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GOP Suicide When Women Rule Israeli Spring? Catholic Miseducation BRUCE BARTLETT NOAH MILLMAN WILLIAM S. LIND BRUCE FROHNEN DECEMBER 2012 IDEAS OVER IDEOLOGY • PRINCIPLES OVER PARTY The Myth of American Meritocracy How corrupt are Ivy League admissions? RON UNZ When News Becomes $4.95 US/Canada theamericanconservative.com Give one Christmas gift and the second is free! You have friends and relatives like ours: addicted to Fox News, hanging on every word pronounced by Rush Limbaugh, ready to believe any conspiratorial email sent their way. These friends and relatives say they are “conservative.” But let’s be honest. They really have no idea what the word means. You know what the word means. You stand for a conservatism that is prudent, thoughtful, imaginative, and skeptical. You are as wary of utopian schemes promoted by the Right as you are of the old and disproven nostrums still promoted by the Left. You love to engage a writer who challenges you and makes you think. 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Charge my: ACUNC O T NO.: EXPIRATION DATE: SIGNatURE: www.TheAmericanConservative.com/Christmas Vol. 11, No. 12, December 2012 6 14 54 FRONT LINES articles ARTS & LETTERS 6 A life on the Republican right— As high-school students 54 The End of Men: And the Rise and how it all went wrong across America submit college of Women by Hannah Rosin bruce bartlett applications this winter, NOAH MILLMAN The American Conservative 10 Israel’s greatest military historian presents an exposé of 56 Living the Faith: A Life of Tom dissects the Arab Spring corruption and discrimination in Monaghan by James Leonard william S. LIND elite university admissions. BRUCE P. FROHNEN COMMentarY Publisher Ron Unz examines 59 Living With Guns: A Liberal’s the data to reveal what Ivy League Case for the Second Amendment 5 Party politics is a bad investment and other top schools are really by Craig R. Whitney looking for—and what role merit BRIAN DOHERTY 11 CIA’s Benghazi role actually plays, or fails to play, philip giraldi in the process. 60 A Capitalism for the People: Recapturing the Lost Genius of 12 How the GOP lost America 14 The Myth of American American Prosperity by Luigi PATRICK J. BUCHANAN Meritocracy Zingales WILLIAM RUGER 52 The greatest antiwar pop song How corrupt are Ivy League BILL kauffman admissions? 63 Defending the Free Market: The Moral Case for a Free Economy 66 Becoming American begins 45 Paying Tuition to a by Robert Sirico with baseball Giant Hedge Fund ELIAS CRIM taki Student debt is unnecessary, and here’s the way to abolish it. Cover illustration: Michael Hogue DECEMBER 2012 THE AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE 3 The American Conservative Publisher Reactions Ron Unz Editor Daniel McCarthy Senior Editors Rod Dreher Daniel Larison WAR ON THE FAMILY serve. Libertarianism is liberalism, Mark Nugent A real irony is how many “fam- pure and simple. We long ago adopted Editorial Director, Digital ily values”-types are war hawks (“Why the liberal rhetoric of Milton Fried- Maisie Allison Conservatives Hate War,” November man and Michael Novak, of Ludwig Associate Editor 2012). It is hardly an obscure fact that von Mises and Ayn Rand, and what Jordan Bloom military life is deadly to family life, we now conserve are the values of the National Correspondent both in the literal sense and in the di- Enlightenment. Libertarianism sacri- Michael Brendan Dougherty vorce rate military couples suffer. And fices everything to “freedom,” but will Contributing Editors W. James Antle III, Andrew J. Bacevich, now we even send our mothers to war. not define freedom, or will only define Doug Bandow, Jeremy Beer, James Bovard, DAN DAVIS it negatively so that it becomes indis- Patrick Deneen, Michael Desch, Richard Gamble, Web comment tinguishable from license. Philip Giraldi, David Gordon, Paul Gottfried, Freddy Gray, Leon Hadar, Peter Hitchens, We cannot create a conservative Philip Jenkins, Christopher Layne, CULTIVATING CASH space by becoming liberals; at best, that Chase Madar, Eric Margolis, James Pinkerton, Justin Raimondo, Fred Reed, Stuart