Nathanael Blake
Postdoctoral Fellow
Nathanael Blake, Ph.D. is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. His primary research interests are American political theory, Christian political thought, and the intersection of natural law and philosophical hermeneutics. His published scholarship has included work on Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Alasdair MacIntyre, Russell Kirk and J.R.R. Tolkien. He is currently working on a study of Kierkegaard and labor. As a cultural observer and commentator, he is also fascinated at how our secularizing culture develops substitutes for the loss of religious symbols, meaning and order.
Nathanael Blake, Ph.D. is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. His primary research interests are American political theory, Christian political thought, and the intersection of natural law and philosophical hermeneutics. His published scholarship has included work on Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Alasdair MacIntyre, Russell Kirk and J.R.R. Tolkien. He is currently working on a study of Kierkegaard and labor. As a cultural observer and commentator, he is also fascinated at how our secularizing culture develops substitutes for the loss of religious symbols, meaning and order.
Dr. Blake grew up in the Pacific Northwest, and received an undergraduate degree in microbiology with a chemistry minor from Oregon State University. After working as a writer and editor in the pro-life movement, he enrolled in graduate studies at the Catholic University of America, earning a doctorate in political theory. His dissertation was titled: “Natural Law and History: The Use and Abuse of Practical Reason.” Blake was a Richard M. Weaver Fellow of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and served as an adjunct professor of American Government at Wheeling Jesuit University.
Dr. Blake is a Senior Contributor to The Federalist, where he has published over 150 pieces since 2017. His work has been published in a variety of publications, including Public Discourse, The Catholic World Report, and National Review.
An evangelical Christian, Blake helps lead worship at his church—he particularly enjoys playing old hymns on double bass.
Managerial Oligarchy: Why Conservatives Should Oppose Big Business
Nathanael Blake
As conservatives contemplate how to respond to the threat of managerial oligarchy, we should, of course, be humble—but we must not be so afraid of our own imperfections that we are paralyzed into acquiescence under an evil system.
Articles
Public Discourse / May 3, 2021
For Liberalism To Hold Any Meaning, Colleges Need Religious Exemptions
Nathanael Blake
Left-liberals must recognize that sustaining the bargain of liberalism in a time of big government and ascendant cultural leftism requires generous accommodations for traditional religious believers and their institutions.
Articles
The Federalist / April 17, 2021
The Wall Between Civilization And Our Innate Savagery Is Weakening
Nathanael Blake
Despite being surrounded by material abundance and wondrous gadgetry, human depravity still finds a way.
Articles
The Federalist / April 9, 2021
Humility Is Where Conservatives And Libertarians Can Still Find Fusion
Nathanael Blake
Conservatives and libertarians must both check their pride to work toward a new fusionism. Their common ground begins with humility.
Articles
The Federalist / March 26, 2021
Wanted: Republicans Willing To Betray The Ruling Class
Nathanael Blake
The GOP needs people who put a Harvard or Yale diploma in a cheap frame in the basement and then go stick it to their former classmates.
Articles
The Federalist / March 24, 2021
Why The Left Is Helping Make America Racist Again
Nathanael Blake
Self-styled anti-racists and social justice activists are seething with hate, but it is only upon love that we can move beyond racial tension and division.
Articles
The Federalist / March 18, 2021
The Left’s New Moral Framework Includes Zero Forgiveness, Even For Dr. Seuss
Nathanael Blake
Instead of a populace with a developed understanding of sin, and a prudent sense of what to punish and what to tolerate, we now have personal and social moral instability.
Articles
The Federalist / March 5, 2021
