Evening Lecture | George Will: The Political Argument Today

Evening Lecture | "The Political Argument Today" | George Will | Febuary 28, 2011
Few news columnists are as erudite, opinionated, controversial and widely read as Pulitzer Prize-winning writer George F. Will. Will's newspaper column appears twice weekly in 480 newspapers and has been syndicated nationally by The Washington Post Writers Group since 1974. A Newsweek Contributing Editor since 1976, he produces a back page column addressing diverse topics from politics to baseball.

Will writes occasionally for The London Daily Telegraph, is a television news analyst for Capital Cities/ABC News Television Group, and became a founding member of the panel of ABC's "This Week with David Brinkley" in 1981.

In addition to his 1977 Pulitzer for commentary for his newspaper columns, Will was named the best writer on any subject in a 1985 readers' poll conducted by The Washington Journalism Review. In 1979, he was a finalist for the National Magazine Award for essays and criticism. He won the 1978 National Headliner Award for consistently outstanding feature columns, and the 1980 and 1991 Silurian Award for editorial writing. Women in Communications awarded him First Place/Interpretive Column in the 1991 Clarion Awards competition.
Altogether, eight collections of Will's columns have been published, the most recent being "One Man's America: The Pleasures and Provocations of Our Singular Nation" (2008). Will has also published three books on political theory, "Statecraft as Soulcraft: What Government Does" (1983), "The New Season: A Spectator's Guide to the 1988 Election" (1987) and "Restoration: Congress, Term Limits and The Recovery of Deliberative Democracy" (1992). In 1990, he published "Men At Work: The Craft of Baseball," which topped The New York Times bestseller list for two months.
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Will was born in Champaign, Illinois in 1941, and educated at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut; Oxford University, and Princeton, where he earned his Ph.D. in politics. He has taught political philosophy at Michigan State, the University of Toronto and Harvard. Will served on the staff of the United States Senate for Gordon Allott (R-CO) from 1970-72. Will lives and works in the Washington, D.C. area.
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Disclaimer: The views expressed are the speaker's own and may not necessarily reflect the views of the Naval War College, the Department of the Navy, the Department of Defense, or any other branch or agency of the U.S. Government.

[@StephenNu9]

This is the sort of talk that we need from George Will. The times really need the references to history and the historical record.

[@tolivr]

Without doubt, Will is this nation's foremost and most intelligent political commentator. Such a pleasure listening to his observations and opinions.

[@akbarrauf2741]

he is a natural rights conservative he is my fav

[@jude999]

He is not talking ideals or delusions, but reality.

[@DuffyLew91]

Excellent discussion!

[@charleswarren1901]

What a prescient date for such a speech!

[@57highland]

In every talk, he uses the same joke about his Medicare card ... "Now we'll send the bill to your children." I've watched 4 George Will videos tonight and heard that joke 4 times.

[@gregb6469]

+lindsey lefrois -- So what? He was addressing four different audiences. Do you think stand-up comics have a new routine every time they climb up on a stage? Do politicians have new speeches every time they mount the hustings?

[@57highland]

+Greg B Actually George was addressing four different audiences of receptive "conservatives" like himself, so in effect he was addressing the same audience (i.e., "preaching to the choir"). Don't compare George to a stand-up comic because he's too much a sour-puss for that, and don't compare him to a politician because he doesn't have the nearly guts to actually run for office and prove that his theories are workable.

[@gregb6469]

lindsey lefrois -- You missed my point. Yes, each of the four presentations you saw were to mostly conservative audiences, but were they all to the same people? There are far more conservatives out there than can fit into a single lecture hall. Also, I wasn't saying Will is a stand-up comic. My point was that comics will use the same routine in different clubs, because they know each club will have a different audience. The same with politicians giving stump speeches; they will deliver similar speeches to audiences in different cities, because they know different people will be in attendance.

[@57highland]

+Greg B OK, well then sorry I'm being so cruel to George. I've just gotten so tired of the stale old conservative mantra that blames everything on liberals and the media, blames the media every time a conservative embarrasses himself and every time a Republican loses an election. I'm more conservative as I get older and I still get sick of hearing conservatives moaning about "liberals" and the "liberal media" (which is privately owned), "family values", "faith-based", "big government", "Christian conservative," "constitutional conservative" ... ad nauseum. Bill Clinton had it right when he said "Republicans don't want to do anything about big government, they just want to run against it."

[@57highland]

I don't agree with what he said, nor did I claim to. I said I'm getting more conservative as I get older, but not so much that I accept that conservatives lose elections because of the "liberal media". When they lose, they lose for valid reasons (which they remain in denial about): (a) they offer no specifics and merely repeat "lower taxes, less government" until it means nothing; (b) they offer ridiculously simple, non-realistic solutions, as Trump is doing; (c) they have a skeleton in their closet (often one that conflicts with their "family values" positions; (d) they blame everything on the "liberal" bogeyman; (d) they are weak candidates in any event.

