A Conflict of Visions: Left, Right, and the Future of American Politics
Matthew Continetti | June 25 - 29
Follow the news closely and you will notice that the people who support tax cuts also support gun rights and a large military budget. You will notice that the people who want to raise taxes also tend to support gun control and less defense spending. But why does this happen? What is the common thread that unites such disparate topics?
Beginning with A Conflict of Visions (1988), the economist and social thinker Thomas Sowell has attempted to answer exactly this question. This course will follow Sowell’s lead. By reading the smartest minds on the left and right debate issues such as foreign development, crime, constitutional law, inequality, and war, we will unearth the assumptions that inform political thinking. Not only will we become grounded in the arguments of right and left on specific matters of public concern. We will also begin to understand why some people are on the right and others are on the left. And maybe, just maybe, how right and left could work together.
What factors contribute to the economic growth of developing nations?
What is the cause of criminal behavior?
Why is income inequality a bad thing?
What is the role of law in a society: an instrument of social change or an impartial arbiter of justice?
Could war be prevented if countries only understood each other better?
Is there such a thing as social justice? If so, what is it?
Meet the Instructor
Matthew Continetti
Washington Free Beacon
Matthew Continetti is editor in chief of the Washington Free Beacon. Before founding the Beacon, he was opinion editor of the Weekly Standard, where he remains a contributing editor. He writes a monthly column—“Mediacracy”—in Commentary and is a contributing editor to National Affairs. In addition to those publications, Continetti’s articles and reviews have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Claremont Review of Books. Continetti is the author of two books: The K Street Gang: The Rise and Fall of the Republican Machine (Doubleday, 2006) and The Persecution of Sarah Palin: How the Elite Media Tried to Bring Down a Rising Star (Sentinel, 2009). He is a graduate of Columbia University, where he majored in history.