Tucker Carlson on Architecture, the Art of Living, and Christian Civilisation

A Call to a More Beautiful Life

In a conversation on his YouTube channel at the beginning of 2024, the American journalist Tucker Carlson handed out something of a ‘black pill’ to his viewers on the horror of much modern architecture and the enslaving conditions of much modern work-life. This took me by surprise and I found it quite convicting. In a startling contrast, he compared the finer parts of Moscow’s architecture to many American cities. Unfortunately, with the flattening force of globalisation, the underlying lesson applies to many other countries. That includes Ireland.

Moreover, we do not have to position Moscow as a prime example of beauty or ignore its own monstrosities to appreciate Carlson’s point. This is a city that was desecrated by the Soviets relatively recently after all. For all his hyperbole, Carlson does have a remarkable gift for homing in on fundamental issues that are too often ignored and provides helpful frames to wrestle with these. Alongside Michael Shellenberger and Abigail Shrier, he is one of the most interesting (and possibly courageous) journalists alive. Again, you don’t have to agree with him on his whole agenda to appreciate this or the more positive elements of his role in popular culture.

In his talk with Chris Cuomo in early 2024, Carlson reflected on his time in Russia’s capital:

“A city of 13 million people, larger than any—much larger than any city we know. There is no homelessness, no graffiti; it’s spotlessly clean. The public spaces are beautiful, and the architecture has not been degraded by the oppression of postmodern designs, which are intended to demoralize, hurt you, and destroy your spirit. I believe that is true.”

At this point, Cuomo interjects: “You believe that postmodern architecture is designed to kill your spirit?”

Doubling down, Carlson exclaims: “Of course!” Why?, Cuomo queries. Before Carlson continues, “Anything we make with our hands is the purest expression of our creativity. There’s a purpose behind everything we create—a message behind all of it, as there is in all art. You don’t paint a painting without a vision; you paint because you’re saying something. Similarly, buildings that are warm, human, and elevate the human spirit are pro-human.

In contrast, brutalism or the impersonal glass boxes that crowd every city in the United States are not uplifting.”

In a heartfelt and sobering manner, Tucker Carlson then queries, “What’s the message of working in a cube, in a room with a synthetic dropped ceiling, drywall on the walls, fluorescent lighting overhead, and no privacy? The message is clear: you mean nothing. You are replaceable, a widget in a bin awaiting assembly, just a cog in a machine. You have no value.

Everyone seems to ignore this, saying, “Oh, well, that’s just the way buildings have always been.” But that’s not true.”

Carlson then widens the scope once more to say that “Architecture—and anything made by human hands—is the purest expression of the society that produced it. People dismiss these as mere handicrafts, but they’re not. They are visible and tangible signs of who we are, not just individually, but collectively as a society.

If you live in a place that creates nothing beautiful and fails to provide uplifting buildings for people to live and work in, that reflects a very sick and dark society.”

May his words awake us from the slumber of negligence and myths of neutrality. May it stir a passionate response in us and make us demand more from our surroundings. I invite you to turn the page of history back briefly, now. In the Middle Ages, it was a common practice to meditate on one’s own death in order to better appreciate life. This is a practice named, memento mori. In a similar manner, maybe it is time for us to reflect on our modern surroundings and way of life. What effects do they have on our minds, and bodies, and souls? This call should raise in us a desire for real change and a respect for the finer gifts of our forebearers. We should fight for something better, for something brighter, and more beautiful.

To reflect on this for a moment, I am most grateful for some of the architectural wonders in Ireland, places of beauty that I can go and enjoy any day of the week, gothic and Georgian and other gorgeous buildings that give me a sense of history. They tell stories of nobility and convey a sense of wonder. They build a bridge across the ages and put us in touch with our ancestors. However, I will not get lost in mere nostalgia and I note that many of these were built in times beset by great acts of evil and injustice, like our own. Often the buildings themselves have dark histories, but they are also a force for truth, and goodness, and beauty.

I would echo the Spirit of Tucker Carlson’s lament therefore and offer a rallying cry for a beauty that glorifies God, edifies humanity, and respects creation. We don’t have to be perfect to move in the right direction. Now, let us juxtapose Tucker’s observations and critiques of contemporary architecture and urban design with the late, great, Roger Scruton's philosophical reflections on beauty and human flourishing.

