Answering more Questions on Quora

Can you provide examples of Napoleon using a blitzkrieg strategy in his conquests, similar to Germany during World War II?

Napoleon didn’t use a blitzkrieg strategy as mechanized forces weren’t a factor in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. There were no planes, tanks or automobiles. He did however make effective use of his artillery (his personal bastion of strength…..Boney was a gunner), cavalry and infantry to pick off his allied opponents one at a time. Napoleon was also adept at selecting the time and place for a fight and greatly rewarded meritocracy and loyalty in his ranks thereby ensuring that his troops were suffused with the necessary morale.

Is Russia still considered a major power or is it now more accurately described as an important regional power?

It is a regional power with significant global meddling capabilities that it exercises particularly in the Middle East through its Iranian and Syrian allies. It also has a propaganda apparatus that serves to shape public opinion in the West, courtesy of its relentless disinformation campaigns and infiltration of various institutions. If you thought this all ended with the finality of the Cold War you are mistaken. Old habits die hard.

Why is Russia such a violent and destructive nation?

Russia (in its various forms) has a leadership history consisting of a lineage of strongmen who measure their success by their ability to grow their territory. Putin is just one more character in a legacy that predates Peter the Great. This translates into a history of aggression. Much of the policy sale to the population is driven by a sense of perceived victimhood.

Do any modern conservatives identify as "classical" liberals?

I personally do as I wish to conserve the very successful authentic liberal tradition in the West against the forces of fascism, dialectical materialism, islamism and progressive statism. Each of which threatens the pillars of freedom viz. speech, worship, thought and property that is central to liberal thinking.

Protecting Western Civilization

 

1. It is incumbent on us all to protect the numerous advances made by Western Civilization over the last three and a half thousand years.
2. These advances include: the foundation and synthesis of reason and logic, open debate and freedom of speech, the rule of law, private ownership of property, democratic government, efficient utilization of the benefits of science and technology and an appreciation for the history and thought that underpins the civilization. These will henceforth be known as the Advancements.
3. Inherent in these ideals is a common good that respects and rejoices in the preservation of human life and seeks to maximize our species’ potential within the respective context.
4. Much of the greatness of Western Civilization has been cultivated from within. This is to be celebrated not chided.
5. It is critical to the overall well being of the world that the leaders of the West do not abdicate their roles as defenders of the Advancements.
6. The history of Western Civilization plays out in the context of a survival against the face of threats both internal and external. Driven by powerful impetus toward betterment the West has emerged as an active agent in the dynamic framework of human history and in so doing tells a story replete with characters, institutions, agents and states all acting against the back drop of the broadest of flourishing landscapes.
7.      The Western World will not die in one instant of explosive output but will wither into oblivion. This decline was set in motion as a consequence of the Great War and the subsequent malevolence of our hubris and  has gained more momentum with each succeeding decade.
8.  The outcome of this slide into a historical abyss will have negative repercussions for all of humanity. Each moment of decay draws us closer to a coming dark age. Despair will engulf most but that need not be all
9.   While it is true that the West has built on some ideas that may have had their genesis in the monoliths of China, India and the Near East – it is western ingenuity that has provided the wherewithal to advance these initiatives forward and so improve the human condition. Suffice it to say the West serves as the guardian of these great ideas whose preservation is essential to the maintenance of global civilization.