His strength is in political philosophy&#x2F;history. There was a point when he strayed into pop-science-type inquiries about human behavior, that relied a lot on generous leaps of logic. I think that was where he got the most of his bad reputation.<p>But, his writings on conservative political philosophy is insightful, if not original (not something I care about personally). His old-school Burkean conservatism gives him an internally consistent, rational framework from which to critique or support the current GOP, from the center-right. It doesn&#x27;t always work, but worth the read nonetheless, imo.<p>And, like Gates, I like his extension of that political framework as a critique of our current ideals and values.