The Current Reality and its Challenges

Central to the message above is the claim that many contemporary cities have been degraded by architectural forms that alienate and even dehumanize their inhabitants. To those with ears to hear and eyes to see, too many cities are indeed dominated by vast glass-and-steel structures and brutalist blocks that convey messages of disposability and anonymity. Alas, they do treat people as "cogs in a machine" rather than individuals with inherent dignity and worth. This aesthetic desolation is not merely a matter of taste or merely relative but reflects a deeper social malaise—a point echoed by Roger Scruton, who argued that "beauty is the visible form of truth and goodness" (Scruton, 2011).

Modern architecture, he suggests, often prioritizes function at the expense of form, disregarding the human longing for beauty, harmony, and transcendence. As Carlson notes, the end result is that these dehumanizing spaces send a stark message: "you mean nothing; you are replaceable." Scruton delves deeper into this critique by emphasizing how architecture and art shape not only spaces but the people within them.

The Need for Beauty and its Role in Human Flourishing

One of the premier philosophers of the present age, Roger Scruton offers a vision for a more humane approach—a return to beauty as an essential value that shapes public and private spaces, nurturing the soul and enriching human life. He believed that true beauty elevates and transforms, urging people toward higher aspirations and deeper truths. "Beauty is a calling. It invites us to transcend our immediate concerns, to encounter something that ennobles us," Scruton wrote (Scruton, 2009).

In contrast to the impersonal and often oppressive forms of much modern architecture, Scruton championed spaces that reflect order, proportion, and harmony. Such qualities, he argued, respect the dignity of every person, better serve the land, and honour the Creator. Traditional architecture, with its attention to human scale, material, and context, evokes a sense of belonging and rootedness. As he put it, "The buildings that truly serve the human spirit are those that integrate themselves into the surrounding environment, creating places that people can love" (Scruton, 2011).

What goes for architecture, goes for art more generally. The critic, Robert Hughes spoke with passion about the errs of much modern art and humanising role of the real thing in his startling book and series, The Shock of the New:

"I don't believe there's ever been such a rush towards insignificance in the name of a historical future as we have seen over the last fifteen years. The celebrated radicalism of the 1960s and 1970s art has turned out to be, in essence, a kind of performance—a shard of toughness used to mask any true feeling. I don’t think we are ever again compelled to view a plywood box, a row of bricks on the floor, or a videotape of some academic from the 'University of Central Paranoia' sticking pins in himself and consider it as the 'necessary' art of our time. It isn’t necessary; it isn’t 'real' art that demands our respect, and frankly, no one truly cares.”

There is a real common sense about Hughes and a sense of the emperor has no clothes. Many of us are beginning to see through the lies of the supposed elites in our societies.

Again, like that great tale about the emperor, Hughes goes on: “Anyone, save perhaps a child, can create such things because children possess the kind of direct, sensuous, and complex connection with the world that modernism, in its later years, was eager to deny. That connection is the lost paradise art strives to restore, not for children but for adults. This quality is shared between modern and older masters—Pollock with Turner, Matisse with Rubens—and remains a crucial project of art: to make the world comprehensible and whole again, to restore it to us with all its grandeur and occasional unpleasantness. Not through argument, but through feeling.”

As another philosopher, James K.A. Smith has said, “We are not just brains on sticks.”

We are made for more and may the childlike wonder of Hughes prove contagious. He goes on to remind us that there is a world beyond intellectual abstractions and concerns with what is ‘useful’: “Art works to bridge the gap between oneself and everything that is not oneself, allowing a transition from feeling to meaning. This endeavour cannot be realized by committees or groups; it is the work of individuals, each mediating between a sense of history and a personal experience of the world. This task is, indeed, endless. Though we no longer have an avant-garde in the traditional sense, art itself will continue to exist.” (Hughes, 1991)

A Positive Vision: Creating Spaces that Glorify God and Honour Creation

In the lives and works of Scruton and Hughes, we hear a rallying cry for beauty and the betterment of our existence. We must champion architecture and art that glorify God, uplift human persons, and respect creation. We must reject the dehumanizing trends that reduce our built environment to cold utility or sterile spectacle. Our concerns can transcend the machinations of the state or big business. Instead, we are invited to embrace designs that resonate with the human longing for transcendence, connection, and ultimate meaning.

