-----Original Message-----
From: Eric Kohn | Acton Institute <info@acton.org>
To: add1dda@aol.com
Sent: Wed, Mar 22, 2023 3:33 pm
Subject: C.S. Lewis on the Specter of Totalitarianism

The great Christian apologist's "scientocracy" is upon us. What should be our response?

C.S. Lewis on the Specter of Totalitarianism By Micah Watson It is safe to say C.S. Lewis is not known first of all for his treatment of totalitarianism. We are familiar with Lewis the Christian apologist, Lewis the writer of children's stories and science fiction fantasy, Lewis the literary critic and Oxford don, and then chair of medieval and renaissance literature at Cambridge. We're less familiar with Lewis the political thinker. But in the almost 60 years since he passed away, on November 22, 1963, we've come to learn more and more about Lewis' significant interests in, and concerns about, politics.   This contradicts the conventional wisdom about Lewis, which was that he disdained and avoided politics. And yet we know that in every chapter of his biography, and in several of his writings and throughout his personal correspondence, politics is at the very least near the surface and at times front and center for Lewis.   Lewis was also steeped in the classical thinkers, particularly Plato and Aristotle, and so he was interested in justice, and injustice. One classical definition of justice is to give each his due, and injustice the denial of the same. Those themes run throughout his works. The classical definition of tyranny is to rule for one's private interest rather than the good of the whole. We can think then of tyranny as injustice plus political power.   And then there's totalitarianism. One definition of totalitarianism is a system of government in which the state aspires to control all aspects of life such that the personal/public divide is obliterated. We can think of totalitarianism then as injustice plus political power plus the technical means to apply that power universally and effectively.   Lewis delivered the lectures that later became The Abolition of Man and wrote the fictional version of Abolition, That Hideous Strength, primarily worried about a particular kind of totalitarianism: what he called "scientocracy."   Read more >> Subscribe to Acton Unwind >> The French Enlightened on Pensions Protests continue in France over the move by French president Emmanuel Macron to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. How does France, and other countries facing the realities of math when it comes to their pension programs, navigate the reality that these kinds of reforms are simultaneously necessary and very unpopular? Plus: defining "wokeness" and calls for new financial regulations. Listen now. Subscribe to Acton Line >> The Right's Economic Left Turn A belief in the positive power of free markets has been a part of the political and philosophical program of the political right for virtually all of the post-World War II conservative movement. Now that is no longer the case. We talk this week with Dr. Samuel Gregg of the American Institute for Economic Research about the turn to the state by members of the so-called "New Right" and how arguments for a market-based economy need to be refreshed for the problems of the 21st century. Listen now. Subscribe to Acton Vault >> The Economic Ways of Loving What does economics have to say about our love for mankind? Our neighbors around the globe? The least of these among us? Our local communities and families? Integrating a Christian perspective and sound economics, Dr. Sarah Estelle considers in what cases market exchange can communicate love and in which situations market approaches would only crush it. Listen now. Acton University is not your typical conference. It's a four-day exploration of theology, philosophy, entrepreneurship, international development, and market-based economics. Each day is packed with thought-provoking presentations that connect moral and religious principles to economic and personal liberty.   At Acton University, you'll join people from all walks of life and from every part of the globe—from business leaders to students, seminarians to academics, and entrepreneurs to nonprofit workers—to explore the intellectual and practical foundations of a free society.    We hope you'll join us June 19-22, 2023 in beautiful Grand Rapids, Michigan, for this exciting event.    Sharpen your intellect. Expand your worldview. Learn the foundations of genuine human flourishing. Register Now Quentin Tarantino and the Freedom of '70s Cinema By Titus Techera One of the most celebrated of contemporary filmmakers has a new book out in which he shares how he has spent his career trying to recapture the exuberance, excitement, and exhilarating freedom of a special period in film history. Read more. Follow the Acton Institute on Instagram and share. Acton Institute, 98 Fulton St. E., Grand Rapids, MI 49503, United States, 616-454-3080