Victor Davis Hanson American Greatness Deterrence is the ancient ability to scare somebody off from hurting you, your friends, or your interests—without a major war. Desire peace? Then be prepared for war. Or so the Romans believed. It’s an easily understood concept in the abstract. But deterrence still remains a mystical quality in the concrete… Continue reading Civilization Requires Deterrence
The Afghanistization of America
Victor Davis Hanson American Greatness The United States should be at its pinnacle of strength. It still produces more goods and services than any other nation—China included, which has a population over four times as large. Its fuel and food industries are globally preeminent, as are its graduate science, computer, engineering, medical, and technology university… Continue reading The Afghanistization of America
Week In Review: Commentary, Classics and History
VDH produced varied material these last two weeks. The podcasts have commentary on contemporary events. There is a section on the value of Classics to education. And, finally, the Ultra content is uploading so the historical series on WWII myths is included here – this last requires a subscription. View the Issue Share This
Historian’s Corner: Some Mythologies of World War II: Part Six:
Were There Really Two Opposing Alliances? As we noted, from June 25, 1940, to December 7, 1941, there were not formal “Allies.” The British-Western European alliance, such as it had been, disappeared with the fall of France in June 1940 and the appeasement or absorption of all of Western Europe. True, Britain encouraged and aided… Continue reading Historian’s Corner: Some Mythologies of World War II: Part Six:
‘Science,’ They Said
Victor Davis Hanson American Greatness The scientific method used to govern much of popular American thinking. In empirical fashion scientists advised us to examine evidence and data, and then by induction come to rational hypotheses. The enemies of “science” were politics, superstition, bias, and deduction. Yet we are now returning to our version of medieval alchemy… Continue reading ‘Science,’ They Said
Historian’s Corner: Some Mythologies of World War II: Part Five:
Was Britain Really the Weak Allied Partner? Wars are not always just conflicts of men and materiel; will and principles weigh in as well. In this context, the moral leadership of Britain during World War II proved invaluable to the Allied cause, even if it was often guided at times by imperial concerns. Britain was… Continue reading Historian’s Corner: Some Mythologies of World War II: Part Five:
Historian’s Corner: Some Mythologies of World War II: Part Four:
One-Dimensional Versus Global War If in 1939–41, Moscow had sent Nazi Germany huge deliveries of cereals, wheat, soybeans, 100,000 tons of cotton, nearly a million tons of oil and ores and minerals essential to German industry, it would be unable to divert some of such aid to its new friends in its new fight against… Continue reading Historian’s Corner: Some Mythologies of World War II: Part Four:
When There Were Giants: Three Great Classicists
Victor Davis Hanson The New Criterion October 2021 Classics is not just an abstraction of values, legacies, literature, and history. Whether it comes alive or stays moribund in the modern age hinges on the success or failure of classicists in the classroom, in public fora, and in print. In that context, classics has suffered a… Continue reading When There Were Giants: Three Great Classicists
Wokeness: An Evil of Our Age
Victor Davis HansonAmerican Greatness History is replete with examples of nations, successful and not-so-successful alike, that abruptly committed suicide. The ancient polis of Corcyra devoured itself in a bloody conflict as a collective madness took hold of the island city-state during the Peloponnesian War. The Jacobins in 1793 hijacked the French Revolution and turned a… Continue reading Wokeness: An Evil of Our Age
What Made Them Do Their Duty?
Victor Davis Hanson City Journal Autumn 2001 From the very first moments of the World Trade Center horror, the valor and élan of New York’s firemen, together with that of the city’s police and emergency forces, have transfixed the whole nation—especially us in rural America who rarely see the real Gotham. Danger was nothing to… Continue reading What Made Them Do Their Duty?