Brad Shorr
“I long lived in this state of lunacy, which, in fact if not in words, is particularly characteristic of us very liberal and learned people.” (Leo Tolstoy, A Confession) Quite an admission from this towering figure of philosophy and literature. Unlike most of us, Tolstoy had a willingness to change…
Leo Tolstoy’s non-fiction book The Kingdom of God Is Within You is a forceful argument for non-violent resistance — and against organized religion, governments, and the entirety of pagan civilization under which we have lived for thousands of years. Throw Christianity and several dollops of libertarianism, anarchism, pacifism, and Distributism in a blender,…
If there’s one phrase that really needs to disappear, it’s “the science.” Throughout the COVID oppression, politicians have told us over and over that “the science” says this and “the science” says that — as if scientific opinions were scientific facts; as if scientific truth were monolithic, unchangeable, and indisputable.…
Leo Tolstoy, What Is Art? Translated by Richard Paver and Larissa Volokhonsky What Is Art? Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) spent 15 years mulling over the question before finally publishing his profound essay of that title in 1897. Today’s readers may find many of his conclusions utterly shocking — for example, that the works…