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.
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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). His latest book is Losing the Good Portion: Why Men are Alienated from Christianity (St. Augustine’s Press). 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
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is able to continue its mission of publishing quality Christian articles and commentary. more from the online archives 30.2—March/April 2017 on Reading Don Quixote in Its Original Christian Context by Luis Cortest 32.6—November/December 2019 Historical Truth, Beguiling Stories & Three Kinds of Hearers by Anthony Esolen 30.5—Sept/Oct 2017 on Costly Grace in Breece D'J Pancake's Flyover Country by Casey Chalk
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