When people ask me what is wrong with our modern day economy, I respond that it is frenzied and out of balance. In my book, Return to Order, I coined the term “frenetic intemperance” to describe a restless and reckless spirit inside modern economy that foments a drive to throw off legitimate restraints and gratify … Read more
There are those who claim riches are not good. Such views are unbalanced since goods in themselves are neutral and can serve man in many ways. Saint Thomas Aquinas strikes the balance when he claims that: ‘Riches are good for as much as they serve the use of virtue; and if this measure be exceeded, … Read more
Written by Gary Isbell The book, Return to Order, was offered at the Values Voters Summit held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington D.C. on October 11-13. Nearly 2, 500 Americans from around the country gathered at the event, which featured many of the nation’s conservative leaders. At the exhibitor’s table of the American … Read more
In promoting a book, one of the first things you are asked to do is to define your target audience. If you can identify the type of person who should read the book, then you can concentrate your efforts on reaching those people. In the course of promoting the book, Return to Order, I have … Read more
Frenetic Intemperance The key to understand the economic crisis is to look for its cause. Deep inside the soul of modern man we find this cause: frenetic intemperance. This vice can be defined as a restless spirit inside certain sectors of modern economy that foments a drive within men to throw off legitimate restraints and … Read more
There are those who normally play a leadership role in society by representing the community. Such representative characters are those leaders who perceive the ideals, principles, and qualities that are desired and admired by a community or nation, and translate them into concrete programs of life and culture. Their importance cannot be underestimated since they … Read more
Sometimes the simple explanations are the best. People are not free when enslaved to their vices. As Russell Kirk explains, “People are born free only in the sense that they are born to the right to seek what suits their nature.” (Russell Kirk, The American Cause, Gleaves Whitney, ed., ISI Books, Wilmington, Delaware, 2002, p. … Read more
Charleston, and the book Return to Order, seem to fit together naturally. South Carolina’s premier city represents a traditional order of things that attracts people. Its splendid townhouses and restored downtown are proof that this order is not a relic of long ago but a dynamic force linked with its past that definitely has a … Read more
We must resist the temptation of simply writing off the present system with all its problems. We must avoid the defeatist attitude of those who advocate isolating themselves from society and awaiting better days. In individualist fashion, they would take care of their own little worlds and disregard the cause of the common good. Nothing … Read more
There are those who try to ascribe to economics an exactitude that is only found in the exact or physical sciences. Such an effort is doomed to failure since it is based on human action which is so fickle and unpredictable. Economic scholar Harry Veryser notes that, “Aristotle pointed out the fatal flaw in trying … Read more
