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The Lost World of Statesmanship

Law & Liberty Senior Writer Daniel J. Mahoney’s new book, The Statesman as Thinker, offers sketches of some of Western civilization’s most notable statesmen and considers what virtues made them great. Men like Cicero, Burke, and Churchill displayed the virtues of the classical great-souled man, but they also drew from Christianity an instinct for moderation. Four Law & Liberty contributors offer their thoughts on Mahoney’s book, and an inevitable question arises: Is statesmanship still possible?

Carson Holloway, A Cure for Demagoguery

A true statesman shepherds his people through the maelstrom of political passion.

Samuel Gregg, A World Bereft of Statesmanship

The word “statesmanship” doesn’t leap to mind these days when we think of places like Washington D.C., Jerusalem, Brussels, London, Paris, or Berlin.

Brian A. Smith, Where Have All the Statesmen Gone?

If we are to see great statesmen again, it will require a generational effort—one that must take place largely in civil society and the home.

Richard M. Reinsch II, Exemplars for the West

How do we ascend from our “culture of repudiation” to the kind of great statesmen that Mahoney profiles in his book?