The U.N. Problem

The Future of the United Nations: Understanding the Past to Chart a Way Forward, by Joshua Muravchik (AEI, 175 pp., $20)

THE United Nations is like the weather: Everyone complains about it, but no one does anything about it. (Leave aside whether the U.S. president can prevent hurricanes.) And when I say “everyone” complains about the U.N., I mean conservatives, of course, because the Left is quite pleased with the U.N.: They tend to regard it as a bulwark against the United States, and as a basis for world government. But conservatives have no settled position on the U.N.: Should the U.S. withdraw? Try to create a Union of Democracies (apart from the U.N.)? Should the U.S. boot the United Nations from American soil? Rejigger it, starting with the Security Council? Utterly rethink?

About the Author

Jay Nordlinger

Jay Nordlinger was a senior editor of National Review and a book fellow at National Review Institute.

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William F. Buckley Jr.

The Future of the United Nations: Understanding the Past to Chart a Way Forward, by Joshua Muravchik (AEI, 175 pp., $20)

THE United Nations is like the weather: Everyone complains about it, but no one does anything about it. (Leave aside whether the U.S. president can prevent hurricanes.) And when I say “everyone” complains about the U.N., I mean conservatives, of course, because the Left is quite pleased with the U.N.: They tend to regard it as a bulwark against the United States, and as a basis for world government. But conservatives have no settled position on the U.N.: Should the U.S. withdraw? Try to create a Union of Democracies (apart from the U.N.)? Should the U.S. boot the United Nations from American soil? Rejigger it, starting with the Security Council? Utterly rethink?