Speaking of “discontent,” I think of Ahmari as Richard III. What happens when he wins his culture war? What does the warrior do when he has no war to fight? My guess is that this one goes totalitarian. How is he not advocating a Christian Taliban? Under Ahmarism, how does the “obey” part of the marriage ceremony not become law? Where does “Christian” morality end? Ahmari is, to my mind, an intelligent fool. Sadly, the world is besieged with such saints. Civic peace should be a goal of government. Mr. Ahmari embraces incivility not as a tactic, but as an end. Shame on him.
Not that Mr. French is much wiser. I found this bit instructive:
“An originalist interpretation of the Constitution allows for, essentially, moral legislation that reflects a Christian worldview about pornography. Right?”
French nodded, understanding he’d been trapped. “Yeah.”
“Yeah?” That’s all you’ve got, Mr. French? How about “No, moral legislation is consistent with Christian teaching to the extent that Christian teaching matches or even informs secular morality.” Sunday Blue Laws are a good idea IMO. They provide a day each week when everyone is able not to compete, because no one is allowed to compete. What day should that be? Why not the day that most citizens want to worship? OK, then, it’s Sunday. That’s not “Christian” morality; it’s good Hobbesian coordination of the economic war of all against all, done in a way that most people would prefer it be done. Ditto porn. A fully secular case can be made against it, whether or not the Church would reach the same conclusion.
By escaping religiosity, liberalism basically recognizes the game-theoretical nature of the world. Plus-sum opportunities abound, but they must be co-ordinated in the massively multiplayer iterated prisoners dilemma Hobbes identified. He didn’t know that Leviathan was about Nash equilibria, but it was. Mill’s On Liberty teaches why Ahmaliesque conformity is self-defeating. Religiosity marks the world’s worst places to live. (Personality cults are religions, too.) Trumpism is a cult of personality. Anyone who is not a never-Trumper needs to come to Jesus.