[@LyndseyMacPherson]

I am beset with nostalgia and sadness to hear this talk from before our current president was even a candidate. So much unpleasantness has followed...

[@aon10003]

He doesnt realise that the stimulus today was Friedman idea.

[@joejohn1492]

I enjoy listening to George Will, often disagree with him but always respect his views

[@xerxes2044]

Right, workers decided they didnt want unions. Lol

[@robertwnorrisii9143]

Mr. Will, @31:50 🙋🏼‍♂️I. Earnestly, R.W.N II

[@chris14091975]

thank you for posting , very interesting

[@fredwelf8650]

So, one question is 'does Wisconsin collect union dues for the Unions' or not? Also, does Wisconsin charge public employees for their pensions and healthcare? It seemed that the dispute with Gov Walker was over collective bargaining, but George Will said otherwise. Concerning schools, G. Will described the Coleman and Moynihan reports but did not address why the illegitimacy rate is climbing, the main cause in both reports for underachievement. Concerning Social Security and Medicare, G. Will has a point re: means testing which I think is already somewhat affecting people with state pensions who receive a discounted Social Security check. Lastly, G. Will does not address why the Euro is declining in value. It also seems mysterious why he says that the dollar is losing value because the Fed is "printing money," when the cause of inflation is taxation and printing money simply reflects the amount of money borrowed/lent. When a loan is approved, the money supply increases, otherwise, the fraction of the money supply that is lent would soon exhaust the leveraged funds in each bank.

[@michaelhiggins2562]

The biggest mistake Americans make is "living the full extent of their income."

[@AyaxTelemonio]

HE IS BRILLIANT

[@shawntepitts488]

I'm skeptical

[@ddgallion]

Green Craniate, I suggest you read ‘Depression, War and Cold War’ and ‘Crisis and Leviathan’ by Robert Higgs and published by The Independent Institute. Additionally, I would recommend you read ‘The Great Depression of 1946’ in The Review of Austrian Economics, Vol. 5, No. 2., which will also refer you to other scholarly works.

[@MCulpa]

Yes you are Yes it is

[@stevemcgee99]

2:20 George starts.

[@intimacycafe]

But the rich are not investing everything they have... they are spending a very large percentage of it on yachts, caviar, and fifty thousand dollar bottles of wine... Why shouldn't they pay taxes on those kinds of luxurious personal incomes? High income should be the reward for doing business, not tax free high income.

[@robertblack6941]

But in the 1960’s, it was possible to price shop for medical care. That is not possible now. Thank you (sic), medical regulations, for removing our “skin” from the game. I don’t normally ask how much a test costs, I ask 1) if it is covered 2) is it effective?

[@martthesling]

And if a liberal speaker expressed his ideas you would say "So liberal and one sided"?

[@paul1x1]

George Will though I disagree on some things makes me think I might vote and then I remember Mr Will is not a republican anymore but Donald Trump is

[@57highland]

There's an age-old expression, George ... "Talk is cheap."

[@MikeTempletondizzo]

lindsey lefrois Unless you're at a Clinton Rally!

[@57highland]

***** What is it then?

[@MikeTempletondizzo]

lindsey lefrois www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clintons-earn-more-than-25-million-in-speaking-fees-since-january-2014/2015/05/15/52605fbe-fb4d-11e4-9ef4-1bb7ce3b3fb7_story.html

[@MikeTempletondizzo]

lindsey lefrois Be sure to read the bottom of the article. The people that LIVE there should know. Not any media, the REAL truth. www.nytimes.com/2015/05/30/us/politics/an-award-for-bill-clinton-came-with-500000-for-his-foundation.html?_r=0

[@57highland]

***** Please just explain in your own words and be brief. I don't care who is elected; the country is now on a trajectory determined by history, one that no president, Republican or Democrat, will be able to change. Therefore, I don't care who our next president will be, and we were talking about George Will to begin with, the fact that he has gone from being a legitimate commentator to being a bitter old crank. Try getting Hillary off your mind for a while.

[@goobermcgilicuty3754]

Man do I remember when this man championed conservative thought. Now I begining to believe he never meant a word of it, kind of sad!!

[@chrispalm2007]

Which part of his discussion wasn’t conservative?

[@MrTeneric]

You don't use air or vote do you? Please stop if you do.

[@57highland]

I wonder what George's excuse is for never running for office in order to put his infallible theories into practice ...

[@wayneriley7367]

I love George, but really, what has he really done for America? He gets his health care from his newspaper and he demands a good penny to say his great words. Yet, I bet his house is much bigger than mine and if he gets cancer I am sure he won’t go broke and his kids still get an inheritance. George, I love you and admire you, but sometimes it seems you have ideas but really don’t do anything with them. Run for office and see if your ideas can fix our problems.