Carlson’s critique, Scruton’s suggestions, and Hughes’s humble realism converge in a powerful vision: a commitment to building and preserving spaces that reflect the sacredness of life and the grandeur of creation. Such spaces—whether cathedrals, public squares, or humble homes—can glorify God by mirroring the beauty of His creation and inviting us into a deeper encounter with truth and goodness.

In the words of Scruton, “Beauty matters. It is not simply a subjective state but a universal need of human beings. It lifts us beyond our immediate concerns and shows us the better side of our own nature” (Scruton, 2009; Scruton, 2011). This is our call—to build places that edify, inspire, and reveal the divine imprint in every human endeavour.

To strengthen the discussion on beauty, human dignity, and integration with the divine as part of an enriched Christian life, the theologian Dr Michael Martin's reflections in The Submerged Reality resonate deeply. His work shows us that these are not just speculations for the philosopher or the critic but the calling of every Christian person. Martin outlines how an "enchanted and sacramental theology" engages human faculties wholly in a participatory creation, tying reason, intuition, and mystical experience together, allowing for "metaphysical speculation combined with cosmic contemplation." This approach underscores the integration of faith, art, and culture into an overall experience of divine wisdom and beauty (Martin, 2015, p. 65).

In the context of beauty and creation, Martin emphasizes, "Sophia [divine wisdom] discloses the irreducible relationality of natural immanence to supernatural transcendence" and thus serves as a bridge between the material world and the divine, fostering a creative participation that mirrors God's cosmic order (Martin, 2015, p. 98). This mystical and artistic integration, which aims for the "regeneration of the human person, of nature, and of culture," aligns with our call to embody beauty and dignity in every part of life, elevating our earthly surroundings to reflect the divine origin and purpose (Martin, 2015, p. 110).

Another Christian scholar, Nancey Pearcey has provided clear guidance on the importance of a coherent and integrated Christian worldview. She has made us aware of the ideological trends that surround us, every bit as much as the art and architecture. A key portion of her work demonstrates that secularism's detachment from beauty and the sacred has degraded art and architecture. She sees art, in part, as a battleground for worldview formation and stresses that beauty rooted in a transcendent vision can reorient society toward truth and goodness (Pearcey, 2010). She argues, "Art communicates on many levels...but, as we move forward into the modern age...art became disconnected from the concept of truth. When historians say 'modern,' they mean the Enlightenment period, during which science was elevated into an exclusivist worldview—scientism or positivism."

This should serve as a reminder that we must be aware of the inner and outer worlds, the visible world of our surrounding materials and the invisible world of ideas. Both are real and consequential and intertwined. As Christians, we must be intentional about how we live.

Art and Architecture as Vehicles for Transcendence

A remarkable woman and a beacon of wonder, the late Sister Wendy Beckett long emphasized art's capacity to lift the human spirit and point to the divine. In "The Story of Painting," she explored how great art invites viewers to look deeply and connect with transcendent truths (Beckett, 1994). For her, beauty reveals our innate longing for the divine and offers moments of grace and reflection, even in a broken world.

"Every one of his (Raphael's) Madonnas has an aesthetic and a spiritual force that makes them all memorable. He understands, at an elemental level, the meaning of motherhood and childhood, and this is the basis of the conviction that we see behind his Madonnas. This is only a sample, but an excellent one." (Beckett, 1994, p. 107).

This is a key idea that Jordan Peterson has also realised and brings us back to the two worlds that come together in our consciousness – the inner and the outer, the invisible and the visible. Dr Peterson communicated this beautifully in a conversation with Abigail Shrier, centred around parenting, but which highlights the interrelationship between the arts and other vital elements of a full human life. He begins with a moving anecdote:

“I'll share something that happened to me in Rome. I visited St. Peter’s Basilica and saw the Pietà. Michelangelo carved it when he was just 23—a staggering feat of genius. It’s fascinating that it resides in such a sacred place as St. Peter’s, which is a central and holy space for Christianity. I’ve spent considerable time contemplating the role of the feminine in the sacred landscape. In the Christian West, our central sacred figure has always been a variant of the crucifix—a symbol that is inherently male. This raises an important question: what is the primary female symbol of union with God and ultimate sacrifice? I believe Michelangelo captured it with the Pietà, and that’s why it’s placed in St. Peter’s.”

