Books

The Behavioral Sciences and the Study of Political Things: The Case of Christian Bay’s The Structure of Freedom

– The American Political Science Review 55:3 (September 1961).

Excerpt: One result of the advent of the behavioral sciences in political science is that political things are now being studied, to an ever increasing extent, by men with little or no… More

Thinking About the City

– Commentary, October 1973; reprinted in Walter Berns, In Defense of Liberal Democracy (Regnery Gateway, 1984).

Excerpt: Cities express an ambivalence in the American soul: we like cities and wish to live in them—or at least to visit them—but we also dislike cities and wish to avoid them, and… More

The Achievements of Leo Strauss

– National Review, December 7, 1973, 1347.

The New Pursuit of Happiness

– Public Interest 86 (Winter 1987), 65–76.

Excerpt: Landing in New York in May 1831, Gustave de Beaumont was struck by the “busyness” of the place. “It’s a remarkable phenomenon,” he wrote his father, “a great people… More

Natural Law, Natural Rights

– Washington Times, September 9, 1991. University of Cincinnati Law Review 61:1 (1992–93).

Excerpt: “The world has never had a good definition of the word liberty,” said Abraham Lincoln, “and the American people, just now, are much in need of one.” That… More

On Patriotism

– Bradley Lecture, American Enterprise Institute, September 16, 1996.

Excerpt: Patriotism means love of country (patria, in the Latin) and implies a readiness to sacrifice for it, to fight for it, perhaps even to give one’s life for it. In the traditional,… More

Making Patriots

– University of Chicago Press, 2001; paperback edition, 2002.

Although Samuel Johnson once remarked that “patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels,” over the course of the history of the United States we have seen our share of heroes:… More

America—Idea or Nation?

– Wilfred M. McClay, Public Interest (Fall 2001).

Excerpt: At first glance, American patriotism seems a simple matter. But it is simple only until one actually starts to think about it, inquire after its sources, and investigate its… More

Ancients and Moderns: The Emergence of Modern Constitutionalism

– Institute for the Study of the Americas, March 2002; reprinted in Democracy and the Constitution: Landmarks of Contemporary Political Thought (AEI Press, 2006).

Walter Berns, John M. Olin University Professor emeritus at Georgetown University, investigates the history of modern constitutionalism or limited government. Particularly interested in the… More

Mystic Chords of Memory: Cultivating America’s Unique Form of Patriotism

– The American Educator 26:1 (Spring 2002): 26–38; reprinted in Democracy and the Constitution: Landmarks of Contemporary Political Thought (AEI Press, 2006).

Excerpt: Patriotism. The word itself comes from the Latin patria, meaning country. Patriotism implies a love of country, a readiness to sacrifice for it, perhaps even a willingness to give… More

Democracy and the Constitution: Landmarks of Contemporary Political Thought

– AEI Press, 2006.

Excerpt: One of the distinctive things about America is that its Founders were political theorists as well as practitioners. Consider, as the most telling example, the Declaration of… More

Patriotism and Multiculturalism

– The Many Faces of Patriotism, Philip Abbott, ed. (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007), 3–14.

In the decades following the end of the Cold War, scholars turned their attention to reevaluating patriotism. Many saw both its ability to serve as a cohesive force and its desirability as… More

Patriots

– Audio, "Dialogue," Woodrow Wilson Center.

In ancient Sparta patriotism meant a commitment to warfare and a view of the state as divine. For modern Americans patriotism is set on a much different and abstract basis. Walter Berns… More

Essays

The Behavioral Sciences and the Study of Political Things: The Case of Christian Bay’s The Structure of Freedom

– The American Political Science Review 55:3 (September 1961).

Excerpt: One result of the advent of the behavioral sciences in political science is that political things are now being studied, to an ever increasing extent, by men with little or no… More

Thinking About the City

– Commentary, October 1973; reprinted in Walter Berns, In Defense of Liberal Democracy (Regnery Gateway, 1984).

Excerpt: Cities express an ambivalence in the American soul: we like cities and wish to live in them—or at least to visit them—but we also dislike cities and wish to avoid them, and… More

The Achievements of Leo Strauss

– National Review, December 7, 1973, 1347.

The New Pursuit of Happiness

– Public Interest 86 (Winter 1987), 65–76.

