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A review by jdintr
The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot by Russell Kirk
What is a Conservative? Do they exist anymore? Amid the radical right-wing politics of today--torture, contempt for constitutional rights, a hijacking by the gun and energy lobbies--do real conservatives exist anymore?
That's why I checked out _The Conservative Mind_ on audiobook. I knew vaguely about Burke's "Notes on the Revolution in France." A book that promised to trace his influence down to the 1950s seemed irresistible.
For the first 100 years of his study, Kirk relies on familiar writers to trace the strain of conservatism. I was surprised to find James Fenimore Cooper and Nathaniel Hawthorne among the examples that Kirk used. I enjoyed learning more about 19th-century notables like John Quincy Adams, Alexis de Tocqueville and Henry Adams.
Kirk identifies the central precepts of conservatism as being a basic distrust in humanity balanced by a faith for and respect in ultimate power, namely God. Conservatives see virtue in a landed aristocracy, and they see value in limited distribution of education, wealth, authority, etc. In this light the past two hundred years--as liberals expanded suffrage and set up national institutions for education and welfare--have been a long retreat for Conservatives.
Kirk feels that Conservatism has a hope based upon its superior morality and its intellectual vigor. Writing as he did at a time (the early 1950s) when Communist nations were no longer ascendant and were beginning to calcify intellectually, it seems like an intellectual cake walk.
The book bogs down in the latter 3rd. While I enjoyed the thoughts on Burke, I lost interest in the fortunes of the British Conservative Party through Peel and Disreali. The 20th Century thinkers he cites are academic and little related to actual American history or culture. Overall, this was an interesting look into the history of Conservatism. It gave me a number of great reference points that challenged me (a proud liberal) and gave me ammunition for future arguments with my reactionary friends.
That's why I checked out _The Conservative Mind_ on audiobook. I knew vaguely about Burke's "Notes on the Revolution in France." A book that promised to trace his influence down to the 1950s seemed irresistible.
For the first 100 years of his study, Kirk relies on familiar writers to trace the strain of conservatism. I was surprised to find James Fenimore Cooper and Nathaniel Hawthorne among the examples that Kirk used. I enjoyed learning more about 19th-century notables like John Quincy Adams, Alexis de Tocqueville and Henry Adams.
Kirk identifies the central precepts of conservatism as being a basic distrust in humanity balanced by a faith for and respect in ultimate power, namely God. Conservatives see virtue in a landed aristocracy, and they see value in limited distribution of education, wealth, authority, etc. In this light the past two hundred years--as liberals expanded suffrage and set up national institutions for education and welfare--have been a long retreat for Conservatives.
Kirk feels that Conservatism has a hope based upon its superior morality and its intellectual vigor. Writing as he did at a time (the early 1950s) when Communist nations were no longer ascendant and were beginning to calcify intellectually, it seems like an intellectual cake walk.
The book bogs down in the latter 3rd. While I enjoyed the thoughts on Burke, I lost interest in the fortunes of the British Conservative Party through Peel and Disreali. The 20th Century thinkers he cites are academic and little related to actual American history or culture. Overall, this was an interesting look into the history of Conservatism. It gave me a number of great reference points that challenged me (a proud liberal) and gave me ammunition for future arguments with my reactionary friends.