Thomas William Dowling

When we encounter the term “aristocracy”, it isn’t usually “football” that comes to mind. Typically, we envision a family whose historical prestige grants them a status so high that it is immutable, inaccessible to outsiders, can’t be purchased and imbues an aesthetic under which its subjects flourish to the extent that they have a personal investment in its preservation. As such, when we think about aristocrats, we don’t think about Elon Musk, Wayne Rooney, or, God forbid, Kim Kardashian.

Introduction It’s now been half a millennium since Martin Luther published his most politically influential work: On Secular Authority (1523) – a follow-up to his earlier essay Concerning Christian Liberty (1520). Whereas Concerning Christian Liberty (CCL) defines the intellectual spirit of the Reformation, On Secular Authority attempts to give Christian liberty a form within the human law; one that engenders and preserves the conditions for moral actions to be conducted for their own sake.

Jacobin (est. 2010), a left-wing publication, acquired its name from The Jacobin Club: the most radical faction of the French Revolution that administered the abolition of the Ancien Régime and the Declaration of the Rights of Man (1790). In general, the magazine has sustained a favourable reputation among the present-day ‘men of letters’ since its foundation. However, an article written by one of its more prolific contributors, Dustin Guastella, recently placed it in turbulent waters.