads to the demise of community”

One major consequence of our mass culture is that we no longer see ourselves as social beings, but rather as the center of a separate little world with no essential need of betterment through society. In such a vision, notes philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre, we “see in the social world nothing but a meeting place for individual wills, each with its own set of attitudes and preferences and who understand that world solely as an arena for the achievement of their own satisfaction, who interpret reality as a series of opportunities for their enjoyment.” [ref] Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory, 3rd ed. (Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 2007), 25.[/ref]

Cryonics: An Example of the False Promises of Technology

by John Horvat II November 21, 2013November 24, 2012

At the time of the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century, technology awakened great expectations and enthusiasm. The prospect of a kind of technological utopia electrified the air. There was a subconscious yet unbounded confidence in technology, vaguely analogous to the absolute confidence that Christians once placed in Divine Providence. So great was the hope … Read more

18,000 Hostess Jobs Gone – The Root of the Issue

by John Horvat II November 21, 2013November 23, 2012

The reporting of the debate between Hostess and its bakery union is not getting to the core of this issue, a critical one which profoundly affects the economy today: The foundation of amicable employer – employee relationships.

Tragically, under this rule of money, men adopt a corresponding set of values that takes root in society. We see an entirely different way of looking at life where social, cultural, and moral values are put aside. In their place is a set of values that attaches more importance to quantity over quality, utility over beauty, matter over spirit.

We Must Fight for America – Not Secede from America

by John Horvat II November 21, 2013November 21, 2012

While we must kill the cancer, we must also defend the body. For this reason, we must also vigorously defend the many excellent values that still exist in America. In the order of economics, we must defend sound principles like private property and free enterprise, which are according to natural law and form the foundation … Read more

We Must Resist the Temptation to Secession

by John Horvat II June 14, 2016November 20, 2012

In face of the great discontent with the current economic and moral crisis we must resist the temptation to simply write off the present system with all its problems. We must avoid the defeatist attitude of those who advocate isolating themselves from society and awaiting better days. In individualist fashion, they would take care of … Read more

The Different Roads of the Authentic and Inauthentic Elites

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira October 12, 2020November 19, 2012

When a person acquires a fortune, whether by his own merit or inheritance, two roads lie before him: He can take the arduous road to secure for himself, or his descendants, an entrance into the traditional elites; or he can take the easy path, becoming a toad.

The Case Against Secession

by John Horvat II November 21, 2013November 16, 2012

I can understand the angst of many Americans after the last elections. There is the growing sensation that government is not responsive anymore to the needs and desires of countless citizens in the vast red-state heartland.

Many want out and see secession from the Union as a way to leave the problem behind. Others simply want to register their protest and as a knee jerk reaction signed one of the numerous petitions asking for secession. All this is understandable – although if one’s problem with the government has reached the point of asking for secession, the last place I would want my name is on a petition lodged on the databases of the White House’s computers.

While I can understand the frustration, I take issue with secession for several reasons. The first is because I do not think it will resolve the problem. I am only too willing to admit that the federal government inside the beltway leaves much to be desired. However, our federal legislators come from the states. The main problem lies with the insufficiency of our whole political class and it extends across state lines. The dearth of leadership we experience is universal. I do not see any guarantees that the problems that are the cause of so much frustration on the federal level will not repeat themselves on the state level. Exchanging one set of federal unresponsive leaders for a set of similar state leaders hardly seems a solution.