Peterson then goes on to acknowledge that, “The Pietà is a profound representation. There are two types of sacrifices that can be considered the most challenging: sacrificing yourself and sacrificing your child. While self-sacrifice is difficult, sacrificing a child can be even more harrowing. Most parents would choose to sacrifice themselves before their child. This suggests that a mother’s sacrifice is uniquely profound. In the Pietà, we see Mary, larger than life, cradling the broken body of her son. It symbolizes the immense sacrifice mothers make—they must offer their child to the world, a deeply courageous act that manifests in countless small, difficult decisions.”

Jordan then gives us a practical example to bring this vital lesson to us: “For instance, a mother might let her daughter walk home alone at nine years old, despite the potential dangers. It’s a terrifying decision, but sheltering a child too much can prevent her from becoming independent, recognizing real dangers, and learning to navigate life. As parents, the choice is between raising a child who remains weak and dependent or raising one who can grow strong and capable of navigating the world. The right choice, the courageous sacrificial gesture, is to foster that strength and independence.”

To bring about radical change in our societies then, we will have to change how we approach the world and make real sacrifices, moved by love. We will have also to recognise that we are men and women of play, of leisure, and receive God’s creation and the works of human hands as gifts for a more joyful life. We are not mere cogs in a machine. Nor are our concerns purely quantitative and interested only in what is useful.

Like Peterson and his focus on sacrifice as fundamental to a full life, Josef Pieper highlights leisure as a cornerstone of culture itself. He notes that contemplation and appreciation of beauty open us to the divine. Leisure, rooted in wonder, is "a form of silent stillness and openness to the presence of God" (Pieper, 1998). When our built environments foster this kind of contemplation, they better respect human dignity, delight in the creation, and direct us toward the Creator.

Josef Pieper articulates the profound importance of leisure as a necessary precondition for transcending a purely utilitarian existence. He writes: "Leisure is only possible in the assumption that man is not only in harmony with himself... but also that he is in agreement with the world and its meaning. Leisure lives on affirmation" (Pieper, 1998, p. 52). This connection emphasizes that leisure and contemplation liberate us from being mere "cogs in the machine" of economic or utilitarian structures, fostering spaces where individuals can seek higher meaning and spiritual fulfilment​.

This has dramatic effects on the way we view time and educate our children. A rare gift and a real teacher, Dr Stratford Caldecott views beauty as integral to Christian life and education. In "Beauty in the Word," he argues that the human person is made for truth, beauty, and goodness, and these qualities should permeate all aspects of life, including the built environment. Beauty becomes a means of revealing God’s truth and nurturing our souls:

"Beauty is coherence, harmony, proportion, fulfilment, perfect integration... Our experience of beauty liberates or expands us beyond the boundaries of the self. The encounter with it arouses the desire to unite ourselves with it in order to become ‘more’ than we are... Thus, the joy associated with beauty is our pointer to the depths of Being in God" (Caldecott, 2012, p. 17)​.

Civilization and Human Dignity

This basic pattern scales out to the level of civilisation itself. With great wisdom, Kenneth Clark reflects on the transformative power of art and architecture in shaping our civilization. In his book and documentary series, "Civilisation," he argues that beauty and grandeur in public spaces uplift and inspire, fostering human flourishing, a sense of continuity with the past, and hope for the future (Clark, 1969). For Clark, a society’s greatness can often be measured by its commitment to creating beautiful, enduring works.

Here is just one remarkable quote from his sublime series. It speaks to the great medieval artist, Suger’s understanding of beauty:

"He argued that we could only come to understand absolute beauty, which is God, through the effect of precious and beautiful things on our senses. He said: ‘The dull mind rises to truth through that which is material.’ This was really a revolutionary concept in the Middle Ages" (Clark, 1969).

