Discourse Magazine

Introducing Discourse, an online journal focused on politics, economics, and culture, brought to you by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. At Discourse, we emphasize the importance of conversation and exchange of ideas, believing that valuable insights emerge from diverse perspectives. Our mission is not only to uphold traditional liberal values but also to explore them through fresh and creative approaches.

International

English

Online/Digital

Outlet metrics

Domain Authority

Ranking

Global

#578032

United States

#197633

Law and Government/Law and Government

#449

Traffic sources

Monthly visitors

Articles

At 250, the U.S. Army Remains the Indispensable Service

2 weeks ago | discoursemagazine.com | Michael Puttre |Michael Puttré

In a few days, June 14th to be exact, the U.S. Army will celebrate its 250th birthday since its founding amid the first fires of the American Revolutionary War in 1775. Two and a half centuries later, the United States stands athwart the world, if precariously, very much like the 18th century British colossus that it first faced off against.
White and Black Album

2 weeks ago | discoursemagazine.com | Addison Del Mastro

I don’t mean to sound like an old man, but do people know anything about the Beatles? There’s a popular online narrative that the band’s iconic White Album is “haunted,” “creepy” and “cursed.” Did you know the almost goofy, self-referential “Glass Onion” is suffused with “supernatural mischief”? Did you know that John Lennon’s noisy, avant-garde “Revolution No. 9” is about putting you in the headspace of a child having a nightmare?
Have Drones Made Traditional Warfare Obsolete?

2 weeks ago | discoursemagazine.com | John Mueller

For the past year or two, there has been quite a bit of discussion about how inexpensive drones have been revolutionizing warfare in Ukraine. A “key effect,” notes analyst Anatol Lieven, is that they “make it extremely difficult to create the local mass necessary for a decisive breakthrough.” He points out that “tanks cannot be brought up to the front line at all” and that “infantry can only be brought up in tiny packets.” Others have come to similar conclusions.
Is It Time for End-of-College ‘Board’ Exams?

3 weeks ago | discoursemagazine.com | Colleen P. Eren |Eric Torres

By Colleen Eren and Eric TorresA recent Wall Street Journalheadline proclaimed, “There’s a Good Chance Your Kid Uses AI to Cheat.” That article focused on the growing use of artificial intelligence to skirt the onerous tasks of writing, reading, critical thinking and analysis among middle and high schoolers. But epidemic levels of cheating among college students with generative AI are now an open secret among faculty.
Why America Needs Its Myths

3 weeks ago | discoursemagazine.com | Jon Gabriel

Once upon a time, people venerated their ancestors as wise creators, mighty heroes and fonts of wisdom. That veneration slipped with the onset of the scientific revolution and has diminished ever since. Here in our technologically advanced 21st century, the average Joe considers himself superior to all who came before. After all, we moved past the dark ages of superstition and folk tales, and now we use pure reason backed by scientific fact.
Observations From a Wedding

1 month ago | discoursemagazine.com | James Lileks

“Where are you from and what do you do?” Some people think it’s gauche to ask, and it makes you sound like a quiz show host prompting a panelist to reduce themselves to a tidy bio. Well, what else are we supposed to talk about? “Hey there, stranger, how about that current political situation? Boy, that fellow we got in office is just gangbuster-keen, no? I’m loving all the legislation!” No. Are we supposed to talk about religion? “Say, I couldn’t help but notice you had an Orthodox cross.
Informal, Hyperlocal History

1 month ago | discoursemagazine.com | Addison Del Mastro

I love figuring out what old buildings used to be. “Informal, hyperlocal history” is a phrase I used in a piece on a curious old building (an old secret military contractor office that later became a print shop), to describe how I think about these stories: What always surprises me a little bit when I go down the rabbit hole digging for information is the sheer number of memories and anecdotes people have about every place under the sun.
Connecting Russia to NATO?

1 month ago | discoursemagazine.com | John Mueller

It has often been proposed that a ceasefire should take place in what Donald Trump has aptly labeled the “ridiculous” war in Ukraine. If a ceasefire takes hold and continues, extended negotiations can then be held in comparative quiet to deal with other outstanding issues, including, in particular, the country’s partition. Key to these negotiations would be to take Russia’s security concerns seriously. And connecting Russia to NATO in some way might be helpful in assuaging those concerns.
The Tin Gods Have Failed Us

2 months ago | discoursemagazine.com | Jon Gabriel

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “[M]an everywhere appears as a worshiping creature.” This applies not only to the faithful, but to the unbeliever as well. A person who rejects the divine merely redirects his worship to something else: money, politics, ideology, romantic love, knowledge. The list goes on. In a peaceful, prosperous nation, it’s easy to live that way. But what happens when the West’s centuries-long experiment with secularism proves each of these replacement faiths to be tin gods?
The Sunset of Screen Satire

2 months ago | discoursemagazine.com | Michael Puttre |Michael Puttré

If comedy is harder than dying, as somebody supposedly once said, satire is the hardest subspecies of screen comedy. Satirists not only take on the burden of moral authority in targeting aspects of society perceived as overweening—such as politicians, the military, high finance and Hollywood itself—they must do so with a scalpel rather than a chainsaw. There is nothing duller than broad satire. On the other hand, if a shibboleth is skewered in a theater and nobody buys a ticket, is it still funny?