Excerpt: Landing in New York in May 1831, Gustave de Beaumont was struck by the “busyness” of the place. “It’s a remarkable phenomenon,” he wrote his father, “a great people… More

Natural Law, Natural Rights

– Washington Times, September 9, 1991. University of Cincinnati Law Review 61:1 (1992–93).

Excerpt: “The world has never had a good definition of the word liberty,” said Abraham Lincoln, “and the American people, just now, are much in need of one.” That… More

On Patriotism

– Bradley Lecture, American Enterprise Institute, September 16, 1996.

Excerpt: Patriotism means love of country (patria, in the Latin) and implies a readiness to sacrifice for it, to fight for it, perhaps even to give one’s life for it. In the traditional,… More

Making Patriots

– University of Chicago Press, 2001; paperback edition, 2002.

Although Samuel Johnson once remarked that “patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels,” over the course of the history of the United States we have seen our share of heroes:… More

America—Idea or Nation?

– Wilfred M. McClay, Public Interest (Fall 2001).

Excerpt: At first glance, American patriotism seems a simple matter. But it is simple only until one actually starts to think about it, inquire after its sources, and investigate its… More

Ancients and Moderns: The Emergence of Modern Constitutionalism

– Institute for the Study of the Americas, March 2002; reprinted in Democracy and the Constitution: Landmarks of Contemporary Political Thought (AEI Press, 2006).

Walter Berns, John M. Olin University Professor emeritus at Georgetown University, investigates the history of modern constitutionalism or limited government. Particularly interested in the… More

Mystic Chords of Memory: Cultivating America’s Unique Form of Patriotism

– The American Educator 26:1 (Spring 2002): 26–38; reprinted in Democracy and the Constitution: Landmarks of Contemporary Political Thought (AEI Press, 2006).

Excerpt: Patriotism. The word itself comes from the Latin patria, meaning country. Patriotism implies a love of country, a readiness to sacrifice for it, perhaps even a willingness to give… More

Democracy and the Constitution: Landmarks of Contemporary Political Thought

– AEI Press, 2006.

Excerpt: One of the distinctive things about America is that its Founders were political theorists as well as practitioners. Consider, as the most telling example, the Declaration of… More

Patriotism and Multiculturalism

– The Many Faces of Patriotism, Philip Abbott, ed. (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007), 3–14.

In the decades following the end of the Cold War, scholars turned their attention to reevaluating patriotism. Many saw both its ability to serve as a cohesive force and its desirability as… More

Patriots

– Audio, "Dialogue," Woodrow Wilson Center.

In ancient Sparta patriotism meant a commitment to warfare and a view of the state as divine. For modern Americans patriotism is set on a much different and abstract basis. Walter Berns… More

Commentary

The Behavioral Sciences and the Study of Political Things: The Case of Christian Bay’s The Structure of Freedom

– The American Political Science Review 55:3 (September 1961).

Excerpt: One result of the advent of the behavioral sciences in political science is that political things are now being studied, to an ever increasing extent, by men with little or no… More

Thinking About the City

– Commentary, October 1973; reprinted in Walter Berns, In Defense of Liberal Democracy (Regnery Gateway, 1984).

Excerpt: Cities express an ambivalence in the American soul: we like cities and wish to live in them—or at least to visit them—but we also dislike cities and wish to avoid them, and… More

The Achievements of Leo Strauss

– National Review, December 7, 1973, 1347.

The New Pursuit of Happiness

– Public Interest 86 (Winter 1987), 65–76.

Excerpt: Landing in New York in May 1831, Gustave de Beaumont was struck by the “busyness” of the place. “It’s a remarkable phenomenon,” he wrote his father, “a great people… More

Natural Law, Natural Rights

– Washington Times, September 9, 1991. University of Cincinnati Law Review 61:1 (1992–93).

Excerpt: “The world has never had a good definition of the word liberty,” said Abraham Lincoln, “and the American people, just now, are much in need of one.” That… More

On Patriotism

– Bradley Lecture, American Enterprise Institute, September 16, 1996.

Excerpt: Patriotism means love of country (patria, in the Latin) and implies a readiness to sacrifice for it, to fight for it, perhaps even to give one’s life for it. In the traditional,… More

Making Patriots

– University of Chicago Press, 2001; paperback edition, 2002.

Although Samuel Johnson once remarked that “patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels,” over the course of the history of the United States we have seen our share of heroes:… More

America—Idea or Nation?

