RealClearPolicy Series

People in a crowd with American flags

In the new RealClearPolicy series, writers and scholars—through a collection of essays—grapple with the core tenets of the American Project from various points of view guided by the conviction that by getting back to first political principles we can better understand and respond to our present political moment.

2021 RealClearPolicy Essays

Article and Date Published	Author
The Liberal Arts and a Free Republic	Ted McAllister is the Edward L. Gaylord Chair and professor of public policy at the Pepperdine School of Public Policy.
The Communitarian Case for a Universal Child Benefit June 18, 2021	Patrick T. Brown is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and was formerly a senior policy advisor for Congress' Joint Economic Committee.
Human Dignity and the New Values Voter April 16, 2021	Rachel Kopec Barkley is president of RK Barkley Consulting.
Conservatives, Go Local March 12, 2021	Hans Zeiger (MPP '09) is a member of the Pierce County Council in Washington State and previously served three terms in the state House of Representatives and a term in the State Senate.
If You Want to Promote National Healing, Think Local February 12, 2021	Cullum Clark is director of the George W. Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative.
What the Biden Administration Must Learn about Community January 29, 2021	Lee Trepanier is a professor of political science at Samford University and editor of VoegelinView and Lexington Books series Politics, Literature, and Film.
Public Work and the Renewal of Communitarianism January 08, 2021	Harry C. Boyte is a senior scholar in public work philosophy at Augsburg University.

2020 ReaclClearPolicy Essays

Article and Date Published	Author and Article Description
Conservatives, Go Local March 12, 2021	Hans Zeiger (MPP '09) is a member of the Pierce County Council in Washington State and previously served three terms in the state House of Representatives and a term in the State Senate.
If You Want to Promote National Healing, Think Local February 12, 2021	Cullum Clark is director of the George W. Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative.
What the Biden Administration Must Learn about Community January 29, 2021	Lee Trepanier is a professor of political science at Samford University and editor of VoegelinView and Lexington Books series Politics, Literature, and Film.
Public Work and the Renewal of Communitarianism January 08, 2021	Harry C. Boyte is a senior scholar in public work philosophy at Augsburg University.
Biden Should Embrace an Identity Politics Based on Place, Not Race October 16, 2020	Stephanie Muravchik is an associate fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia. Jon A. Shields is an associate professor of government at Claremont McKenna College. They are the authors of Trump's Democrats.
Make the Supreme Court Less Political. Put Term Limits on Justices. October 05, 2020	Stephen Heintz, president and CEO of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and Pete Peterson, dean of the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy, reasons that term limits on justices would depoliticize the appointment process, move the Court toward a less partisan future, and help restore public faith in our democratic institutions.
We Are Suffering From a Social Recession, Too. August 21, 2020	Michael Hendrix, director of state and local policy at the Manhattan Institute, writes that places with the strongest social ties and greatest connectivity are the most vulnerable to the spread of Covid-19, but there are glimmers of hope. This essay is part of a special series of the American Project that seeks to address the crisis of loneliness during the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Coronavirus and Our False Communities April 6, 2020	Bruce P. Frohnen, professor of Law at Ohio Northern University and coauthor with Dr. Ted McAllister in Coming Home, affirms the need to keep and improve our social health, and work to sustain and rebuild our communities during the coronavirus crisis. This essay is part of a special series of the American Project that seeks to address the crisis of loneliness during the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Young People Are Lonely, Too. March 30, 2020	Samuel J. Abrams, visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, points out the loneliness Millennials and Gen Zers are going through in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. This essay is part of a special series of the American Project that seeks to address the crisis of loneliness during the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The Lonely (Political) Crowd March 20, 2020	AEI's Ryan Streeter and David Wilde explores how loneliness and politics fo together during this season of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. This essay is part of a special series of the American Project that seeks to address the crisis of loneliness during the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Rethinking Social Justice February 7, 2020	Andy Smarick, director of civil society, education, and work at the R Street Institute, and Bruno V. Manno, senior advisor for the K-12 Education Program at the Walton Family Foundation examines two contrasting views of "social justice" about K-12 education.
What Makes an American? February 28, 2020	John Wood Jr, director of public outreach at Better Angeles, addresses the cultural and psychological challenges of American identity by comparing today's outlook to that in decades past.
The Conservative Case for Expanded National Service January 24, 2020	Luke Nathan Phillips, editor of The Conversation, breaks down how communitarian conservatives should think about national service in a more creative way with six proposals: beyond the individual, part-time service, a new federal agency, local projects and initiatives, civil society preeminence, and another call to service.

