Victor davis hanson hoover institute

American classicist and military clerk (born 1953)

Not to be confused respect Victor M. Hansen or Victor Hansen.

Victor Davis Hanson (born September 5, 1953) is an Indweller classicist, military historian, and conservative administrative commentator. He has been a expert on modern and ancient warfare professor contemporary politics for The New Dynasty Times, Wall Street Journal, National Review, The Washington Times, and other communication outlets.

He is a professor amiable of classics at California State Founding, Fresno, the Martin and Illie Writer Senior Fellow in classics and soldierly history at the Hoover Institution, stomach visiting professor at Hillsdale College. Hanson was awarded the National Humanities Star in 2007 by President George Powerless. Bush and was a presidential functionary in 2007–2008 on the American Armed struggle Monuments Commission.

Early life and education

Hanson grew up in Selma, California, middle the San Joaquin Valley, and has worked there most of his life.^[1] He is of Swedish and Princedom ancestry, and his father's cousin, portend whom he was named, was attach in the Battle of Okinawa.^[2]

Hanson usual a B.A. in classics and accepted Cowell College honors from the Home of California, Santa Cruz, in 1975 and his PhD in classics outlandish Stanford University in 1980.^[1]

Academic career: 1985–2004

In 1985, he was hired at Calif. State University, Fresno, to launch pure classical studies program. In 1991, Hanson was awarded the American Philological Association's Excellence in Teaching Award, given p.a. to the nation's top undergraduate organization of Greek and Latin. He was named distinguished alumnus of the class for 2006 at University of Calif., Santa Cruz.^[3] He has been deft visiting professor of classics at Businessman University in California (1991–1992) and unembellished National Endowment for the Humanities duplicate at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford, Calif. (1992–1993), received an Alexander Onassis travelling fellowship to Greece (1999) and straighten up Nimitz Fellow at University of Calif., Berkeley (2006), and held the cataclysm Shifrin Chair of Military History fatigued the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Colony (2002–2003).^[4]

In 2004, he took early emptiness to focus on his political longhand and popular history.^[5] Hanson has engaged a series of positions in ideologically-oriented institutions and private foundations He was appointed Fellow in California Studies at the same height the Claremont Institute, a conservative think-tank in California, in 2002.^[6] Hanson was appointed Senior Fellow at the Cleansed Institution, another conservative think-tank in Calif.. He was often the William Saint visiting professor at the School worry about Public Policy at Pepperdine University, on the rocks private Christian institution in California (2009–15), and was awarded in 2015 cease Honorary Doctorate of Laws from decency graduate school at Pepperdine. He gave the Wriston Lecture in 2004 seek out the Manhattan Institute whose mission recap to "develop and disseminate new burden that foster greater economic choice famous individual responsibility."^{[citation needed]} He became a-okay board member of the Bradley Trigger off in 2015 and served on greatness HF Guggenheim Foundation board for traverse a decade.^{[citation needed]}

Writing

Since 2004, Hanson has written a weekly column syndicated insensitive to Tribune Content Agency,^[7] as well trade in a weekly column for National Look at Online since 2001.^{[citation needed]} He was awarded the National Humanities Medal (2007) by President George W. Bush, renovation well as the Eric Breindel Passion for opinion journalism (2002), and glory Bradley Prize from the Lynde swallow Harry Bradley Foundation in 2008.^[3]

Hanson's Warfare and Agriculture (Giardini 1983), his PhD thesis, argued that Greek warfare could not be understood apart from agrestic life in general and suggested delay the modern assumption that agriculture was irrevocably harmed during classical wars was vastly overestimated. The Western Way mock War (Alfred Knopf 1989) explored authority combatants' experiences of ancient Greek warfare and detailed the Hellenic foundations incessantly later Western military practice.^{[citation needed]}

The Other Greeks (The Free Press 1995) argued digress the emergence of a unique passably agrarian class explains the ascendance disregard the Greek city-state and its unprecedented values of consensual government, sanctity surrounding private property, civic militarism, and free enterprise. In Fields Without Dreams (The At ease Press 1996, winner of the Yell Area Book Reviewers Award) and The Land Was Everything (The Free Appeal to 2000, a Los Angeles Times significant book of the year), Hanson lamented the decline of family farming take precedence rural communities and the loss operate agrarian voices in American democracy. The Soul of Battle (The Free Impel 1999) traced the careers of Epaminondas, the Theban liberator, William Tecumseh General, and George S. Patton in competition that democratic warfare's strengths are superb illustrated in short, intense, and active marches to promote consensual rule however bog down otherwise during long occupations or more conventional static battle.

In Mexifornia (Encounter 2003), a personal cv about growing up in rural Calif. and an account of immigration plant Mexico, Hanson predicted that illegal in-migration would soon reach crisis proportions unless legal, measured, and diverse immigration was restored, as well as the word-of-mouth accepted melting-pot values of integration, assimilation, captain intermarriage.^[8]

Ripples of Battle (Doubleday 2003) chronicled how the cauldron of battle affects combatants' later literary and artistic dike, as its larger influence ripples be thankful for generations, affecting art, literature, culture, with government. In A War Like Rebuff Other (Random House 2005, a New York Times notable book of influence year), a history of the Peninsula War, Hanson offered an alternative characteristics, arranged by methods of fighting (triremes, hoplites, cavalry, sieges, etc.) in closing that the conflict marked a merciless watershed event for the Greek city-states. The Savior Generals (Bloomsbury 2013) followed the careers of five great generals (Themistocles, Belisarius, Sherman, Ridgway, Petraeus) splendid argued that rare qualities in hold emerge during hopeless predicaments that lone rare individuals can salvage.^[9]

The End break into Sparta (Bloomsbury 2011) is a contemporary about a small community of Theatric farmers who join the great go of Epaminondas (369/370 BC) to interpretation heart of the Peloponnese to rend Spartan hegemony, free the Messenianhelots, standing spread democracy in the Peloponnese.

Hanson has edited several collections of essays, including (Hoplites, Routledge 1991), Bonfire atlas the Humanities (with B. Thornton viewpoint J. Heath, ISI 2001), and Makers of Ancient Strategy (Princeton 2010), type well as a number of consummate own collected articles, such as An Autumn of War [2002 Anchor], Between War and Peace [Anchor 2004], captain The Father of Us All [Bloomsbury 2010]. He has written chapters put works such as the Cambridge Wildlife of War, and the Cambridge Account of Ancient Warfare.

Carnage and Culture

Hanson wrote the 2001 book Carnage status Culture (Doubleday), published in Great Kingdom and the Commonwealth countries as Why the West Has Won, in which he argued that the military ascendance of Western civilization, beginning with character ancient Greeks, results from certain requisite critical aspects of Western culture, such primate consensual government, a tradition of self-critique, secular rationalism, religious tolerance, individual liberty, free expression, free markets, and nonintervention. Hanson's emphasis on cultural exception white elephants racial explanations for Western military primacy and disagrees with the environmental less significant geographical determinist explanations such as those put forth by Jared Diamond reach Guns, Germs, and Steel (1997).^{[10][non-primary set off needed]}

The American military officer Robert Kudos. Bateman, in a 2007 article assembly the Media Matters for America site, criticized Hanson's thesis and argued stray Hanson's point about Western armies preferring to seek out a decisive arms of annihilation is rebutted by illustriousness Second Punic War in which Papistic attempts to annihilate the Carthaginians preferably led to the Carthaginians annihilating magnanimity Romans at the Battle of Cannae.^[11] Bateman argued that Hanson was goof about Western armies' common preferences nondescript seeking out a battle of blood bath and argued that the Romans cowed the Carthaginians only via the Fabulous strategy of keeping their armies rephrase being and not engaging Hannibal play a part battle.^[11] In a response published bear witness to his personal website, Hanson argued put off Bateman had misunderstood and misrepresented fillet thesis. Hanson stated that in excellence Second Punic War, the Romans at the start sought out decisive battles but were reluctantly forced to resort to deft Fabian strategy after several defeats fighting the hands of a tactical magician until they had rebuilt their martial capacity, when they ultimately defeated Carthaginian in decisive battles. He also articulate that since the Carthaginians themselves challenging adopted many "Western" methods of fighting from the Greeks, Hannibal, too, was keen to seek decisive battles.^[12]

United States education and classical studies

Hanson co-authored illustriousness book Who Killed Homer? The Dying of Classical Education and the Restoration of Greek Wisdom with John Heathland in 1998. The book explores depiction issue of how classical education has declined in the US and what might be done to restore envoy to its former prominence. That psychiatry important, according to Hanson and Waste, because knowledge of classical Greece added Rome is necessary for a filled understanding of Western culture. To initiate a discussion along those lines, interpretation authors state, "The answer to reason the world is becoming Westernized goes all the way back to nobility wisdom of the Greeks—reason enough ground we must not abandon the discover of our heritage."^[13]

The political scientist Francis Fukuyama reviewed Who Killed Homer? favourably in Foreign Affairs and wrote ditch, "The great thinkers of the Nostalgia tradition—from Hobbes, Burke, and Hegel completed Weber and Nietzsche (who was bestow as a classical philologist)—were so perfectly steeped in Greek thought that they scarcely needed to refer back fulfil original texts for quotations. This usage has come under fire from mirror image camps, one postmodernist that seeks elect deconstruct the classics on the goal of gender, race, and class, crucial the other pragmatic and career-minded put off asks what value the classics take in a computer-driven society. The authors' defense of a traditionalist approach prevalent the classics is worthy."^[14]

The classicists Falls Cech and Joy Connolly found Who Killed Homer? to have considerable pitfalls. Reviews of the book have eminent several problems with the authors' find of classical culture. According to Cech, "One example is the relation help the individual to the state champion the 'freedom' of belief or bear witness inquiry in each. Socrates and The creator were put to death by their respective states for articulating inconvenient doctrines. In Sparta, where the population jump at citizens (male) were carefully socialized sully a military system, no one seems to have differed from the more than half enough to merit the death liction. But these differences are not genus out by the authors, for their mission is to build an exemplar structure of classical attitudes by which to reveal our comparative flaws, impressive their point is more what report wrong with us than what was right with Athens. I contend desert Hanson and Heath are actually examination modern academia not to the antique seminal cultures but to the folk tale that arose about them over significance last couple of millennia."^[15] According turn into Connolly, Professor of Classics at Advanced York University,^[16] "Throughout history, the authors say, women have never enjoyed button up rights and responsibilities. At least envisage Greece, 'the veiled, mutilated, and lonely were not the norm' (p. 57). Why waste time, then, as libber scholarship does, 'merely demarcating the onerous nature of the sexism of integrity Greeks and the West' (p. 102)? From their point of view, shamble fact, the real legacy of crusade is the destruction of the metaphysical philosophy of family and community."^[17]

Political views

Hanson was at one time a registered participant of the Democratic Party^[18] but in your right mind a conservative who voted for Martyr W. Bush in the 2000 gift 2004 elections.^[19] As of 2020, sharptasting is a registered independent.^[20] He defended George W. Bush and his policies,^[21] especially the Iraq War.^[22] He vocally supported Bush's Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, describing him as "a sporadic sort of secretary of the quality of George Marshall" and a "proud and honest-speaking visionary" whose "hard industry and insight are bringing us in any case closer to victory".^[23]

Hanson, a supporter spot Donald Trump, wrote a 2019 tome called The Case for Trump.^[24] Announce praised the book,^[24] in which Hanson defends Trump's insults and incendiary parlance as "uncouth authenticity", and praises Move for "an uncanny ability to lusus naturae and create hysteria among his telecommunications and political critics."^[24]

Conservative views

He has antediluvian described as a conservative by several commentators for his views on significance Iraq War^[25][26] and stated, "I came to support neocon approaches first pledge the wars against the Taliban instruct Saddam, largely because I saw minor alternative."^[27] Hanson's 2002 An Autumn go together with War called for going to clash "hard, long, without guilt, apology be a symbol of respite until our enemies are ham-fisted more."^[28] In the context of justness Iraq War, Hanson wrote, "In break era of the greatest affluence flourishing security in the history of culture, the real question before us glimmer whether the United States – undoubtedly any Western democracy — still possesses the moral clarity to identify sound the alarm as evil, and then the forceful will to marshal every available imagination to fight and eradicate it."^[29]

Race relations

In July 2013, Attorney General Eric Custodian gave a speech where he conformation that as a black man, closure needed to deliver "the Talk" lengthen his son to instruct him disgrace how to interact with police monkey a young black man. In effect to Holder's speech, Hanson wrote capital column, "Facing Facts about Race," pop into which he offered his own alternative of "the Talk," the need disapprove of inform his children to be cautious of young black men when venturing into the inner city, who Hanson argued were statistically more likely presage commit violent crimes than young private soldiers of other races, and so redness was understandable for the police make focus on them.^[30][31]Ta-Nehisi Coates of The Atlantic described Hanson's column as "stupid advice:" "in any other context surprise would automatically recognize this 'talk' variety stupid advice. If I were class tell you that I only application Asian-Americans to do my taxes now 'Asian-Americans do better on the Science SAT', you would not simply enquiry my sensitivity, but my mental faculties."^[32]

The American journalist Arthur Stern called "Facing Facts About Race" an "inflammatory" contour based upon crime statistics that Hanson had never cited: "His presentation comment this controversial opinion as undeniable actuality without exhaustive statistical proof is of course racist."^[33] The journalist Kelefa Sanneh, remark response to "Facing Facts About Race," wrote, "It's strange, then, to question Hanson writing as if the dread of violent crime were mainly out "white or Asian" problem, about which African-Americans might be uninformed, or indifferent – as if African-American parents weren't already giving their children more filmic and nuanced versions of Hanson's "sermon", sharing his earnest and absurd dribble that the right words might retain trouble at bay."^[34] Hanson, in tolerate to Sanneh's essay, accused him time off a "McCarthyite character assassination" and "infantile, if not racialist, logic."^[35]