– Wilfred M. McClay, Public Interest (Fall 2001).

Excerpt: At first glance, American patriotism seems a simple matter. But it is simple only until one actually starts to think about it, inquire after its sources, and investigate its… More

Ancients and Moderns: The Emergence of Modern Constitutionalism

– Institute for the Study of the Americas, March 2002; reprinted in Democracy and the Constitution: Landmarks of Contemporary Political Thought (AEI Press, 2006).

Walter Berns, John M. Olin University Professor emeritus at Georgetown University, investigates the history of modern constitutionalism or limited government. Particularly interested in the… More

Mystic Chords of Memory: Cultivating America’s Unique Form of Patriotism

– The American Educator 26:1 (Spring 2002): 26–38; reprinted in Democracy and the Constitution: Landmarks of Contemporary Political Thought (AEI Press, 2006).

Excerpt: Patriotism. The word itself comes from the Latin patria, meaning country. Patriotism implies a love of country, a readiness to sacrifice for it, perhaps even a willingness to give… More

Democracy and the Constitution: Landmarks of Contemporary Political Thought

– AEI Press, 2006.

Excerpt: One of the distinctive things about America is that its Founders were political theorists as well as practitioners. Consider, as the most telling example, the Declaration of… More

Patriotism and Multiculturalism

– The Many Faces of Patriotism, Philip Abbott, ed. (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007), 3–14.

In the decades following the end of the Cold War, scholars turned their attention to reevaluating patriotism. Many saw both its ability to serve as a cohesive force and its desirability as… More

Patriots

– Audio, "Dialogue," Woodrow Wilson Center.

In ancient Sparta patriotism meant a commitment to warfare and a view of the state as divine. For modern Americans patriotism is set on a much different and abstract basis. Walter Berns… More

Multimedia

The Behavioral Sciences and the Study of Political Things: The Case of Christian Bay’s The Structure of Freedom

– The American Political Science Review 55:3 (September 1961).

Excerpt: One result of the advent of the behavioral sciences in political science is that political things are now being studied, to an ever increasing extent, by men with little or no… More

Thinking About the City

– Commentary, October 1973; reprinted in Walter Berns, In Defense of Liberal Democracy (Regnery Gateway, 1984).

Excerpt: Cities express an ambivalence in the American soul: we like cities and wish to live in them—or at least to visit them—but we also dislike cities and wish to avoid them, and… More

The Achievements of Leo Strauss

– National Review, December 7, 1973, 1347.

The New Pursuit of Happiness

– Public Interest 86 (Winter 1987), 65–76.

Excerpt: Landing in New York in May 1831, Gustave de Beaumont was struck by the “busyness” of the place. “It’s a remarkable phenomenon,” he wrote his father, “a great people… More

Natural Law, Natural Rights

– Washington Times, September 9, 1991. University of Cincinnati Law Review 61:1 (1992–93).

Excerpt: “The world has never had a good definition of the word liberty,” said Abraham Lincoln, “and the American people, just now, are much in need of one.” That… More

On Patriotism

– Bradley Lecture, American Enterprise Institute, September 16, 1996.

Excerpt: Patriotism means love of country (patria, in the Latin) and implies a readiness to sacrifice for it, to fight for it, perhaps even to give one’s life for it. In the traditional,… More

Making Patriots

– University of Chicago Press, 2001; paperback edition, 2002.

Although Samuel Johnson once remarked that “patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels,” over the course of the history of the United States we have seen our share of heroes:… More

America—Idea or Nation?

– Wilfred M. McClay, Public Interest (Fall 2001).

Excerpt: At first glance, American patriotism seems a simple matter. But it is simple only until one actually starts to think about it, inquire after its sources, and investigate its… More

Ancients and Moderns: The Emergence of Modern Constitutionalism

– Institute for the Study of the Americas, March 2002; reprinted in Democracy and the Constitution: Landmarks of Contemporary Political Thought (AEI Press, 2006).

Walter Berns, John M. Olin University Professor emeritus at Georgetown University, investigates the history of modern constitutionalism or limited government. Particularly interested in the… More

Mystic Chords of Memory: Cultivating America’s Unique Form of Patriotism

– The American Educator 26:1 (Spring 2002): 26–38; reprinted in Democracy and the Constitution: Landmarks of Contemporary Political Thought (AEI Press, 2006).