Article and Date Published

Author and Article Description

Conservatives, Go Local

March 12, 2021

Hans Zeiger (MPP '09) is a member of the Pierce County Council in Washington State and previously served three terms in the state House of Representatives and a term in the State Senate.

If You Want to Promote National Healing, Think Local

February 12, 2021

Cullum Clark is director of the George W. Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative.

What the Biden Administration Must Learn about Community

January 29, 2021

Lee Trepanier is a professor of political science at Samford University and editor of VoegelinView and Lexington Books series Politics, Literature, and Film.

Public Work and the Renewal of Communitarianism

January 08, 2021

Harry C. Boyte is a senior scholar in public work philosophy at Augsburg University.

Biden Should Embrace an Identity Politics Based on Place, Not Race

October 16, 2020

Stephanie Muravchik is an associate fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia. Jon A. Shields is an associate professor of government at Claremont McKenna College. They are the authors of Trump's Democrats.

Make the Supreme Court Less Political. Put Term Limits on Justices.

October 05, 2020

Stephen Heintz, president and CEO of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and Pete Peterson, dean of the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy, reasons that term limits on justices would depoliticize the appointment process, move the Court toward a less partisan future, and help restore public faith in our democratic institutions.

We Are Suffering From a Social Recession, Too.

August 21, 2020

Michael Hendrix, director of state and local policy at the Manhattan Institute, writes that places with the strongest social ties and greatest connectivity are the most vulnerable to the spread of Covid-19, but there are glimmers of hope.

This essay is part of a special series of the American Project that seeks to address the crisis of loneliness during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Coronavirus and Our False Communities

April 6, 2020

Bruce P. Frohnen, professor of Law at Ohio Northern University and coauthor with Dr. Ted McAllister in Coming Home, affirms the need to keep and improve our social health, and work to sustain and rebuild our communities during the coronavirus crisis.

This essay is part of a special series of the American Project that seeks to address the crisis of loneliness during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Young People Are Lonely, Too.

March 30, 2020

Samuel J. Abrams, visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, points out the loneliness Millennials and Gen Zers are going through in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

This essay is part of a special series of the American Project that seeks to address the crisis of loneliness during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The Lonely (Political) Crowd

March 20, 2020

AEI's Ryan Streeter and David Wilde explores how loneliness and politics fo together during this season of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

This essay is part of a special series of the American Project that seeks to address the crisis of loneliness during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Rethinking Social Justice

February 7, 2020

Andy Smarick, director of civil society, education, and work at the R Street Institute, and Bruno V. Manno, senior advisor for the K-12 Education Program at the Walton Family Foundation examines two contrasting views of "social justice" about K-12 education.

What Makes an American?

February 28, 2020

John Wood Jr, director of public outreach at Better Angeles, addresses the cultural and psychological challenges of American identity by comparing today's outlook to that in decades past.

The Conservative Case for Expanded National Service

January 24, 2020

Luke Nathan Phillips, editor of The Conversation, breaks down how communitarian conservatives should think about national service in a more creative way with six proposals: beyond the individual, part-time service, a new federal agency, local projects and initiatives, civil society preeminence, and another call to service.

