Conservatism in America: Making Sense of the American Right (Hardcover)

~ Paul Edward Gottfried (Author)
Key Phrases: value conservatism, movement conservatives, United States, National Review, American Right (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Paul Gottfried provides something--in fact, a lot--to infuriate everyone. But even when Gottfried is judged wrongheaded, he poses the painful questions that others flee from and offers interpretations that compel close attention from all who wish to understand the prospects for a conservative movement."

--Eugene D. Genovese, author of The Southern Tradition: The Achievement and Limitations of an American Conservatism

 

"This study of the development and moral collapse of the postwar American Right is treated with vast historical knowledge that goes beyond Paul Gottfried's stated scope. Although its subject has been examined in a spate of books in recent years, including in two of Gottfried's earlier surveys, this new work brings an informed critical perspective to a major American political movement. A must read for students of American conservatism."

--Peter Brimelow, Editor, VDARE.COM

 

"Paul Gottfried comprehends the full complexities and conflicts within American conservatism better than anyone else.  This innovative and penetrating book provides the reader with a thorough knowledge and wise understanding of the major thinkers, the charged tensions, and the paradoxical transformations that have made conservatism what it is today. It is a masterful work, and it will help the rest of us to master this challenging, perplexing, and consequential topic."

--James Kurth, Claude Smith Professor of Political Science, Swarthmore College

 

"Conservatism in America manifests the author's immense erudition, in German, French, and Italian sources, as well as in English ones. It is an indispensable work for understanding what passes for American conservatism in our day."

--The Mises Review

Product Description

This book argues that the American conservative movement, as it now exists, does not have deep roots. It began in the 1950s as the invention of journalists and men of letters reacting to the early Cold War and trying to construct a rallying point for likeminded opponents of international Communism. The resulting movement has exaggerated the permanence of its values; while its militant anti-Communism, instilled in its followers, and periodic suppression of dissent have weakened its capacity for internal debate.  Their movement came to power at least partly by burying an older anti-welfare state Right, one that in fact had enjoyed a social following that was concentrated in a small-town America.  The newcomers played down the merits of those they had replaced; and in the 1980's the neoconservatives, who took over the postwar conservative movement from an earlier generation, belittled their predecessors in a similar way.  Among the movement's major accomplishments has been to recreate its own past.  The success of this revised history lies in the fact that even the movement's critics are now inclined to accept it.

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Product Details Hardcover: 208 pages Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (August 21, 2007) Language: English ISBN-10: 1403974322 ISBN-13: 978-1403974327 Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,000,442 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!

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Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
value conservatism, movement conservatives

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, National Review, American Right, Republican Party, French Revolution, The Conservative Mind, Irving Kristol, Heritage Foundation, Second World War, Southern Agrarians, New Deal, New York Times, Ronald Reagan, Religious Right, Catholic Church, Frank Meyer, Russell Kirk, Deal Right, Third World, Old Right, French Communists, Lynne Cheney, Sharon Statement, Claremont Institute, Jonah Goldberg

