Conservative Thinkers: From John Adams to Winston ChurchillRoutledge, 2017 M07 5 - 203 pages Across America today, conservatism is being hotly debated both across the political spectrum and within the conservative movement itself. Much of the public debate is without definition or historical context. This history of conservatism by renowned historian, social critic, and poet Peter Viereck aims to meet the need for a concise, balanced picture of conservative thought in all its different shadings and cultural contexts.The analytical portion of the book provides a succinct but thorough critical overview of conservatism's most representative figures. Viereck begins with chapters defining conservatism itself, its special technical terms, and its changing historical circumstances. The rest deals with its actual thinkers and statesmen. After each main conservative thesis, the anti-conservative rebuttal is summarized, and the reader is allowed to reach his own conclusions. Though the first stress is on conservative political philosophy (from John Adams to Churchill), key sections also stress non-political conservatism: in religion (Cardinal Newman) and in the primarily cultural protest against material progress (Coleridge, Dostoyevsky, Melville, Henry Adams).Every major point is concretely illustrated by an appended cross-reference to a primary source in the second half, a well-chosen anthology of key conservative documents. Criteria for inclusion are three, representativeness, depth of perception, importance of influence. The result is not uniformity but a gamut: from extreme intolerant reaction to an evolutionary moderate spirit. The former passes imperceptibly into authoritarianism; the latter, into liberalism. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
abstract American American conservatism anti-conservative aristocratic ative authoritarian authority Babbitt Barrès became British Burke Burke's Burkean Calhoun called Carlyle Catholic century Christian Church Churchill civil Coleridge concrete conservatism conservative Constitution Cortés cult cultural defended democratic despotism dictatorship Disraeli distrust Document election England equality essay Europe evil f f f fascism Federalist France French Revolution German Hamilton Hapsburg human nature indirect democracy influence intellectual internationalist Irving Babbitt Jacobins Jefferson John Adams Joseph de Maistre Juan Donoso Cortés laisser-faire Latin Europe laws liberal liberty Maistre Maistre's majority masses Maurras means Metternich middle class modern monarchist monarchy moral Napoleon nation nationalist Newman Nietzsche ottantottist parliament party passions peace PETER VIERECK philosophical political principles progress radical reactionary reform religion religious Republican revolutionary rootless social Social Darwinism socialists society speeches spirit temperament tion tional Tocqueville Tory democracy totalitarian traditional universal suffrage Viereck vote Whig