Right Reason
the weblog for philosophical conservatism
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- What's So Bad about VDare?
An old friend, who happens to be a Democrat activist, emailed me last night and asked, "Why do you have a link to VDare on Right Reason?" This friend, who is also an avid reader of Leo Strauss (go figure), said that VDare is on the "lunatic fringe" of the immigration issue, said that its members practice "meat-grinder politics," and asked, "Didn't Strauss teach you about what happens when philosophers start trying to throw elbows with the unenlightened power brokers?"
My reply was that "a good way to get people interested in philosophy is to start with things they like to talk about -- else they'll miss the onramp to Platonic ascent. I try to rotate interesting, though not necessarily philosophically pure, links in that space."
- The evolution of liberalism (and “conservatism”)
Steve Burton (citing David Frum) describes some chilling developments in the UK vis-à-vis the growing conflict between antidiscrimination laws and religious freedom. Chilling, but not at all surprising. The developments in question illustrate a pattern that is characteristic of liberalism as it slowly works out the implications of its underlying assumptions.
- Illiberal Liberalism
David Frum asks:
Can Religious Freedom Survive Gay Liberation?
He answers:
"...the gay rights movement is inherently...illiberal." Because "when you decide to extend your nondiscrimination principles to behavior condemned by your society's majority religion, you are embarking on a course that will sooner or later require the state to police, control, and punish adherents of that religion."
- Practical Sorites
The engine on my daughter's 1990 Mazda has started racing inexplicably. The windshield wipers of my 1979 Buick have stopped working. The refrigerator is having trouble cooling again. The TV set is broken. A leak in the roof has shorted out the furnace. Mundane problems, no doubt. But they raise an interesting philosophical question. When should one fix something that breaks, and when should one simply replace it? That may not sound philosophical. But it's the practical version of the paradox of the heap. And its solution has important implications for everything from marketing techniques and marriage troubles to the war in Iraq.
- Happy Birthday To Us!
Today is the second birthday of Right Reason. I want to take this occasion to thank all of the contributors, commenters, fellow bloggers, and casual readers who have helped make this site a success. Perhaps I am biased, but I believe that our humble site, in providing a forum for the development of philosophically informed conservatism, has added something of real significance to the marketplace of ideas.
And the marketplace has taken notice. I like to tell people that we have been cited online by the New York Times, National Review, First Things, the Times Literary Supplement, World Magazine, Arts and Letters Daily, and literally hundreds of other website large and small. Morevoer, at several hundred visits a day, we have a large and loyal readership, and we enjoy some of the liveliest and most intelligent reader discussions in the blogosphere. Finally -- and I consider this a mark of success, too -- we have a cohort of liberal critics, many of them academics, who take us seriously enough to offer sustained criticisms of the views and arguments they find here. All of us, readers and contributors alike, have much to be proud of. My warmest thanks go out to every member of the Right Reason community.
I look forward to what the future has in store -- and, as always, your suggestions are most welcome. (You can find my email address under my profile linked at right.) In particular, I would appreciate your suggestions for interviewees and guest contributors, as I would like to continue broadening the range of conservative opinion represented on this site. And if I can make an unabashed pitch, please tell your friends and colleagues about Right Reason. I am thrilled with what we have achieved, but I don't think it is too optimistic to think that we can achieve more.
- University Faculty for Life - Call for Papers
I encourage prolife RR readers who are, or were, in the professoriate to become members of the University Faculty for Life and/or submit a paper to, or attend, the upcoming UFL meeting at Villanova University, June 1-3, 2007. I am a member of the national board of UFL.
I have posted the official call for papers below.
- "Conservative Intellectualoids"
...that's what John J. Miller calls people like us this morning on The Corner. I like it.
- The Conservative Persuasion: An Interview with George H. Nash (Part II of II)
This is Part II of my two-part interview with George H. Nash, author The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America Since 1945, which ISI books recently brought out in a 30th anniversary edition. Part I can be found here.
MG: In a later edition of your book, you mention a fourth strand of conservative thought: neo-conservatism. What did the neo-conservatives add to the mix?
GN: Irving Kristol once said that a neoconservative is "a liberal who has been mugged by reality." In the late 1960s and 1970s many American liberals and social democrats had this experience and began an intellectual journey toward conservative positions. The stresses that produced this migration included disillusionment with the grandiose liberal social activism of the Sixties (the Great Society), alarm at the antinomian cultural upheavals of that era, and dismay at the rise of the New Left. Many neoconservatives were anticommunist liberals of the Harry Truman/Henry Jackson variety who found themselves bereft of a political home after the capture of the Democratic Party by the followers of George McGovern in 1972. Eventually, they made their way into the conservative coalition of Ronald Reagan.
