Category Archives: Raymond Aron

The Treason Of Passionate Intellectuals

Posted on June 2, 2011 by William Holland

Kim Philby and the Cambridge Spies, Alger Hiss, Stephen Decatur, Benedict Arnold, Thomas Paine are well know names, what remains unknown are the motivations that propel people to actively support, work for,  even embrace their nations enemies. ‘Treasons Of The … Continue reading →

Posted in Charles Mackay's Delusions & Mania's, Identity Development, International Relations, Morality, Politics, Raymond Aron | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Treason Of Passionate Intellectuals

Osama bin Laden: The Nemesis Of History

Posted on May 4, 2011 by William Holland

The death of Osama bin Laden ushers in an period of relief fit for Sophocles! It should surprise no one that violent revolutionaries are unfit to govern the impact of the means by which they rule.  This tale is well … Continue reading →

Posted in Arnold Toynbee, International Relations, Islam, Near East, Pakistan, Raymond Aron, Satan/Evil, Sun Tzu, Terrorism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Osama bin Laden: The Nemesis Of History

The True Spirit Of A Counterrevolutionary: Whittaker Chambers A Tormented Man

Posted on November 16, 2010 by William Holland

Most readers of this very blog are not old enough to remember the vapid ideological atmosphere that gripped the 1930’s as examined throughout the writings of Norman Podhoretz or Irving Kristol.  Both men ruthlessly examined the shape and commitment of … Continue reading →

Posted in Eric Voegelin, Ethics, Identity Development, International Relations, Islam, John Paul II, Morality, Philosophy, Politics, Raymond Aron, Satan/Evil, Terrorism, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Partisan Humanism, Ideology & The Limits Of Political Passion

Posted on November 10, 2010 by William Holland

Edmund Burke and Lord Acton were the first to meaningfully engage the eclipse of Christian transcendence that was the French Revolution.  Many other writers throughout the West have done the same in articulating the humanism that embodied Soviet Marxism:  Raymond … Continue reading →

Posted in Adolf Hitler, Alex Tocqueville, Ethics, International Relations, Islam, John Paul II, Morality, Philosophy, Politics, Raymond Aron, Reagan, Satan/Evil | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Escape From Freedom

Posted on August 7, 2010 by William Holland

Their remain very few writers whom understood the perils of Totalitarian life and its psychological consequences better than Orwell, Tocqueville, Huxley, Pope John aPaul II, Raymond Aron, Churchill or Frankl.  All have written extensively on pursuing lines of thought critical … Continue reading →

Posted in Identity Development, International Relations, Islam, Morality, Near East, Perils Of Specialization, Raymond Aron, Terrorism, Theology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

France: Unintended Consequences Of A Bastard Ally

Posted on July 21, 2010 by William Holland

Few academics have been driven to excoriate the craven French as they lovingly embraced Marxism, the incubus of revolutionary fever that cradled the genocide in South East Asia.  Even fewer have quarried how Solzhenitsyn’s ‘Gulag’ was the text that finished … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Tocqueville, Arnold Toynbee, China, International Relations, Politics, Raymond Aron, Sociology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Clausewitz vs. Sun Tzu

Posted on July 18, 2010 by William Holland

Their is an old saying at West Point:  ‘beginners study tactics, amateurs study strategy, but only the best study logistics’.  Logistics being the formal study of how one achieves a goal.  Their is not always symmetry between these competing claims … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquity, Arnold Toynbee, China, Ethics, International Relations, Kant, Morality, Politics, Raymond Aron, Sun Tzu, Theology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

George Orwell & Aldous Huxley Fathers of Doublespeak: A Clarion Call To Church & Artists

Posted on July 7, 2010 by William Holland

Both Orwell (real name Eric Blair) and Huxley left a substantial body of work that bore out the conviction that modern man was incapable of coping, resolving the demands of his time.  Other writers, less artistic yet still formidable in … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Tocqueville, Arnold Toynbee, Conservatism, Eric Voegelin, Hans Urs von Balthasar, International Relations, Islam, John Paul II, Morality, Politics, Pope Benedict XVI, Raymond Aron, Reagan, Sociology, solzhenitzen, Theology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A True Catholic Humanist: Gilbert Murray & The Imploding West

Posted on June 28, 2010 by William Holland

Gilbert Murray is not often thought of being Roman Catholic, I remain unsure of his personal affections regarding the sources of contemporary Catholicism; he remained throughout his life a very deep public man of Britain, throughly engaged in the issues … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Tocqueville, Arnold Toynbee, Conservatism, Education, Eric Voegelin, Ethics, Hans Urs von Balthasar, International Relations, Islam, John Paul II, Middle East Peace, Morality, Near East, Perils Of Specialization, Politics, Raymond Aron, Satan/Evil, Theology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Civilizational Growth Or Decline: Technique, Expansion, Finding The Criteria For Intelligibility Of Civilizations

Posted on June 28, 2010 by William Holland

It remains out of vogue in our age of political correctness to speak of either growth or decline of civilizations.  But I do believe that their are criteria to discover a field of intelligibility from which to study and determine … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Tocqueville, Arnold Toynbee, China, Conservatism, Constitution, Education, Eric Voegelin, Ethics, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Harry Jaffa, International Relations, John Paul II, Morality, Near East, Perils Of Specialization, Politics, Raymond Aron, Shakespeare, Sun Tzu, Theology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments