The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot

Kirk tells us at the outset that this book is a long essay in definition. Many may wonder why he takes 500 pages to answer the question: what is a conservative? It takes that long because conservatism, at its core, is opposed to ideas that seek to level and shrink the broad and various questions of human existence into a few simplistic solutions. It is the political idealists, the social planners, who can narrow all of the questions of policy into a tidy grid. But true conservatives have always been broad thinkers. They have understood that different situations call for varied policies. Kirk tells us on page 8 that conservatives have always had: "Affection for the proliferating variety and mystery of human existence, as opposed to the narrowing uniformity, egalitarianism, and utilitarian aims of most radical systems; conservatives resist what Robert Graves calls "Logicalism" in society. This prejudice has been called "the conservatism of enjoyment"--a sense that life is worth living." The above quote is a neat summary of the book. Conservatives have adopted different types of damage control in response to differing situations. This book shows the problems that the conservatives faced and how they sought to preserve freedom and security, to be faithful to the time-tested methods of securing property rights and individual freedoms, and how they warded off the seductive calls for utopianism. "Men not being angels, a terrestrial paradise cannot be contrived by metaphysical enthusiasts; yet an earthly hell can be arranged readily enough by ideologues of one stamp or another." The book chronicles what it looks like for conservatives to ward off ideologues of one stamp or another as they seek to impose their tyranny for everyone's good in pursuit of their utopia. Conservatives' strategies vary depending on the unique philosophical assault. The book is long because we live in a fallen world and humanity has an enemy. Satan's nefarious schemes morph and progress from one degree of evil to another. Wisdom is not content with one 3 X 5 card of principles but wisdom patiently learns from other brave souls in the past, about how they faced the giants of their day with courage and how they gained victories. The patient reader will find ample conservative courageous examples applicable to modern-day encounters with idealism. One last thought. 8 out of the Bible's 10 commandments are prohibitive: "Thou shalt not..." (Honor your parents and keep the Sabbath are the only 2 that are prescriptive.) This gives us great freedom in life. We can have the occupation that we choose, we can marry whom we choose (in the Lord), we can live where we choose, the world is our oyster, provided we don't worship other gods, lie, kill, steal, commit adultery, and covet. The left has the very opposite agenda. They are "liberal" (meaning freedom-loving) in the few areas where God is prohibitive. They are liberal when it comes to murder (abortion), adultery (free love movement), stealing (socialism), and have built an entire economic system based solely on coveting. But they want to control every last area of your life (for your good) while encouraging you to celebrate how free you are from the few things that God requires you not to do. The way to combat the enemies of freedom will vary and this book will arm any thoughtful person with a lifetime of sound principles, examples, and inspiration on how to approach the problems in this complicated and beautiful world we inhabit.

Although I have only finished the first three chapters of this book, I still want to give it a rave review, at the same time as I wonder why I was never exposed to it, at any time during my American education. I read plenty of books by liberals, but somehow this brilliant work by Russell Kirk was regarded as something like the deadly nightshade. Not so! And I will repeat the same complaint again: after reading the chapter on Edmund Burke, I wonder again why no teacher, and no course, ever even *mentioned* Edmund Burke, certainly one of the most profound thinkers of the last five centuries. And this book acquires even more importance when put with Melanie Phillip's The World Turned Upside Down: The Global Battle over God, Truth, and Power , because I suspect that she has not read it. She should read it, because some solutions to her problems appear in these profound pages. As Kirk summarizes Burke: the moral order among men is only a reflection of the moral order of God. Governments are instituted among men primarily to provide for safety --- safety from the marauding Saracen without our borders, and safety from the mob within our own borders. From this, Burke deduces his own, extremely interesting list of the rights of man, which to my mind rivals the list of natural rights listed in the Founding Documents of America. "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" -- yes! But Burke adds: freedom to participate in an ordered, organized and intelligent society [not his words, I paraphrase]. After trying to summarize Burke, Kirk turns to the equally difficult task of trying to summarize John Adams, until recently our most-overlooked Founding Father. This "dour Federalist" is most likely the man responsible for our Federalist system of government, with its three branches (legislative, executive, and judicial). He accomplished this by "simply" writing an immense three-volume lawyer's brief, which surveyed and examined an immense range of successful governments: A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Against Attack of M. Turgot in His Letter to Dr. Price, Dated the Twenty-Second Day of March, 1778 . Fortunately, David McCullough has been resurrecting the life and career of this brilliant man, John Adams --- and the life of John Adams is now available on DVD: John Adams (HBO Miniseries) . There are lots of books on the market "explaining" liberalism, which usually teach such dubious doctrines as the Perfectibility of Man (Condorcet) and the Natural Equality of All Men. For the Conservative side, Russell Kirk's book is the heavyweight champion. On the negative side, Kirk strikes me as much too fond of religion and much too critical of economic progress. If we were to take him at his word, we would wind up with a much poorer America absolutely devoted to the Virgin Mary. If Kirk understands that a strong economy can pay for a strong military, he doesn't say so. Myself, I'm pretty comfortable with a strong and free America, with enough money to go around for everyone. If you want to have a balanced and informed view of the 21st-century political debate, this is a book which you must take into account.

If you have just a one book time slot on conservativism, try this. It is a permeating overview of this stance. By the end of it you will see, feel the world through a conservative mind. One does not need to be a conservative to be able to speak on the language, and think on the wawelength of a conservative. This book will provide the air of that one by revealing the gist of being a proper conservative. Amazing achievement.

Obra de capital valor, tanto histórico quanto filosófico. Marco do pensamento conservador. Obra que expõe pontod fundamentais do pensamento de Kirk e do pensamento conservador.

So the first thing to say about this book is that it is NOT 'The Conservative Mind' by Russell Kirk, but a primer on that text. As such, it's a very useful dip into what I understand is quite a weighty tome. It's cohetently put together, and gives an excellent summary of the original text (I assume). If you only have an hour to spare and want to cover all the salient points in 'The Conservative Mind', then this is the book for you. But it really ought to be advertised as a primer and not as the definitive text.

AWESOME

Excellent review of 18th and 19th century conservatism in US and UK. Important emphasis on balance with democracy and aristocracy.

I was surprised and annoyed to discover that this 71page booklet is not 'The Conservative Mind' by Russell Kirk but an essay by Aaron McLeod about the book.