Harvey Mansfield
William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Government, Harvard University
Manliness means confidence in the face of risk and danger, argues Prof. Mansfield. This is a virtue we all have reason to value. If studies in social psychology show it is preponderantly a virtue of men, as they do, this is no reason to disdain it. Manliness serves the function of asserting a cause, standing up for something, making a point, correcting an injustice. It means having spirit and being courageous. It means taking responsibility for the well-being of those entrusted to one’s care. At the present time manliness still exists, but in the gender-neutral society it is unemployed. In the world after 9/11, however, it is time to see it again as the virtue that it is.