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews 5 star:  (3) 4 star:  (1) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:  (1)           Average Customer Review 4.0 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 21 of 21 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars How we were neoconed, September 3, 2007 By  Mark R. Sunwall - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    Have you ever wondered how the label "conservative" ceased to denote a serious poltical philosophy and became the prefered self designation of media hacks? If you want a specific contrast: think Ayn Rand vs. Ann Coulter! This didn't come about just because of the decline in American educational standards (although that is no doubt a related variable) but rather it is the end result of a premeditated poltical coup on the right. Paul Gottfried, who was an eyewitness to the process, has left us an account of how it was done and why. This slender but data packed volume documents how representatives of the limited-government and traditionalist movements lost their positions, funding, and ultimately even their identity to a faction of crass Machiavellians who migrated into the conservative movement between the early Reagan years and the end of the Cold War. In a way it is hardly surprising that these genteel literary types were bested by battle hardened ex-Trotskyites fresh from the proxy wars of the left. The value of Gottfried's study is that he both memorialises and criticises the vanquished old right, ensuring that the epoch doesn't vanish down the memory hole, and that the cautionary lessons are laid out to be learned by whoever takes the time and effort. The philosophical core of the book is Gottfried's implicit criticism of "value conservatism." Although he doesn't venture very far into the technical aspects of value-theory, enough is said to explain the tropism of "values" from presumed absolutes towards handy poltical slogans. The presumption of the old right was that "values" refered to a hierarchy of moral goods latent in the order of things, discovered, but not created by human minds. This is an implicitly theistic, or at least panentheistic, theory. Gottfried points out the rhetorical blunder of old right in resting its case on nominal rather than real values. By the time Russel Kirk and others started talking about "traditional values" the frame of reference had shifted (assuming it had ever been anywhere else) from absolute values to imputed values, that is to say: subjective evaluation of the sort that is used (legitimately) in economic theory. Unfortunately the appeal to imputed values in poltical rhetoric only encouraged the sort of value relativism that the old right claimed to be fighting. After that it was only a matter of time before some clever faction on the left realized that it could use this protean notion to insert its own agenda into the conservative program and take over the movement. For that salient insight, as well as the documentation of nearly forgotten thinkers, this is a book to get and ponder upon. The only reason that I am giving it four rather than five stars is that there seem to be many loose ends in the text. Dr. Gottfried has a tendency to sally into criticism of other thinkers and then break off before making his own principles explicit. Perhaps he likes to hold his political cards close to his chest, or perhaps in his years of contention with the Straussians, their coy indirectness of expression has rubbed off on him. Whatever Gottfried's ultimate position may be, this is a book that should be read by paleoconservatives, libertarians, or anyone else who is interested in cognitivism in poltics and curious about its decline in America. 11 of 12 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Fundamental Study that Demands Attention, September 11, 2007 By  B. Cathey "ParsifalCSA" (Wendell, NC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    Paul Gottfried has, over the past twenty-five years, been one of the most astute and impressive writers on contemporary politics and society. His earlier volumes MULTICULTURALISM AND THE POLITICS OF GUILT and AFTER LIBERALISM have been significant contributions to the discussion of the nature of American (and European) society and the structures of authority---and how they came to be the way they are today. In this, his newest, volume, Gottfried analyzes both the history and "meaning" of what has been termed "American conservatism." Looking first at the older, pre-NATIONAL REVIEW "Right" of Robert Taft and others, he explores how publicists and others transformed that older "Right" into an anti-Communist "coalition" in the 1950s that, although it at least in part attempted to establish roots in a transatlantic Burkean tradition (with the work of Russell Kirk), soon found itself conflicted by divergent strains and impulses. The implosion of a formal Communist threat in the late 1980s and early '90s, and the influx of former Leftist/Trotskyite neo-conservatives in the 1970s and 1980s and their expropriation of the name "conservative," have transfigured what many people think of as the "Right" in America today, and the results have had extreme consequences both politically and socially. Gottfried's analysis is fresh and his command of sources and knowledge of historical events and persons is quite impressive. Stylistic, this book reads quite well, unlike some dry-as-dust tomes. In short, this is a book that demands attention from political scientists, historians, from journalists and observers both of American and European politics and society, and from those interested in not only what has taken place and what is taking place in the United States...but why. 6 of 6 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Baseless Conservatism, September 12, 2007 By  Evan McLaren (Camp Hill, PA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    I finished this wonderful book a moment ago, and nothing about its portrayal of a baseless conservative movement struck me as untrue. But it left me wondering where an adequate base could possibly come from, a topic on which the author does not seem very hopeful, though this lack of hope has done nothing to discourage him from making spirited attacks on the Left and its neocon clones. In any case, my interest in Gottfried's work, which began with columns at LRC, continues to grow. What perhaps struck me most about Gottfried's treatment of the American Right is how the events and ideas it documents, basic to understanding the American political landscape, are wholly ignored by practitioners of public and media "discourse." Gum-flappers Left and "Right" suppress or pass over any information that does not fit in to their carefully-monitored view of reality. Allowing remarks like Gottfried's into the mix might lead one to reflect seriously on the danger of accepting and promoting an established liberal secular theology of rights-talk, universalism, multiculturalism, and managerially-supervised diversity. Readers might also consider the extent to which acceptance of these ideas inclines regimes toward warmaking and enforcement of its conception of rights everywhere--a model we are never invited to use in our analysis of such debacles as the Iraq invasion. Finally, Gottfried's analysis of movement conservatism might lead thoughtful Righties into abandoning and even attacking the baseless hierarchy of GOP helpers. There is little danger of this happening, however, since the managers of "Right-wing" information would rather pant after the endless stream of flatulent, self-serving "books" researched and authored by unprincipled conservatives and their minicon servants, than take the time to consider the tirelessly-documented arguments made by thoughtful dissenters like Gottfried.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 1.0 out of 5 stars Not for the curious reader.... ....who just wants to know a bit about the conservative movement in America. The author assumes a wide knowledge of conservative writing and conservative nuances which would... Read more Published 17 months ago by whemmer 5.0 out of 5 stars How and Why The Right Went Wrong In the last few years, there have been a number of books that note that the conservative movement and the Republican Party is not conserving what it used to. Read more Published on September 10, 2007 by Marcus Epstein Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (August 21, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403974322
• ISBN-13: 978-1403974327
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,000,442 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How we were neoconed, September 3, 2007

By	Mark R. Sunwall - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Have you ever wondered how the label "conservative" ceased to denote a serious poltical philosophy and became the prefered self designation of media hacks? If you want a specific contrast: think Ayn Rand vs. Ann Coulter! This didn't come about just because of the decline in American educational standards (although that is no doubt a related variable) but rather it is the end result of a premeditated poltical coup on the right. Paul Gottfried, who was an eyewitness to the process, has left us an account of how it was done and why.

