Roger Kimball

Roger Kimball is the editor and publisher of The New Criterion and publisher of Encounter Books. His most recent book is “Where Next? Western Civilization at the Crossroads.”

Stillbirth of a Meme, With a Brief Cadenza on ‘Lawfare’

I suspect that the effort to weaponize the word 'felon' (or 'convicted felon') is going to have a ...

Viewpoints June 3, 2024
Annals of the Art World: Everything Old Is New Again

Some modern artists pretend to be “challenging” or “transgressing” conventional boundaries, but all such boundaries were long ago ...

Viewpoints May 30, 2024
Is Utilitarianism Useful?

To the extent that we see ourselves as moral creatures—whose lives are bounded by an ideal of freedom—utilitarianism ...

Viewpoints May 20, 2024
A Healing Zephyr of a Book

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that a book containing instructions on how to make catapults was published ...

Viewpoints May 15, 2024
The Lessons of Culture

Culture is a precious inheritance, immeasurably more difficult to achieve than to destroy, and, once destroyed, almost irretrievable.

Viewpoints May 2, 2024
The DMV as an Allegory of American Decadence

Commentary I suppose that nearly every adult (I’ll come back to that “nearly”) has his own DMV story. ...

Viewpoints April 24, 2024
Iran and the Element of Insanity

The Islamic Republic of Iran has never been anything but clear in its aims. 'Death to America' and ...

Viewpoints April 15, 2024
Of Policy Disagreements and Appeasing Hitler: Israel and Ukraine Edition

In a recent article for The Hill, David Cameron explained what his country cousins must do to appear ...

Viewpoints April 8, 2024
Optics

I have been thinking about optics lately. For example, what were the optics of Joe Biden’s fundraiser at ...

Viewpoints April 3, 2024
Does the Constitution Matter?

A constitution is a guarantor of the general welfare only so long as its provisions are publicly acknowledged ...

Viewpoints March 26, 2024
The Birth and Rapid Death of a Mendacious Anti-Trump Meme

The platform formerly known as Twitter is alive with the gratified hand-wringing of anti-Trump pundits who cannot believe ...

Viewpoints March 18, 2024
New Revelations About the Chinese Communist Party and Its War Against the West

Peter Schweizer’s new book "Blood Money: Why the Powerful Turn a Blind Eye While China Kills Americans" is ...

Thinking About China March 5, 2024
Unintended Consequences: The Chickens Are Coming Home to Roost

The phrase “unintended consequences” usually brings to mind something unpleasant. This is something the states of Delaware and ...

Viewpoints February 28, 2024
Why Poetry Matters

In our increasingly disposable culture, poetry waves the flag of permanence. It musters memory against the onslaughts of ...

Viewpoints February 20, 2024
Further Thoughts on Projection and the Truth

At its core, projection involves attributing to others attitudes or behaviors that one entertains or engages in oneself.

Viewpoints February 8, 2024
The Orwellian Assault on the Past Continues

The present’s attack on the past by those holding the reins of power continues apace. As Orwell wrote, ...

Viewpoints January 8, 2024
When a Time Delay Becomes a Time Bomb

As we start a new year, it's worth pondering some ways in which things that have already happened ...

Viewpoints January 2, 2024
What’s Really at Stake With ‘Harvard’

Commentary The appalling testimony by the presidents of MIT, Harvard, and the University of Pennsylvania before the House ...

Viewpoints December 20, 2023
Anti-Democratic Forces

It’s time to call out the malevolent farce in which the anti-democratic forces of the status quo complain ...

Viewpoints December 4, 2023
Tooting Your Own Horn

Should state or local authorities be allowed to outlaw the honking of car horns when a person is ...

Viewpoints November 27, 2023
MAGA, Argentina Style

It's too soon to say whether Javier Milei’s astonishing electoral victory will introduce the beneficent course correction that ...

Viewpoints November 20, 2023
Why Atheism Is Insufficient

Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s new essay 'Why I am now a Christian' is the most interesting thing I have ...

Viewpoints November 13, 2023
Moral Clarity About the War in Gaza

Commentary It's said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Complex as the situation in the Middle ...

Viewpoints October 24, 2023
The Arab World Versus Israel: Will It Be Different This Time?

Israel has been attacked from the moment of its birth. We don’t know what will happen, but there's ...

Viewpoints October 16, 2023
What’s Left of Biden Admin’s Foreign Policy?

The recent attack by Hamas in Israel claimed another important casualty far from its primary base of operation: ...

Viewpoints October 9, 2023
Jamaal Bowman and the Wisdom of Orwell

The outcry against Mr. Bowman pulling the fire alarm is loud enough that he may face official censure. ...

Viewpoints October 2, 2023
Remembering Leszek Kolakowski

Commentary Is it a sign of age or general disillusionment that I think frequently these days of André ...

Viewpoints September 25, 2023