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Articles by Walker Wright
Nourishing the Roots: An Interview with Walker Wright
When working through faith crises, many people eventually start asking: How do I even know what I think I know? What may have started as a difficult question can become an epistemological inquiry that sometimes even leads to an existential crisis. We sat down with Walker Wright, author of the recently published book “Nourishing the Roots: Seeking the Foundations of Latter-day Testimony,” to discuss this pattern and how someone might work through it.
Opinion: James Bond’s forgotten moral code Original
Oct. 5 is officially known as Global James Bond Day, which marks the anniversary of the 1962 world premiere of the first 007 feature, “Dr. No.” This year, it lands alongside the 20th-anniversary return to theaters of Daniel Craig’s first outing, “Casino Royale,” and the anticipated announcement of the next actor to don the tuxedo.
Opinion: Illiberalism is on the march, but the Constitution is not going anywhere Original
The American experiment is an experiment in liberalism. Not “liberal” in the modern left-right divide of American politics, but liberalism in the sense captured by Adam Smith’s concept “of perfect justice, of perfect liberty, and of perfect equality.” Or, perhaps closer to home, it is the liberalism expressed in the simple yet profound statement of the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal.” What exactly is liberalism?
Why universities should pursue truth over protecting orthodoxy
The German philosopher Robert Spaemann once described education as a way “to introduce one to reality.” Not just the reality of the external world around us — as important as that is — but also the reality of ourselves, of what we are and what we’re for. To be educated is to develop the capacity to see things as they really are. Or, at the very least, a desire for the truth and the means to pursue it. But here’s the problem: None of us fully understands reality as a whole.
Opinion: Before you walk away from religion, go deeper
I’ve spent quite a bit of time thinking about why people lose their faith. Occasionally, it is due to concrete issues such as human failures, hard teachings, intellectual problems or troubling history. Other times, it’s the outgrowth of poor choices. And sometimes — as was the case for me at a young age — it’s the result of tragedies like the death of loved ones. Revealed religion has always been messy. It’s the nature of the beast.
Free Trade Is Fairer Than You Think
Summary: Free trade is often accused of being unfair and corrosive to democratic institutions, concentrating power in the hands of elites while leaving ordinary people behind. The evidence suggests the opposite. Participation in markets cultivates norms of fairness, impartiality, and trust that strengthen democratic institutions and expand individual rights. In earlier essays, I argued that trade makes us more prosperous, more trusting, and less corrupt. But isn’t trade unfair?
Why Free Economies Are Honest Economies
Summary: Many people assume that markets breed dishonesty, but the opposite is true. Commerce depends on trust. Repeated exchange and reputation make honesty not just virtuous, but profitable. When trade is open and competition thrives, deceit is punished and integrity is rewarded. By contrast, heavy regulation invites corruption and favoritism. A truly commercial society, grounded in voluntary exchange and mutual accountability, is also a more honest and trustworthy one.
The Man with No Name: The Story of the Brother of Jared as an Anti-Babel Polemic
Keywords Brother of Jared, Book of Ether, anti-Babel polemic Abstract Within the text of the Book of Mormon, the name of Jared’s brother is never revealed. Various reasons have been offered for the lack of a name, but nothing conclusive has been offered. Taking a cue from the polemical nature of Old Testament theology, this paper argues that the opening of the book of Ether is a polemic against Babel, with the brother of Jared being contrasted against the people and ruler of Babel.
The horizon is bright for the future of global faith
Religion has been through the wringer over the last couple of decades. When I returned home from my Latter-day Saint mission toward the end of 2007, the so-called "New Atheism" was in full swing. In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, this more militant form of atheism gained even more cultural traction. Religion was no longer seen as quaint or harmless. It was portrayed as both irrational and dangerous. Bestselling books like "The God Delusion" and "God Is Not Great" gained widespread attention.
The Spontaneous Order of American Life – Walker Wright
In discussions about religion and public life, there is often a well-intended emphasis on commonalities among traditions. Shared moral values such as compassion, charity, or human dignity are put front and center in efforts to reinforce support for liberal principles. While I wholeheartedly embrace these commonalities, we should be careful not to flatten religious distinctions in the name of pluralism.
Dear President Trump, trade is actually really good. Here's why.
The administration's " Liberation Day" on April 2 was anything but liberating for the U.S. economy. The administration's proposed tariffs led to a massive plunge in the stock market and levels of economic uncertainty on par with the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. President Donald Trump's economic ire knew no bounds, with his miscalculated "retaliatory" tariffs covering even some uninhabited islands.
