The Dying Citizen by Victor Davis Hanson FTP: Thesis (solid structure)

Not quite a thesis, rather, an arrived at conviction. Arrived in the sense of Victor Davis Hanson’s background.

Victor Davis Hanson (VDH) is an esteemed classicist and historian. He’s a Hoover Institution Fellow. Other fellows include Thomas Sowell, Shelby Steele, Niall Ferguson, and Russ Roberts. I won’t extrapolate much, but in sum, the Hoover Institution is home to leading Conservative intellectuals. And it’s a beacon in how it stands out. Thomas Sowell being a fellow, and him being proud of that, is enough of a stamp of approval.

Why am I saying all this?

Victor Davis Hanson’s conviction here, his thesis, is arrived at versus just spouting. And it lays out an important premise for his book.

Citizenship, after all, is not an entitlement; it requires work. Yet too many citizens of republics, ancient and modern, come to believe they deserve rights without assuming the responsibilities — and they don’t worry how or why or from whom they inherited their privileges.

That’s succinct. That’s p…