One may be forgiven for forgetting, in this age of texts and tweets, that there are men of great intellect who not only see what is not obvious but ask "Why must it be so?" When most observers may frown at the collapse of western culture and ponder only as far as wagering with our friends how much time we have left before we are sending smoke signals from teepees, Roger Kimball finds the broken threads of our past, shows how western culture is dying like an ice cube held in the hand, and suggests how to recognize the tiny philosophical fireflies that, if we had been paying attention, we could have whacked like a mole in the womb. Kimball shows that relativism has replaced objectivity, history, and values. Western culture no longer possesses common values and therefore we lose the virtues we once used to achieve those values. Kimball traces the "isms" of the last three centuries (marxism, communism, fascism, socialism, progressivism) which seem to change their names each time the scam is up. Kimball shows that Progressives are progressive only in the same sense as cancer. Finding the footprints of these "Friends of Humanity" in art, architecture, philosophy, politics and literature (there is even a defense of Kipling, yes that Kipling), Kimball warns that we need to pay attention, not to the Marxes and Lenins (although that is important) but to their unrecognized predecessors as Malthus was for Darwin and Baebuf for Marx. Once there is a Stalin, it is too late. There would not have been a Robespierre without a Rousseau. After a 100 million deaths in the 20th century from all the types of socialism, Kimball's wit is infectious as he reports Muravchik's definition of Socialism's motto, "If you build it, they will leave". As Kimball adds, "If they let you."
As always, Kimball's erudition is impressive. One cannot write prose like this without an encyclopedic knowledge based on extensive reading. I counted in one chapter 40 quotes from as many authors in 30 pages. It is not possible to do that unless one is not only well read, possesses a great memory, but more importantly, senses the connections between authors and ideas spread over centuries and a lifetime of reading. Kimball's plea is for a healthy caution of "Friends of Humanity" and egalitarian philosophers who promise a paradise where everyone is equal in everything. For even in paradise, there are lions and tigers and bears. Read this book and be thankful that there are people like Roger Kimball who are paying attention for the rest of us.
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