Commentary

Across Civitas Outlook and the broader media landscape, our scholars provide timely insights into issues of national significance.

‘American Oasis’ Review: The Lure of the Desert

The Southwest has recently sent left-leaning senators to Washington. As more minorities move there, the region might shift to the right.

Joel Kotkin
Pursuit of Happiness
Apr 9, 2025
Mahmoud Khalil Invites America to Judgment

A free and good society cannot be ‘open’ to everything, no matter how ugly or pernicious.

Richard M. Reinsch II
Politics
Apr 7, 2025
Are the Democrats Drifting Further Left?

Now is a good time to examine what the Democratic party believes in, who its main protagonists are, and what their agenda is.

Joel Kotkin
Politics
Apr 5, 2025
A Bad Business on the Bayou

Chevron finds itself the victim of a political alliance between the tort bar and Louisiana Republicans.

Michael Toth
Economic Dynamism
Apr 1, 2025
California’s Population Bump Won’t Make Up for Its Long Term Slide
Pursuit of Happiness
Apr 1, 2025
Ignore the Bluster – Donald Trump Is Not an Imperialist
Politics
Mar 28, 2025
Burnham’s Counterrevolution
Constitutionalism
Mar 28, 2025
Congress Must Shield US Companies from European Regulations
Economic Dynamism
Mar 27, 2025
An M.I.A. Congress Exacerbates the Clash Between Trump and the Courts
Politics
Mar 26, 2025
Does Gavin Newsom Believe in Anything?
Politics
Mar 26, 2025
All commentary
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Natural Law vs. Positivism, Chapter 8
John Yoo
Constitutionalism
Dec 29, 2024
The Presidential Solution to Taming the Growing Federal Debt
Andrew Johnston
Economic Dynamism
Dec 23, 2024
Elon Musk and the Rise of the Alt-Oligarchy
Joel Kotkin
Politics
Dec 21, 2024
Postpone Your Pleasures
Arthur C. Brooks
Pursuit of Happiness
Dec 19, 2024
The Lone Star State Is Soaring
Joel Kotkin
Pursuit of Happiness
Dec 19, 2024
The World War II Lesson for DOGE
Arthur Herman
Economic Dynamism
Dec 10, 2024
Other

Content

The American Dream Is Not a Coin Flip, and Wages Have Not Stagnated

This paper challenges the prevailing narrative that stagnant wages are causing the American dream to fade. It contrasts subjective public opinion with revised objective intergenerational mobility measures.

Scott Winship
Economic Dynamism
Mar 6, 2025
Political Economy and the Rise of Commercial Humanism

Western attitudes toward commerce have transformed from early moral condemnation to a modern appreciation that sees trade as socially beneficial.

Erik Matson
Economic Dynamism
Feb 28, 2025
Rational Nondelegation

The nondelegation doctrine, which forbids Congress from transferring excessive power to the executive branch, has risen from the dead.

John Yoo
Constitutionalism
Feb 27, 2025
Liberal Democracy Reexamined: Leo Strauss on Alexis de Tocqueville

This article explores Leo Strauss’s thoughts on Alexis de Tocqueville in his 1954 “Natural Right” course transcript.

Raúl Rodríguez
Politics
Feb 25, 2025
Estimating the Productivity of Community Colleges in Paving the Road To Four-Year College Success

Despite a relatively rich literature on the community college pathway, the research base on the quality differences between these institutions has been decidedly thin.

Scott Carrell, Michal Kurlaender
Pursuit of Happiness
Feb 7, 2025
Long Distance Migration as a Two-Step Sorting Process: The Resettlement of Californians in Texas

Here we press the question of whether the well-documented stream of migrants relocating from California to Texas has been sufficient to alter the political complexion of the destination state.

James Gimpel, Daron Shaw
Politics
Feb 6, 2025
Why Failure-to-Market Claims Are Preempted Under Federal Law

A California appellate court invented out of whole cloth a new and troubling theory of tort liability.

Richard Epstein, Benjamin Flowers
Economic Dynamism
Feb 5, 2025

The Three Whiskey Happy Hour

Steven Hayward brings you the Power Line Blog's perspective on the week's big headlines.

View all
** items

John Yoo: The DOJ Is Being ‘Tricky’ but They May Be Right

Politics
Sept 15, 24
5:28

John Yoo: How Will Trump Try to ‘Redirect’ the Justice Department Toward ‘Public Order and Safety’?

Politics
Sept 15, 24
5:16

WSJ: The Legal Theory Behind Trump’s Plan to Consolidate Power

Constitutionalism
Sept 15, 24
7:01

Litigation Update: Department of State v. AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition

Constitutionalism
Sept 15, 24
57:24

Dignity and Dynamism: The Future of Conservative Technology Policy

Economic Dynamism
Sept 15, 24
2:49:13
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