Column: The Matter At Hand
Homo Homini Lupus est
(Man Is a Wolf to Man)
by Leon J. Podles
Human solidarity is a fragile accomplishment. Habits of cooperation quickly evaporate under anarchy, as men exploit one another. The violent bear away the prize: survival. Hobbes looked to strong government to save the human race from self-destruction. Without government, the weak face the strong with no protection. In a state of nature, men devour one another.
Related Touchstone articles:
A Double Take . . . THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS. Leon J. Podles holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Virginia and has worked as a teacher and a federal investigator. He is the author of The Church Impotent: The Feminization of Christianity and the forthcoming License to Sin (both from Spence Publishing). Dr. Podles and his wife have six children and live in Naples, Florida. He is a senior editor of Touchstone. calling all readers Please Donate "There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine." "Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal." • Not a subscriber or wish to renew your subscription? Subscribe to Touchstone today for full online access. Over 30 years of publishing! personal subscriptions Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone
online archives including pdf downloads for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!
Purchase Print & Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS
full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month! gift subscriptions
GIVE Print & Give six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS
full online access including pdf downloads for the reduced rate of $29.95. That's only $2.50 per month! Transactions will be processed on a secure server. bulk subscriptions Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups. kindle subscription OR get a subscription to Touchstone to read on your Kindle for only $1.99 per month! (This option is KINDLE ONLY and does not include either print or online.) Your subscription goes a long way to ensure that Touchstone
is able to continue its mission of publishing quality Christian articles and commentary. more from the online archives 27.2—March/April 2014 on C. S. Lewis & the New State Paganism by W. E. Knickerbocker 24.6—Nov/Dec 2011 on the Tyranny of Modern Freedom versus the Freedom of Jesus by Gillis J. Harp
FOR QUICK ACCESS:
—Alice von Hildebrand
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
Online Subscription
Online Subscription