This slender but data packed volume documents how representatives of the limited-government and traditionalist movements lost their positions, funding, and ultimately even their identity to a faction of crass Machiavellians who migrated into the conservative movement between the early Reagan years and the end of the Cold War. In a way it is hardly surprising that these genteel literary types were bested by battle hardened ex-Trotskyites fresh from the proxy wars of the left. The value of Gottfried's study is that he both memorialises and criticises the vanquished old right, ensuring that the epoch doesn't vanish down the memory hole, and that the cautionary lessons are laid out to be learned by whoever takes the time and effort.

The philosophical core of the book is Gottfried's implicit criticism of "value conservatism." Although he doesn't venture very far into the technical aspects of value-theory, enough is said to explain the tropism of "values" from presumed absolutes towards handy poltical slogans. The presumption of the old right was that "values" refered to a hierarchy of moral goods latent in the order of things, discovered, but not created by human minds. This is an implicitly theistic, or at least panentheistic, theory. Gottfried points out the rhetorical blunder of old right in resting its case on nominal rather than real values. By the time Russel Kirk and others started talking about "traditional values" the frame of reference had shifted (assuming it had ever been anywhere else) from absolute values to imputed values, that is to say: subjective evaluation of the sort that is used (legitimately) in economic theory. Unfortunately the appeal to imputed values in poltical rhetoric only encouraged the sort of value relativism that the old right claimed to be fighting. After that it was only a matter of time before some clever faction on the left realized that it could use this protean notion to insert its own agenda into the conservative program and take over the movement.

For that salient insight, as well as the documentation of nearly forgotten thinkers, this is a book to get and ponder upon. The only reason that I am giving it four rather than five stars is that there seem to be many loose ends in the text. Dr. Gottfried has a tendency to sally into criticism of other thinkers and then break off before making his own principles explicit. Perhaps he likes to hold his political cards close to his chest, or perhaps in his years of contention with the Straussians, their coy indirectness of expression has rubbed off on him. Whatever Gottfried's ultimate position may be, this is a book that should be read by paleoconservatives, libertarians, or anyone else who is interested in cognitivism in poltics and curious about its decline in America.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fundamental Study that Demands Attention, September 11, 2007

By	B. Cathey "ParsifalCSA" (Wendell, NC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Paul Gottfried has, over the past twenty-five years, been one of the most astute and impressive writers on contemporary politics and society. His earlier volumes MULTICULTURALISM AND THE POLITICS OF GUILT and AFTER LIBERALISM have been significant contributions to the discussion of the nature of American (and European) society and the structures of authority---and how they came to be the way they are today. In this, his newest, volume, Gottfried analyzes both the history and "meaning" of what has been termed "American conservatism." Looking first at the older, pre-NATIONAL REVIEW "Right" of Robert Taft and others, he explores how publicists and others transformed that older "Right" into an anti-Communist "coalition" in the 1950s that, although it at least in part attempted to establish roots in a transatlantic Burkean tradition (with the work of Russell Kirk), soon found itself conflicted by divergent strains and impulses. The implosion of a formal Communist threat in the late 1980s and early '90s, and the influx of former Leftist/Trotskyite neo-conservatives in the 1970s and 1980s and their expropriation of the name "conservative," have transfigured what many people think of as the "Right" in America today, and the results have had extreme consequences both politically and socially.

Gottfried's analysis is fresh and his command of sources and knowledge of historical events and persons is quite impressive. Stylistic, this book reads quite well, unlike some dry-as-dust tomes.

In short, this is a book that demands attention from political scientists, historians, from journalists and observers both of American and European politics and society, and from those interested in not only what has taken place and what is taking place in the United States...but why.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Baseless Conservatism, September 12, 2007

By	Evan McLaren (Camp Hill, PA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I finished this wonderful book a moment ago, and nothing about its portrayal of a baseless conservative movement struck me as untrue. But it left me wondering where an adequate base could possibly come from, a topic on which the author does not seem very hopeful, though this lack of hope has done nothing to discourage him from making spirited attacks on the Left and its neocon clones. In any case, my interest in Gottfried's work, which began with columns at LRC, continues to grow.

What perhaps struck me most about Gottfried's treatment of the American Right is how the events and ideas it documents, basic to understanding the American political landscape, are wholly ignored by practitioners of public and media "discourse." Gum-flappers Left and "Right" suppress or pass over any information that does not fit in to their carefully-monitored view of reality. Allowing remarks like Gottfried's into the mix might lead one to reflect seriously on the danger of accepting and promoting an established liberal secular theology of rights-talk, universalism, multiculturalism, and managerially-supervised diversity. Readers might also consider the extent to which acceptance of these ideas inclines regimes toward warmaking and enforcement of its conception of rights everywhere--a model we are never invited to use in our analysis of such debacles as the Iraq invasion. Finally, Gottfried's analysis of movement conservatism might lead thoughtful Righties into abandoning and even attacking the baseless hierarchy of GOP helpers. There is little danger of this happening, however, since the managers of "Right-wing" information would rather pant after the endless stream of flatulent, self-serving "books" researched and authored by unprincipled conservatives and their minicon servants, than take the time to consider the tirelessly-documented arguments made by thoughtful dissenters like Gottfried.