- The Conservative Persuasion: An Interview with George H. Nash (Part I of II)
Suppose you wanted a better grasp on contemporary American conservative thought. Or suppose you were well acquainted with contemporary American conservative thought but were fuzzy about where it came from. Or suppose you understood where contemporary American conservative thought came from, but wanted to see how a historian with encyclopedic knowledge and a gift for elegant writing would weave its origins into a compelling narrative. Or suppose you were simply in the mood for a good book, a book that explored big ideas and interesting people and how they have interacted to shape history. You'd want to pick up a copy of The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America Since 1945, by intellectual historian George H. Nash. This book traces the rise of the post-war conservative movement from its unpromising origins to its current status as a force to be reckoned with. ISI books recently published an updated and revised 30th anniversary edition of this landmark book, and I took the occasion to interview its author for Right Reason.
MG: Why did you choose to begin your history of American conservatism in 1945?
GN: My book was originally a doctoral dissertation in History at Harvard University. While searching for a dissertation topic I had become interested in the role of intellectuals in American politics in the twentieth century. For a short time I worked on a dissertation about the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), which was founded in 1947. I soon abandoned that topic and, with the encouragement of my adviser, decided to examine what was happening on the "right" side of the intellectual/political spectrum in that same period: the years immediately after World War II.
It soon became apparent that the year 1945 was an appropriate point of departure for my investigation. There was no organized conservative intellectual presence in the United States at the end of World War II. Conservative voices here and there -- yes, but not what historians would consider a movement. I now had a story to research and tell: the story of the emergence of this movement or community from weakness and obscurity to power and influence in the new era known as the Cold War.
- Hillbillies and Arabs
One of the few ethnic groups people still feel free to make fun of without being instantly banished to outer un-p.c. darkness is hillbillies - i.e., the descendants of Scotch-Irish immigrants who still hang their (worn out, floppy) hats in rural Appalachia. Wikipedia's "Hillbilly" article even includes an amusing (and rather affectionate) section on "the hillbilly stereotype."
Consider, if you will, a couple of the entries under that heading:
(1) Inbred and incestuous.
(2) Often fight each other along family lines. This is known as a "feud." [thanks for explaining that, Wikipedia!]
- First Principles Seminar
The Witherspoon Institute is once again hosting its First Principles Seminar at Princeton University. The Seminar is "an examination of the Natural Law, and its implications for political life, individual action, and legal institutions." Its stellar list of lecturers includes Hadley Arkes, J. Budziszewski, Robert P. George, Jean Bethke Elshtain, and many others, and its seminar leaders are Thomas D'Andrea and Right Reason's own Chris Tollefsen. Looks like one hell of an event, especially for fans of natural law.
Chris, any chance you could you tell us a bit more about the Seminar?
Here's a bit of trivia: Did you know that John Witherspoon, the Princeton divine and signer of the Declaration of Independence for whom the Witherspoon Institute is named, is a direct ancestor of Reese Witherspoon?
- Hayek and Fusionism
"Fusionism" is the attempt to combine libertarianism and conservatism into a single coherent political philosophy and program. In a new article at TCS Daily, I argue that the standard philosophical defense of fusionism is superficial, that Hayek's social and political philosophy provides the only plausible alternative ground for fusionism, but that even a Hayekian fusionism is bound to be unattractive to most libertarians and conservatives. As the article indicates, while I used to be a fusionist myself, I no longer consider it a viable position.
While on the subject of Hayek, I might also note that The Cambridge Companion to Hayek is now available. The table of contents and other information about the book can be found here.
- The Sage of Mecosta
A recent edition of Traverse, "northern Michigan's magazine," has a nice spread (see here and here) on the "sage of Mecosta," Russell Kirk. The author is National Review's John J. Miller, whose love for Michigan is evident. Miller provides a lovely three-page bio that highlights Kirk's lifelong connection to the state, interwoven with themes from his moral thought and also his avocation as a writer of ghostly tales. A quote from Kirk summarizes his approach to both: "Mine was not an Enlightened mind. It was a Gothic mind, medieval in its temper and structure. I did not love cold harmony and perfect regularity of organization; what I sought was variety, mystery, tradition, the venerable, the awful." This says a great deal, I think, about why Kirk has captured not only the minds but also the hearts of so many readers.
While I am on the subject, let me mention a treasure that deserves a wider audience: Ancestral Shadows, the definitive collection of Russell Kirk's ghost stories. Here's a little blurb I wrote about the book shortly after its publication:
- Eyesore of the Month
Michael Blowhard always posts interesting links. (But be careful. A good quarter of them lead to naked ladies.) Today he links to a darkly funny photo series maintained by New Urbanist James Howard Kunstler called Eyesore of the Month. I hope Mr. Kunstler won't mind if I post a couple favorites here:
Kunstler writes, "If your dog had a tumor like this the vets would just shake their heads and put him to sleep." - Scientism and the Intuitive Mind
Have you visited Jim Kalb's blog Turnabout? You can tell why I like it. Seems Mr. Kalb is having similar thoughts on the same subjects (indeed on the very same articles) to those I have been expressing. Take notice of the interesting references to Newman and Pascal.
