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Decency and Dynamism for 2016

Review: ‘The Thriving Society,’ ed. James R. Stoner, Jr., and Harold James

White House
AP
December 27, 2015

To choose leaders wisely, citizens must have a vision of what they want their society to look like. Articulating such a vision is the goal of The Thriving Society, edited by James R. Stoner, Jr. of Louisiana State University and Harold James of Princeton University. The volume collects essays on the main pillars of a "decent and dynamic" society, with the aim of helping "the thinking public understand what elements make up a society where people can flourish, to point out the reasons for some of the problems we currently experience, and to indicate several avenues for reform."

Robert George explains in the opening essay that, for a society to be decent and dynamic, it must rest on five pillars: decency depends upon respect for the human person, the institution of the family, and a system of law and government, while dynamism comes from institutions of research and higher education, and economic institutions.

It is possible for a society to be decent without being dynamic but, he argues, decent folks have nothing to fear from dynamism. "A dynamic society need not be one in which consumerism and materialism become rife or where moral and spiritual values disappear." The volume goes on to explore the relationship between decency and dynamism through examining each pillar in more detail.

George’s essay attempts to show how the principles of decency and dynamism can be combined within a greater whole. He and his coauthors follow in the footsteps of William F. Buckley, Frank Meyer, and the legacy of National Review, which was an attempt to make a home for both social conservatives, whose primary care is decency, and libertarians, whose primary care is dynamism and political liberty. Buckley’s magazine continues today, of course, and the same uneasy truce, depending on the election cycle, continues between conservatives and libertarians, brought together by a common enemy on the left.

But George and company insist that there is, in fact, a unity between decency and dynamism. The institution of the family, for instance, is essential to maintaining a society in which free markets flourish. "Consider the need of business to have available to it a responsible and capable workforce. … [B]usiness has a stake—a massive stake—in the long-term health of the family." Businesses themselves do not raise children, nor can government itself take on the role of father and mother. Business and family are therefore mutually dependent and inherently linked.

This is not a collection of punditry but rather an attempt to delve into the philosophical principles that underlie conservative public policy. While the book does not exist in a vacuum—the volume was released in the full swing of election season—it also does not aim to respond to political debates with any speed. Roger Scruton, senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, does not hesitate to discuss the intricacies of the Hegel’s understanding of freedom. Paul O. Carrese and Michael Doran summarize four principles that should determine American foreign and security policy by taking a long view of American history.

Although reading The Thriving Society may not provide the same brain-stem endorphin rush as participating in the slugfest of the real-time presidential election, it is well worth the time it requires.

Published under: Book reviews