Upcoming Speaking Engagement: Conference on ‘Public Spirit and Public Virtue’, December 6, 2017, Washington, DC

‘In an increasingly globalized and pluralized world it becomes progressively more difficult to define the public virtues that have delineated the West, and as a result, harder to safe-guard the freedoms—economic, political, and religious—which are the fruits of those virtues. A citizen who possesses “town spirit,” according to Alexis de Tocqueville, is one who “focuses his affections and his hopes on the town, who knows how to take his place there and to participate in its governance.” This spirit is the result of the visible presence of public virtue—“a free and strong corporate body…which merits the trouble of trying to direct it.” This one-day conference will examine the ways in which the Western world might see a revival of public spirit through public virtue and remain a civilization marked by “order and public tranquility” that only this spirit and virtue can provide.’

Source, and more information: https://acton.org/event/2017/06/06/public-spirit-and-public-virtue.

On the International Conference series ‘Reclaiming the West: Freedom and Responsibility’, of which this conference forms a part:

‘The West today is in a state of crisis. Facing immense domestic economic and political problems, North America, Europe, and other Western nations are also struggling to address existential threats from without. But above all, the West appears to suffering from a crisis of self-belief: one which touches centrally upon its attachment to the tradition of ordered liberty in politics, freedom in the economy, strong civil societies, commitment to virtue, as well as the unique synthesis of faith and reason that is at the root of Western civilization.

To explore these questions concerning the Western tradition of human liberty and responsibility and its Judeo-Christian culture, the Acton Institute is holding three international conferences which will bring together theologians, economists, political thinkers, philosophers, religious figures, business leaders, foreign policy thinkers, journalists, historians, and legal scholars from both sides of the Atlantic. Among other topics, they will discuss the origin and character of the West’s many problems, consider how these matters might be addressed in ways that draw upon the West’s unique heritage, and examine how Europe and North America can contribute to each other’s revival.’

Source: https://acton.org/program/reclaiming-west-freedom-responsibility.