Bill's Commentary

Poetry and the Mystique of the Self in John Stuart Mill: Sources of Libertarian Socialism

William Gairdner — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:51:56 PDT

Here is the article mentioned in my last post. It is a long piece - about 24 pages, typeset. It will likely appeal to anyone interested in the roots of the prevailing Western notion of individual liberty and explains how that co-exists with our just as prevalent...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Article on John Stuart Mill Just Published

William Gairdner — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 06:54:08 PDT

Finally, after a year's delay, my article on John Stuart Mill has just been published in the American Journal, Humanitas. The editor of the journal, Joseph Baldacchino, paid a satisfying compliment when he said that in his opinion this article was "breaking new ground in Mill...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

The ObamaCare Scare

William Gairdner — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 06:16:22 PDT

Most observers, right or left, are surprised at the recent spectacle of outraged citizens vociferously protesting Obama’s plan for socialized medicine. They are asking what, exactly, in the politically quietest month of the year, could have compelled so many Americans to show up at...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

The Canadian Museum of "Human Rights"

William Gairdner — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 06:10:24 PDT

This from R.E.A.L. Women of Canada, needs to be more widely known: M E D I A A D V I S O R Y The Canadian Museum For Human Rights Is A Mess Ottawa, Ontario June 4, 2009 The Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, on which...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Lying For Justice

William Gairdner — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:58:36 PDT

Just ran across this piece in my files, a review article I wrote for the Edmonton Journal in 1995 when the environmentalist movement was beginning to heat up (so to speak). It's a reminder of two things: the tendency of all mass publics to substitute hysteria for knowledge; and ......

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

The Weakness of Libertarianism

William Gairdner — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:23:07 PDT

Libertarianism must command respect as the only personal and political philosophy of the Western world standing in defence of individual freedom from state power. For that reason alone, it must be nourished. It is the last surviving remnant of old-style...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Trudeau and Obama

William Gairdner — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:09:46 PDT

Most Canadians and Americans are simply unaware of the drastic changes that have taken place in their respective countries over the past few generations. In his first and only major book, Federalism and the...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Wolfe In Sheep's Clothing

William Gairdner — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:43:59 PST

Below is my review, just published in the New York journal of culture and ideas, The New Criterion, of Boston College Professor Alan Wolfe's latest book, The Future of Liberalism (Knopf, 2009). Mr. Wolfe is a darling of the liberal left, and...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Current and Upcoming Publications

William Gairdner — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 08:15:20 PST

I confess, I take considerable satisfaction in saying that this has been a good year for an old author. Just under a year ago, OH, OH, Canada: A Voice From the Conservative Resistance (BPS Books) was published, and it continues to chug along steadily. The Book Absolutes: A Critique of...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

"CBC - Ideas" Interview, with Paul Kennedy, Wednesday Night Feb. 18th

William Gairdner — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 06:34:04 PST

CBC – Radio One (99.1 FM in Toronto) will be broadcasting a one-hour, national interview with yours truly, on the subject of my latest effort, The Book of Absolutes: A Critique of Relativism and a Defence of Universals. (Actually, it is also international and will be picked up...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]