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The Politics of Prudence (Gateway Editions) Paperback – Special Edition, October 3, 2023

by Russell Kirk (Author), Michael P. Federici (Introduction)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 37 ratings
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30th Anniversary Edition with a new introduction by Michael Federici.

Conservatives are guided by prudence. So taught Russell Kirk (1918–1994), one of the founding fathers of American conservatism. If the tradition of prudential politics has fallen on hard times, its comeback might well begin in the pages of this wise book. An understanding of prudence as practical wisdom, the capacity of choosing the right means to attain worthy ends, is much needed in our time. It is the virtue most associated with the statesman.

Distinguishing political prudence from ideology, Kirk examines ten principles, events, books, and thinkers that have shaped the conservative mind and heart. The final chapter examines the shortcomings of democracy throughout the world and the need for representative government conducted by temperate and thoughtful men and women. In an eloquent epilogue, Kirk calls the rising generation to the defense of order—both the moral order and the social order, the order of the soul and the order of society—against the enemies of justice, freedom, and a high culture.

Reflecting decades of learning and practical experience, this lucid book is Kirk's bequest to the young men and women of today, an instruction manual for redeeming the time.
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  1. Print length
    314 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Gateway Editions
  4. Publication date
    October 3, 2023
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 1.4 x 8.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1684515319
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1684515318
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Russell Kirk (1918-1994), the father of intellectual conservatism in America, was the author of more than thirty books, including The Conservative Mind, Eliot and His Age, and The Roots of American Order. His legacy lives on in the work of the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal, based at his ancestral home in Mecosta, Michigan.

Michael P. Federici is professor of political science and international relations at Middle Tennessee State University. He previously served on the faculty at Mercyhurst University. He received his Ph.D. in Politics from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. and his B.S. in Economics from Elizabethtown College. Federici has written or edited several books, including The Challenge of Populism, Eric Voegelin: The Restoration of Order, The Political Philosophy of Alexander Hamilton, Rethinking the Teaching of American History,and The Culture of Immodesty in American Life and Politics.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Gateway Editions; Special Edition, Special edition, Anniversary (October 3, 2023)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 314 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1684515319
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1684515318
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1.4 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 37 ratings

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Russell Kirk

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
37 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reader in CA
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book from a neglected writer and thinker
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2014
Verified Purchase
This book was first given to me as a gift by a Rhodes scholar and when I read it I was impressed not only by the ideas but with the literary writing style of Kirk. It has become one of my all-time favorite works of non-fiction. Kirk lives up to his statement that "conservatives do think" and sets a powerful example here. Somehow, Kirk has become one of the most unfairly neglected political thinkers and conservative writers. Politics is very readable since it is actually an adaptation of a speech series he gave. As such, it is not intended to be an exhaustive explanation of conservative thought but an impressive introduction to the basic framework and defense of conservative thought. Not only does Kirk present a description and explanation for what conservatism means, but he also offers some very helpful contrasts with what conservatism is not. I'm not sure how a person on the political left would respond to the work, but for anyone who wants to understand the foundations of conservative political thought and wants to be able to think through conservatism clearly and deeply, it will be a delight. If you love words, if you love great writing, if you love clear thinking, if you love conserving and preserving worthwhile institutions, if you want to be able to understand and defend conservative thought, you couldn't find a better start than this book. From Politics of Prudence I went on to discover many other great books by Kirk, including The Conservative Mind and The Conservative Reader which take the ideas from the Politics of Prudence and give a much more in-depth intellectual analysis of those ideas.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Prudent People will add their amen
Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2023
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Prudent People will add their amen.
Imprudent People will not bother with even reading a book they cannot identify with.
One person found this helpful
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R. M Connors
5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific introduction to conservatism
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2001
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I became a conservative long before I knew what a conservative was, exactly. In fact I didn't know what a conservative was EXACTLY until reading this extremely helpful and clear book. Kirk takes for granted that his readers - or, as other reviewers have pointed out, listeners - will already have read his magnum opus THE CONSERVATIVE MIND, though I had not, and others need not. This work is the more elementary of the two, and to a beginner the more helpful.
Of particular usefulness is his careful distinction between conservbatives and libertarians, and between conservatives and neoconservatives. It had puzzled me for years why neo-cons who I thought of as "almost" conservatives were nonetheless saying in public such appallingly stupid things. Now I know.
By all means, son't stop with this book. Look up his recommended readings and plunge in. Though most are obscure, some can be found in libraries, others at Amazon, and a couple of REALLY hard-to-find items can be gotten at Project Gutenberg, that extraordinary (free) internet resource.
22 people found this helpful
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C. Fritsch
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Introduction to a Conservative Icon
Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2010
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If you want to know what conservative core principles are there is no better place to begin than this hugely enjoyable and fascinating compilation of the work from our latter-day Edmund Burke. He has shaped my thought and guided my study of conservative political principles for some time now and it is high time a younger genertion rediscovered the works of this magnificent man. His erudition is a perfect match for his charmingly old-fashioned writing style. You might want to follow up a reading of this work with either "The Roots of Order" or "Eliot and His Age."
8 people found this helpful
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Steve Jackson
4.0 out of 5 stars Conservatism 101
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2003
Russell Kirk (1918-1994) was a dominant figure in the post-World War II revival of Conservative thought. Toward the end of his life, he gave a series of lectures at the Heritage Foundation which form the basis of THE POLITICS OF PRUDENCE. Like everything Dr. Kirk wrote, the POLITICS OF PRUDENCE is insightful and also a pleasure to read.

The book is in a sense a summing up of Dr. Kirk's though and also a primer on Conservatism. Kirk describes 10 important events in Conservatism, 10 important Conservative books, 10 important Conservative thinkers, and 10 important conservatives. He also has chapters on the nature of Conservatism, Conservative foreign policy and the Conservative approach to various issues.

Dr. Kirk's version of Conservatism is somewhat controversial. According to Kirk, Conservatism is not an ideology, rather it is an "attitude" reflecting "prudence." Kirk defines ideology as a type of secular religion. For this reason, many libertarians have criticized Kirk for reducing Conservatism to an "attitude" rather than a coherent ideology that is able to confront statism. I don't agree with Kirk's definition of "ideology," but it is important to note that Kirk supported free enterprise, and limited (and decentralized) government. Although he wasn't supportive of libertarianism (which he critiques here in a somewhat off the mark essay), he was no apologist for the state.

Two essays stand out here. In "The Neoconservatives: An Endangered Species," he makes the now-famous statement that "And not seldom it has seemed as if some eminent Neoconservatives mistook Tel Aviv for the capital of the United States." In "Toward a Prudent Foreign Policy" he criticizes the first Gulf War as a "war for an oil-can." No doubt Kirk would have opposed the recent Gulf War (and been denounced as an "unpatriotic conservative" by the nitwits who now pass as deep thinkers in the conservative movement.

For an even more basic summary of Kirk's thought, see his book THE AMERICAN CAUSE, which has recently been republished by ISI.
16 people found this helpful
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Carlos
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book
Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2019
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Everybody should read this book, such a classic I loved it

Conservatism is really misunderstood even by people who consider themselves conservative!
2 people found this helpful
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John Fennelly
5.0 out of 5 stars Classical excellence
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2014
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Professor Kirk never disappoints, In the best burke tradition , he points out human perfectibility is an aspect of the metaphysical madness that began with the French revolution.
2 people found this helpful
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