Excerpt: Patriotism. The word itself comes from the Latin patria, meaning country. Patriotism implies a love of country, a readiness to sacrifice for it, perhaps even a willingness to give… More

Democracy and the Constitution: Landmarks of Contemporary Political Thought

– AEI Press, 2006.

Excerpt: One of the distinctive things about America is that its Founders were political theorists as well as practitioners. Consider, as the most telling example, the Declaration of… More

Patriotism and Multiculturalism

– The Many Faces of Patriotism, Philip Abbott, ed. (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007), 3–14.

In the decades following the end of the Cold War, scholars turned their attention to reevaluating patriotism. Many saw both its ability to serve as a cohesive force and its desirability as… More

Patriots

– Audio, "Dialogue," Woodrow Wilson Center.

In ancient Sparta patriotism meant a commitment to warfare and a view of the state as divine. For modern Americans patriotism is set on a much different and abstract basis. Walter Berns… More

Teaching

The Behavioral Sciences and the Study of Political Things: The Case of Christian Bay’s The Structure of Freedom

– The American Political Science Review 55:3 (September 1961).

Excerpt: One result of the advent of the behavioral sciences in political science is that political things are now being studied, to an ever increasing extent, by men with little or no… More

Thinking About the City

– Commentary, October 1973; reprinted in Walter Berns, In Defense of Liberal Democracy (Regnery Gateway, 1984).

Excerpt: Cities express an ambivalence in the American soul: we like cities and wish to live in them—or at least to visit them—but we also dislike cities and wish to avoid them, and… More

The Achievements of Leo Strauss

– National Review, December 7, 1973, 1347.

The New Pursuit of Happiness

– Public Interest 86 (Winter 1987), 65–76.

Excerpt: Landing in New York in May 1831, Gustave de Beaumont was struck by the “busyness” of the place. “It’s a remarkable phenomenon,” he wrote his father, “a great people… More

Natural Law, Natural Rights

– Washington Times, September 9, 1991. University of Cincinnati Law Review 61:1 (1992–93).

Excerpt: “The world has never had a good definition of the word liberty,” said Abraham Lincoln, “and the American people, just now, are much in need of one.” That… More

On Patriotism

– Bradley Lecture, American Enterprise Institute, September 16, 1996.

Excerpt: Patriotism means love of country (patria, in the Latin) and implies a readiness to sacrifice for it, to fight for it, perhaps even to give one’s life for it. In the traditional,… More

Making Patriots

– University of Chicago Press, 2001; paperback edition, 2002.

Although Samuel Johnson once remarked that “patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels,” over the course of the history of the United States we have seen our share of heroes:… More

America—Idea or Nation?

– Wilfred M. McClay, Public Interest (Fall 2001).

Excerpt: At first glance, American patriotism seems a simple matter. But it is simple only until one actually starts to think about it, inquire after its sources, and investigate its… More

Ancients and Moderns: The Emergence of Modern Constitutionalism

– Institute for the Study of the Americas, March 2002; reprinted in Democracy and the Constitution: Landmarks of Contemporary Political Thought (AEI Press, 2006).

Walter Berns, John M. Olin University Professor emeritus at Georgetown University, investigates the history of modern constitutionalism or limited government. Particularly interested in the… More

Mystic Chords of Memory: Cultivating America’s Unique Form of Patriotism

– The American Educator 26:1 (Spring 2002): 26–38; reprinted in Democracy and the Constitution: Landmarks of Contemporary Political Thought (AEI Press, 2006).

Excerpt: Patriotism. The word itself comes from the Latin patria, meaning country. Patriotism implies a love of country, a readiness to sacrifice for it, perhaps even a willingness to give… More

Democracy and the Constitution: Landmarks of Contemporary Political Thought

– AEI Press, 2006.

Excerpt: One of the distinctive things about America is that its Founders were political theorists as well as practitioners. Consider, as the most telling example, the Declaration of… More

Patriotism and Multiculturalism

– The Many Faces of Patriotism, Philip Abbott, ed. (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007), 3–14.

In the decades following the end of the Cold War, scholars turned their attention to reevaluating patriotism. Many saw both its ability to serve as a cohesive force and its desirability as… More

Patriots

– Audio, "Dialogue," Woodrow Wilson Center.

In ancient Sparta patriotism meant a commitment to warfare and a view of the state as divine. For modern Americans patriotism is set on a much different and abstract basis. Walter Berns… More