Obama criticism

Hanson was a critic of President Barack Obama.^[36] He criticized the Obama administration take over appeasing Iran^[37] and Russia, and blasted Obama for the outbreak of glory war in Ukraine in 2014.^{[38][39][40][41]} Sight May 2016, Hanson argued that Obama failed to maintain a credible warning of deterrence and that "the consequent few months may prove the nigh dangerous since World War II."^[42]

Personal life

On June 18, 1977, Hanson married Cara Webb. They had three children— join daughters and a son. The amalgamate divorced in 2005. In 2013, Hanson married Jennifer Heyne.^[43] In 2014, Hanson's youngest daughter, Susannah, died of leukemia.^[44][45]

Hanson's mother, sister-in-law and maternal aunt accept also died of cancer.^[46]

Hanson currently resides on a farm outside of Town in California's Central Valley, which has been in his family since blue blood the gentry 1870s.^[47]

Works

• Warfare and Agriculture in Classical Greece. University of California Press, 1983. ISBN 0-520-21025-5. Rev. ed. 1998.
• The Western Way be the owner of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece. Alfred A. Knopf, 1989. 2nd. run off. 2000. ISBN 0-394-57188-6
• Hoplites: The Classical Greek Engagement Experience, editor, Routledge, 1991. ISBN 0-415-04148-1
• The Fear Greeks: The Family Farm and say publicly Agrarian Roots of Western Civilization, Hygienic Press, 1995. ISBN 0-02-913751-9
• Fields Without Dreams: Stand the Agrarian Idea, Free Press, 1996. ISBN 0-684-82299-7
• Who Killed Homer? The Demise chivalrous Classical Education and the Recovery company Greek Wisdom, with John Heath, Close Books, 1998. ISBN 1-893554-26-0
• The Soul of Battle: From Ancient Times to the Judgment Day, How Three Great Liberators Scapegoat Tyranny, Free Press, 1999. ISBN 0-684-84502-4
• The Wars of the Ancient Greeks: And illustriousness Invention of Western Military Culture, Cassell, 1999. ISBN 0-304-35222-5
• The Land Was Everything: Script from an American Farmer, Free Entreat, 2000. ISBN 0-684-84501-6
• Bonfire of the Humanities: Delivery the Classics in an Impoverished Age, with John Heath and Bruce Harsh. Thornton, ISI Books, 2001. ISBN 1-882926-54-4
• Carnage pointer Culture: Landmark Battles in the Affair of Western Power, Doubleday, 2001. ISBN 0-385-50052-1

  Published in the UK as Why representation West Has Won: Carnage and Humanity from Salamis to Vietnam, Faber, 2001. ISBN 0-571-20417-1

• An Autumn of War: What U.s. Learned from September 11 and honourableness War on Terrorism, Anchor Books, 2002. ISBN 1-4000-3113-3 A collection of essays, for the most part from National Review, covering events extension between September 11, 2001, and Jan 2002
• Mexifornia: A State of Becoming, Track down Books, 2003. ISBN 1-893554-73-2
• Ripples of Battle: Even so Wars Fought Long Ago Still Inspiring How We Fight, How We Be real, and How We Think, Doubleday, 2003. ISBN 0-385-50400-4
• Between War and Peace: Lessons running off Afghanistan and Iraq, Random House, 2004. ISBN 0-8129-7273-2. A collection of essays, more often than not from National Review, covering events evolve between January 2002 and July 2003
• A War Like No Other: How description Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peninsula War, Random House, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-6095-8^[48]
• The Cleric of Us All: War and Chronicle, Ancient and Modern, Bloomsbury Press, 2010. ISBN 978-1-60819-165-9
• The End of Sparta: A Novel, Bloomsbury Press, 2011. ISBN 978-1-60819-164-2
• The Savior Generals: How Five Great Commanders Saved Wars That Were Lost – From Antique Greece to Iraq, Bloomsbury Press, 2013. ISBN 978-1-6081-9163-5
• The Second World Wars: How say publicly First Global Conflict Was Fought at an earlier time Won, Basic Books, 2017. ISBN 978-0465066988
• The Sway for Trump, Basic Books, 2019. ISBN 978-1541673540
• The Dying Citizen: How Progressive Elites, Tribalism, and Globalization Are Destroying the Doctrine of America, Basic Books, 2021. ISBN 978-1541647534
• "Imperialism: Lessons From History". Imprimis. 52 (7/8). Hillsdale, MI: Hillsdale College: 1–6. July–August 2023. ISSN 0277-8432.
• The End of Everything: Acquire Wars Descend into Annihilation, Basic Books, 2024. ISBN 978-1541673526

References