Reid, American agriculture (“Not Amish, But makes us neocons. We might become Sheldon Richman, Steve Sailer, Close,” October 2012) is structured the a political majority, and have, several John Schwenkler, Jordan Michael Smith, way it is both from a desire to prevent times. But it always turns out to be a R.J. Stove, Kelley Vlahos, Thomas E. Woods Jr. scarcity, which was a real problem in the paradoxical victory, with more govern- Associate Publisher early 20th century, and to influence geo- ment not less; higher debt, not lower; Jon Basil Utley politics in the Cold War era—“Get Big more license for the powerful, less Publishing Consultant Ronald E. Burr or Get Out.” The planners certainly suc- freedom for the rest. This is because Editorial Assistants ceeded, much too well unfortunately: the libertarians do no understand the Audrey Anweiler the biggest health problem among the law of unintended consequences. Con- Vijay Vikram poor is obesity. Surpluses lowered prices sequences are always larger than our Founding Editors and forced small operators out of busi- intentions, and any goal, even the goal Patrick J. Buchanan, Scott McConnell, ness, and such surpluses were turned of liberty, pursued in disregard of any Taki Theodoracopulos into products like high-fructose corn other proper goal will always double The American Ideas Institute syrup and ethanol, which created more back to negate itself, to become its own President health problems or took grain out of opposite. Wick Allison food production to make more money. JOHN C. MÈDAILLE The American Conservative, Vol. 11, No. 12, What is hoped for is a way small via email December 2012 (ISSN 1540-966X). Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Offic. Published 12 times a producers can survive and thrive in ag- year by The American Ideas Institute, 4040 riculture and recreate what’s been lost INCUMBENT BIAS Fairfax Drive, Ste. 140, Arlington, VA 22203. Periodicals postage paid Arlington, VA and in trying to turn farming from com- Excellent analysis of the biggest problem additional mailing offices. Printed in the USA. munity into just a pure industry. with our federal government (“Who POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The American Conservative, P.O. Box 9030, Maple SEAN SCALLON Needs a President?” November 2012). Shade, NJ 08052-9030. Web comment It has reached the point where the Subscription rates: $49.97 per year (12 issues) incumbent president always has a big in the U.S., $69.97 in Canada (U.S. funds), and DEFINING LIBERTY DOWN $89.97 other foreign via airmail. Back issues: advantage, no matter how badly he has $6.00 (prepaid) per copy in USA, $7.00 in With all due respect to Rod Dreher failed to live up to his promises or to Canada (U.S. funds). (“Paris in Fall,” November 2012), I the needs of the American people. For subscription orders, payments, and other have a serious problem with his state- The advantage is that the presidency subscription inquiries— By phone: 800-579-6148 ment, “Libertarianism, with it exal- is so powerful, nobody is plausible as (outside the U.S./Canada 856-380-4131) tation of freedom and choice, could president—nobody is smart enough Via Web: www.theamericanconservative.com be, in the American context, the only or has enough experience to execute By mail: The American Conservative, P.O. Box 9030, Maple Shade, NJ 08052-9030 political means of creating space for the duties of the office. But once Please allow 6–8 weeks for delivery of your the conservation of the permanent someone has been elected, he has a de first issue. things.” The statement is 30 years out facto plausibility from holding office Inquiries and letters to the editor should be sent to [email protected]. For advertising of date, since “conservatism” has al- that no challenger can equal. sales call Ronald Burr at 703-893-3632. For ready chosen libertarianism, which is GENE BERKMAN editorial, call 703-875-7600. why it no longer has anything to con- Web comment This issue went to press on November 15, 2012. Copyright 2012 The American Conservative. 4 THE AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE DECEMBER 2012 { Vol.