[@elliotpierce1882]

No. You have not influenced more people than George Will.

[@wayneriley7367]

@@elliotpierce1882 maybe not, but he has become insignificant in the last 4 years when we need men like him to stand up to idiocy. I haven’t seen him do much in 4 years.

[@jsharp3165]

Will is a teacher. He is a professor at Princeton.

[@wayneriley7367]

@@jsharp3165 I stand corrected. As I said, I have always admired George, but he sits in his Ivory tower spouting off as many have done in history. During a revolution it takes mostly the common men to sacrifice their lives to change a nation.

[@StephenNu9]

George has some flawed ideas by 27 minutes. He wants to raise the retirement age. But in today's economy, the availability of jobs for many sectors of the working public is severely diminished compared to the days of Roosevelt. The cost of living in housing, taxes, and other areas are significantly increased. George is missing some key big-picture issues. It's an affliction that seems to effect many of the elite in Washington, which has a great deal of responsibility with the current state of affairs.

[@The_Red_Off_Road]

The elite are not responsible for the rise in obesity and fatherless households

[@jackwaterman44]

What is the matter with you? Are you joking?

[@Athenaikos]

I don't like project fear and this guy is spreading it. It would be best if American conservatives take more lessons from the Torries.

[@JDMeeks-dd8zr]

My

[@JDMeeks-dd8zr]

Ok

[@JDMeeks-dd8zr]

Ok

[@JDMeeks-dd8zr]

I

[@JDMeeks-dd8zr]

Ok Ok Kiki

[@JDMeeks-dd8zr]

Ok

[@MCulpa]

You sound a little mad

[@MikeHunt-qt7mb]

so conservative and one sided.

[@wendelllackey4807]

Wills opinions are often prejudicial and conclusory. Not well reasoned surprisingly.

[@nextworld9176]

Every minute he spoke, I lost a little more respect for conservatives. It's fine that he believes wealthy people are hard-working, job creators, (both false), but he totally ignores that a large percentage of people are unable to contribute due to disabilities, low IQ, or generational poverty.

[@MidnightRambler]

hahah sorry Will your so out of touch it hurts :P Pres Trump

[@57highland]

Some day, George, you'll find your perfect society and perfect government in the next life.

[@candyhosch7158]

lindsey lefrois Not likely. He’s an atheist.

[@wayneriley7367]

Sorry, Mitch McConnell was never right about anything.

[@Thrusthamster]

Proportionate taxation is due to "envy"? The US has an exceptional constitution because it says what it can't do rather than what it should do? That's not exceptional at all, it's common place. The constitutions with social rights are part of the second generation of human rights, which was championed by the UN, headed up by the US. The first generation was only political and civil rights, which happened during the mass constitutionalization of the late 17 and 1800s. The US is only exceptional now because other countries were smart enough to have mechanisms for changing the constitution with the times instead of something that would lead to political standoffs and stalemates. Something tells me this guy hasn't studied much international and constitutional law. I enjoyed the start of this talk byt toward the middle it devolves into partisan talking points.

[@Thrusthamster]

***** Typical, can't even argue a point before you go for the ad hominem. No, I have no debt and I have never stolen anything and I have never been on welfare or whatever else you're going to say next. Interesting how 4 to 6 trillion of the deficit are because wars fought since the year 2000.

[@Thrusthamster]

***** Have you studied constitutional and international law? Because if you did you'd already heard about what I was saying

[@Thrusthamster]

***** Here you go, read the "serve negatively to protect" part. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_generations_of_human_rights#First-generation_human_rights

[@Thrusthamster]

w8stral2 You also seem to have trouble with the concept of reading, because divvying up goods is the 2nd generation of human rights. As I just told you, the 1st generation is "negative" in nature, those rights decide what the government can't do to its citizens. Which the guy in the video says was unique to the US but it's a central trait of all constitutions made in the 18th century. Further, you seem to think the 2nd generation is about some government person handing out money as he sees fit. The beauty of human constitutional rights is that the people themselves decide what they want handed out and how they want it handed out. If a person gives out money as he wants, it would only be because the people gave him that job. I get how a dynamic constitution can be a strange concept to an american though

[@57highland]

The government of every organized, somewhat civilized society in history has levied some sort of tax(es). The Greeks, the Romans, and I'd venture every other regime that held any power for any length of time. So you don't like taxes ... how do you propose to run the country?

[@wendelllackey4807]

Meandering nonsense

[@57highland]

And he has no talent as a comedian ...

[@gregb6469]

+lindsey lefrois -- What's your idea of humor, F-bombs and fart jokes?

[@xerxes2044]

He got laughs.

[@Mamo878]

So wrong in so many ways. Time to retire.