It remains so to this day and will ever more. There is lovely coming-together of the mystical and the civilisational here. They prop one another up. A scholar at Notre Dame in the U.S.A, Dr David Fagerberg, has made this clear in his writings on the ‘Liturgical Cosmos’:

“If theology were to become more mystical, then we would understand it not as a rational science by us but as the Father’s Logos shared with us. Blessed Columba Marmion asked, “What in fact is faith?” And he answered, “It is a mysterious participation in the knowledge that God has of himself. God knows himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” (Fagerberg, 2023).

This is a kind of mystical theology that transcends the rigid strictures of the modern university and brings us back to a more refined biblical picture of reality. It is here that we see the map for human flourishing and where we hear the trumpet sounded on the vitality of human forms, the creation, and the creator God in one breath. It is to this biblical picture and map that I will now turn, to conclude this essay.

A Biblical Framework for Beauty, Creation, and Human Flourishing

The Biblical narrative offers a compelling vision and map for beauty and human dignity. The Biblical scholar, Dr Peter Leithart, in a reflection on human destiny, highlights how the Biblical story moves from Eden—a garden—towards a heavenly city, a garden-city that combines natural beauty and human creativity (Leithart, 2016). Human history is one of ascent and descent, culminating in Christ's resurrection and ascension. Ultimately, it elevates human nature to the divine throne. As Ephesians 2:6 reminds us, believers are already seated with Christ in heavenly places. But the journey does not end in heaven. Revelation 21 shows the New Jerusalem descending to earth—a fusion of divine glory and human creativity. This is meant to break in now and be fulfilled in the world to come:

"God forms Adam from dust, breathes life into his nostrils, and places him in a garden in the land of Eden. We know from Ezekiel (28:13–14) that the garden is planted on a mountain, but we could have inferred that from Genesis 2, since a river flows out of the garden and downhill to Assyria, Cush, and Havilah, where there is gold... Human history begins on a high place, but Adam is created to ascend, from height to height. The garden isn’t the highest point in Eden.

A river arises in Eden, above the garden, and then flows through the garden. Adam isn’t to remain in the garden forever. He’s to climb from the garden to the pinnacle, to the source of Eden’s river." (Leithart, 2016).

The heavenly city embodies the ideal balance between the natural world and human co-creations. It is an invitation for us to accept now. We are invited to partake in the building up of God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. We are invited to build and revel in beautiful places, for the life of this world, our good, and God’s glory. Leithart’s piece reflects God’s initiative and our response, blending divine grace with human creativity to create a place of beauty, worship, and community. As we wait for this fulfilment, our call is to build spaces and create art that reflect this heavenly vision, uplifting souls and glorifying God.

References

Beckett, W., 1994. The Story of Painting: The Essential Guide to the History of Western Art. London: Dorling Kindersley.

Caldecott, S., 2012. Beauty in the Word: Rethinking the Foundations of Education. Angelico Press.

Carlson, T., and Cuomo, C., 2023. Tucker Carlson and Chris Cuomo Debate Trump, Abortion, and COVID Lies. [video online] Available at:

[Accessed 18 Nov. 2024].

Clark, K., 1969. Civilisation. London: John Murray.

Fagerberg, D.W., 2023. The Liturgical Cosmos: The World Through the Lens of the Liturgy. Emmaus Academic.

Hughes, R. (1991) The Shock of the New. Rev. edn. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Leithart, P., 2016. Ascent, Descent, and Human Destiny. First Things. [online] Available at: https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2016/05/ascent-descent-and-human-destiny [Accessed 18 Nov. 2024].

Martin, M. (2015) The Submerged Reality: Sophiology and the Turn to a Poetic Metaphysics. Kettering, OH: Angelico Press

Pearcey, N., 2010. Saving Leonardo: A Call to Resist the Secular Assault on Mind, Morals, & Meaning. Nashville: B&H Books.

Peterson, J.B. (2023). Bad Therapy, Weak Parenting, Broken Children | Abigail Shrier | EP 427. YouTube. Available at:

[Accessed 18 Nov. 2024].

Pieper, J., 1998. Leisure, the Basis of Culture. South Bend: St. Augustine’s Press.

Scruton, R., 2009. Beauty. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Scruton, R., 2011. Beauty: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Smith, J.K.A., 2016. You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press.