In The Rise of the New Puritans, Commentary Magazine associate editor Noah Rothman explains how, in pursuit of a better world, a relatively new and fervent strain of progressivism, in a “burst of moral enthusiasm” is ruining the very things which make life worth living by attempting to craft a society full of verbal trip wires and digital witch hunts. Football? Too violent. Fusion food? Appropriation. The nuclear family? Oppressive.
As the social scientist Yuval Levin wrote in a review of the book, what’s interesting about this New Puritanism is that “it is not rooted in a Christian ethic, at least not explicitly, and therefore that its worldly severity is not moderated by humility before the divine.”
In response to this phenomenon, Rothman encourages us to spurn a movement whose primary goal has become limiting happiness. The book uncovers the historical roots of this war on fun and reminds us of the freedom and personal fulfillment at the heart of the American experiment.
Subscribe to our podcasts
Rise of the New Puritans | Amazon
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Being American in an age of division
College sports economics
Paul Henry and his influence on Christianity and politics
Ian Rowe on “Agency”: Empowering all children to achieve success
On a mission to help the poor and homeless
“The Essential Natural Law” with Samuel Gregg
The Overton Window with Joseph Lehman
How Christian fiction shaped a culture and a faith
Why virtue matters in the trades
Pano Kanelos on the University of Austin
In their own words
You are not your own
Mission and core principles of the Acton Institute, Part Two
Mission and core principles of the Acton Institute, Part One
Acton's new president and a vision of 2022 and beyond
Black flourishing in the marketplace
Getting out of control
The changing face of social breakdown
The Pope who helped bring down communism
A chat with the filmmakers behind The Chosen
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Dairyland Frights
The Passionistas Project Podcast
Just Dumb Enough Podcast
Stuff You Should Know
Timcast IRL