2019 RealClearPolicy Essays

Article and Date Published	Author and Article Description
Educating the Human Person October 4, 2019	Margarita Mooney, associate professor of practical theology at Princeton Theological Seminary and executive director of the Scala Foundation, takes on Dewey and Freire to "humanize" education policy.
A Quest for American Unity September 4, 2019	Christopher C. Hull, president of Issue Management, Inc., expresses "conservatives must set themselves as a movement to downsizing and defeating the worst elements of both the alt-Left and alt-Right."
The Quest for Political Community August 17, 2019	M. Anthony Mills, editor of American Project and associate vice president f policy at the R Street Institute, questions the political community while reflecting on Aristotle and Plato on the need of "self-sufficient communities but relatively small in population." Has the growth and complexity of our country caused problems?
Against Campus Activism August 2, 2019	Elizabeth Cory, associate professor of political science at Baylor University and director of the Baylor Honors Program
Religion Creates Community July 26, 201	Samuel J Adams, professor of politics at Sarah Lawrence College, surveys community to provide evidence that faith fosters societal connections.
Social Capital Is America's True Stock-in-Trade July 12, 2019	Erin Rodewald, LA writer, researcher, and strategist, defines America's true wealth by people immersing themselves in community and public engagement for the common good.
Social Capital Is America's True Stock-in-Trade July 12, 2019	This article is a review of Coming Home: Reclaiming America's Conservative Soul by Ted McAllister and Bruce P. Frohnen. David Bahr, communications director at the R Street Institute and editorial fellow with the Claremont's Institute's The American Mind, reflects on the elegance of the book and compares to living today as worse than "a collection of Odysseuses."
Virtue and the Social Fabric June 21, 2019	What is Virtue? John Wood, Jr., director of media at Better Angels, reflects on the Declaration of Independence and the very words that describes the "role of virtue in realizing happiness through community—especially a community of free and equal citizens."
Dynamism for the Working Class June 7, 2019	Ryan Streeter, director of domestic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, writes on "pro-worker versus establishment Republican" dyad and its failures.
Republicans Take Note: Public Opinion on Inequality Has Shifted May 31, 2019	Samuel J. Adams, professor of politics at Sarah Lawrence College and visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute asked 2,400 Americans the simple question: "What is the bigger cause of poverty today?" From 1995 to 2018, there has been a shift in the data of opinions.
On Rebuilding the Middle Class May 24, 2019	Joshua Mitchell, professor of political theory at Georgetown University evaluates the middle class in America form the party of the Left and the party of the Right point of views.
Our Unwritten Constitution: Orestes Brownson and the Foundation of American Liberty May 22, 2019	This essay is adapted from "A Constitution in Full: Recovering the Unwritten Foundation of American Liberty" by Peter Augustine Lawler, Dana professor of government at Berry college and Richard M. Reinsch II, editor of Law & Liberty and host of the Podcast Liberty Law Talk.
Death by Loneliness May 6, 2019	Dr. Francie Broghammer, chief psychiatry resident at UC Irvine Medical Center claims, "we are in the midst of a crisis that is claiming thousands of American lives: loneliness." In examining this, he reflects on Senator Ben Sasse's book, Them: Why We Hate Each Other—and How to Heal to explore the core building blocks.
Look to the States, Not the Swamp, to Solve Our Political Problems April 19, 2019	Rachel Kopec Barkley, president of RK Barkley Consulting, urges her readers to look towards our local government for help rather than pushing all the blame on Congress.
Is the 'Eggshell Culture' on Campus Moving Into Our Public Square? April 10, 2019	Pete Peterson, dean of the Pepperdine School of Public Policy, builds upon the borrowed term "eggshell culture" to describe free speech on America's college campuses.
Why Is Socialism on the Rise? Loneliness. April 05, 2019	Bruce P. Frohnen, Ella and Ernest Fisher Professor of Law at Ohio Northern University, answers how American socialists have become the topic of mainstream debate.
The Case for Local Government March 04, 2019	Michael Hendrix, director of state and local policy at the Manhattan Institute, emphasizes the need to trust local governments—life as community and the building blocks of the American Project.

2018 RealClearPolicy Essays

Article and Date Published	Author and Article Description
It's Time for a 'Conservatism of Connection' November 09, 2018	Pepperdine School of Public Policy dean Pete Peterson reflects on America's loneliness and defines "conservatism" as building connections upon the past, future, and to one another.mmm
The Quest for Political Community August 17, 2018	RealClear Media Group's managing editor M. Anthony Mills approaches politics in the community by reflecting on the past and yearning for a place of common ground for the future.
Renewing Localism for the 21st Century August 07, 2018	American Enterprise Institute's director Ryan Streeter positions concerns and goals toward renewing localism in America.
Toward a Tocquevillian Nationalism July 30, 2018	Modern Age's editor Daniel McCarthy addresses the question of loneliness in America by comparing its history during the Tocqueville movement.
Conservatism in the Age of Millennials July 24, 2018	Michael Hendrix urges conservatives to stick to their principles, which "speak to the longings for community and connection," rather than "jettisoning beliefs unpopular among young voters simply to win them over."
Do We Really Need a New Conservatism? July 20, 2018	The Claremont Institute's Ryan P. Williams argues that a conservatism grounded in the principles of the American founding should build on, rather than repudiate, Trump's rise.
Reclaiming Our American Project July 17, 2018	An introduction to RealClearPolicy series by the editors.
Politics in Ruins July 17, 2018	Liberty Fund's Richard M. Reinsch II looks to Walker Percy's novel "Love in the Ruins" for help in understanding what ails our political community.