The Market Society Is a Pro-Social Society
Human beings are inherently pro-social creatures. Aristotle went so far as to refer to us as political animals, driven by our nature to create associations that culminate in the broader community of the polis. And our capacity for reciprocity, trust, and cooperation has deep evolutionary origins. These big brains of ours developed, in part, to handle the growing size and complexity of our social networks. We are wired to connect.
Trustworthy Capitalists – Walker Wright
Even among those who largely approve of the free market system, it is often assumed that there are some bleak trade-offs. In exchange for economic efficiency, we allow for the loss of particular industries (such as manufacturing) and the job loss that this incurs. But perhaps more pressing, many worry about the fracturing of our social fabric and the deterioration of social capital. And it’s not hard to see how one might arrive at this conclusion. Market societies imply market competition.
Immigrants strengthen the American economy. The research is clear Original
In the current election cycle, rhetoric about immigration (of any kind) is so strident that it's easy for people to come away believing that even legal immigration is harming the country. This simply isn't so. In the June presidential debate, former President Donald Trump hammered President Joe Biden for what he believed to be the current president's weakness on border security. Biden attempted - rather poorly - to defend his immigration record.
The Violence Inherent in the System – Walker Wright
In his 1968 book The Great Terror, the late historian Robert Conquest documented a number of Joseph Stalin’s atrocities and brutalities in the 1930s Soviet Union. Criticized for decades, Conquest was largely vindicated following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the opening of its archives. A story often circulated is that Conquest’s publisher suggested a revised edition of The Great Terror and asked for a new title.
Corruption, Centralization, and Commerce – Walker Wright
May 2, 2024 Corruption and economic centralization are a match made in hell. In the 2004 film Collateral, silver-haired assassin Vincent (Tom Cruise) forces cab driver Max (Jamie Foxx) to taxi him to his various would-be targets throughout the night. In an early scene, an unsuspecting Max is patiently waiting outside when a dead body falls from a second-story window onto the hood of his cab.
The Dark Specter of Liberal Mormonism – Walker Wright
During the nineteenth-century debates over slavery, many of the institution’s most ardent defenders opposed a liberal society for being antithetical to the Southern slave economy.
"Early Evidence of the First Vision in JST Psalm 14" by Walker Wright and Don Bradley
Keywords First Vision, Joseph Smith, Church history, Church of Jesus Christ, Psalm 14, Bible studies Abstract The First Vision has been a center of both faith and controversy. While millions of Latter-day Saints affirm it as the beginning of the Restoration, others see it as an ever-growing fish tale. The multiple accounts of the First Vision vary in detail, with Joseph Smith’s earliest written account (1832) lacking some of the elements found in his later accounts.
Walker Wright, Author at Public Square Magazine
Despite the appearance of a sharp competition between coherent ideologies, could it be that America is divided by group loyalties and resentments more than anything else?
"To Dress It and to Keep It": Toward a Mormon Theology of Work
Home > Journals > BYU Studies Quarterly > Vol. 55 > Iss. 2 (2016) BYU Studies Quarterly Keywords Mormon studies, eschatology, apocalyptic literature Abstract In the controversial film Monty Python’s Life of Brian, the protagonist, Brian, finds himself in the market square while being pursued by Roman centurions. In the speakers’ corner of the market, three different prophets are shown attempting to gain an audience with tales of Armageddon. One dust-covered wild man shrieks about “the beast . . .
How trade openness can help to ‘deliver the poor and needy’
Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy. (Psalms 82: 3–4, KJV) 1 INTRODUCTION According to the World Bank (2018), extreme poverty (i.e. less than $1.90 a day) has plummeted from 36 per cent of the world population in 1990 to 10 per cent in 2015. This information is not as well‐known as it should be.
January 2020 - Public Square Magazine
Is It Time for a Paradigm Shift in Mental Health? We’ve tried so hard to decrease depression, anxiety and suicide. And the numbers keep going up. Is it time to consider even more fundamental shifts in our approach? The Supreme Court’s Textualist Temptation The Supreme Court’s much-anticipated decision in Bostock v Clayton County may in fact tell us more about how courts decide what law is than what law says.
The Depth of Political Ignorance in America
This is the first in a series of articles by Walker A. Wright exploring the extent of political ignorance in America, along with its contributors and implications. In a 2012 Saturday Night Live sketch, a political ad parody “paid for” by “Low-Information Voters of America” showcased a handful of America’s “undecided voters” asking questions like, “What are the names of the two people running?” or “Who is the president right now?
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