Customer Reviews

Prospects for Conservatives

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Russell Kirk's PROSPECTS FOR CONSERVATIVES was first published in 1954 as A PROGRAM FOR CONSERVATIVES and was from time to time updated. It might be the most fundamental statement of Kirk's philosophy. This version, which came out in 1989, was the final revision.

Kirk was, of course, one of the premier conservative thinkers in the second half of the twentieth century. He wrote 30 books, hundreds of articles, and a weekly column for 14 years (which unfortunately has not been reprinted).

I certainly enjoyed this work, and it shares the strengths and weaknesses of Kirk's writings. Although well written, its arguments can be a bit hard to follow. As Kirk says, he's setting forth general principles, not recommending specific politicians or plans. If you are used to the "take no prisoners" approach of Murray Rothbard, you might find Kirk's writings a bit slow going.

Kirk was not a libertarian (in fact, they were frequent targets of his). He probably wasn't a "minimal government conservative" either. On the other hand, he was a staunch opponent of the centralizing leviathan state. For example, he opposed the federal school lunch program and opposed the US attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He even went so far as to say "[a]fter all our humanitarian bragging, in the course of the war [WW II], we behaved precisely as we accused our enemies of behaving. [p. 224.] You certainly don't hear that opinion much expressed on the neocon "right" these days.

This book is an excellent place to start if you want to understand Kirk's though. In particular, chapter 7 - "The Question of Wants" - is quintessentially Kirkian. His recently republished THE AMERICAN CAUSE is a more basic statement of his views.