Conservatism: An Anthology of Social and Political Thought from David Hume to the Present

by Jerry Z. Muller

Overview

At a time when the label "conservative" is indiscriminately applied to fundamentalists, populists, libertarians, fascists, and the advocates of one or another orthodoxy, this volume offers a nuanced and historically informed presentation of what is distinctive about conservative social and political thought. It is an anthology with an argument, locating the origins of modern conservatism within the Enlightenment and distinguishing between conservatism and orthodoxy. Bringing together important specimens of European and American conservative social and political analysis from the mid-eighteenth century through our own day, Conservatism demonstrates that while the particular institutions that conservatives have sought to conserve have varied, there are characteristic features of conservative argument that recur over time and across national borders.


The book proceeds chronologically through the following sections: Enlightenment Conservatism (David Hume, Edmund Burke, and Justus Möser), The Critique of Revolution (Burke, Louis de Bonald, Joseph de Maistre, James Madison, and Rufus Choate), Authority (Matthew Arnold, James Fitzjames Stephen), Inequality (W. H. Mallock, Joseph A. Schumpeter), The Critique of Good Intentions (William Graham Sumner), War (T. E. Hulme), Democracy (Carl Schmitt, Schumpeter), The Limits of Rationalism (Winston Churchill, Michael Oakeshott, Friedrich Hayek, Edward Banfield), The Critique of Social and Cultural Emancipation (Irving Kristol, Peter Berger and Richard John Neuhaus, Hermann Lübbe), and Between Social Science and Cultural Criticism (Arnold Gehlen, Philip Rieff). The book contains an afterword on recurrent tensions and dilemmas of conservative thought.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691213118
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	05/05/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	464
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Jerry Z. Muller is Professor of History at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. His previous books, Adam Smith in His Time and Ours: Designing the Decent Society and The Other God That Failed: Hans Freyer and the Deradicalization of German Conservatism are available from Princeton in paperback.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: What is Conservative Social and Political Thought?	3
Ch. 1	Enlightenment Conservatism	32
"Of Justice," from An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751)
"Preface" to A Vindication of Natural Society (Second Edition, 1757)
"On the Diminished Disgrace of Whores and Their Children in Our Day" (1772)
"No Promotion According to Merit" (c. 1770)
Ch. 2	The Critique of Revolution	78
Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790)
On Divorce (1801)
Essay on the Generative Principle of Political Constitutions and of Other Human Institutions (1814)
"Federalist No. 49" (1788)
"The Position and Functions of the American Bar, as an Element of Conservatism in the State" (1845)
Ch. 3	Authority	167
Culture and Anarchy (1869)
Liberty, Equality, Fraternity (1874)
Ch. 4	Inequality	210
Aristocracy and Evolution: A Study of the Rights, the Origin, and Social Functions of the Wealthier Classes (1898)
"Aptitude and Social Mobility" (1927)
Ch. 5	The Critique of Good Intentions	233
"Sociological Fallacies" (1884)
"On the Case of a Certain Man Who Is Never Thought Of" (1883)
"An Examination of a Noble Sentiment" (c. 1887)
Ch. 6	War	249
"Essays on War" (1916)
Ch. 7	Democracy	261
"When Parliament Cannot be Sovereign" (1931)
"Political Leadership and Democracy" (1942)
Ch. 8	The Limits of Rationalism	285
"Speech on Rebuilding the House of Commons" (1943)
"Rationalism in Politics" (1947)
"The Errors of Constructivism" (1970)
The Mirage of Social Justice (1973)
The Unheavenly City Revisited (1974)
Ch. 9	The Critique of Social and Cultural Emancipation	358
"Pornography, Obscenity, and the Case for Censorship" (1971)
To Empower People: The Role of Mediating Structures in Public Policy (1977)
"The Social Consequences of Attempts to Create Equality (1984)
Ch. 10	Between Social Science and Cultural Criticism	401
"On Culture, Nature, and Naturalness" (1958)
"Man and Institutions" (1960)
"Toward a Theory of Culture" (1966)
Afterword: Recurrent Tensions and Dilemmas of Conservative Thought
Guide to Further Reading	427
Index	443

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A richly diverse, intelligently designed, and helpfully annotated introduction to the world of conservative theory. No comparable collection that I know of is as broad and unparochial as this one."—Thomas Pangle, University of Toronto

Thomas Pangle

A richly diverse, intelligently designed, and helpfully annotated introduction to the world of conservative theory. No comparable collection that I know of is as broad and unparochial as this one.
— Thomas Pangle, University of Toronto

Editorial Reviews

"Muller's book is a bracing commentary on the present-day condition of American conservatism, and a welcome invitation to rethink what conservatives ought to be conserving."—-Charles R. Kesler, Wilson Quarterly

"A smartly designed anthology. Muller is a capable teacher. . . . He brings a freshness to old standbys like Edmund Burke and James Madison and unearths fascinating conservative passages from Winston Churchill and several lesser lights. The readings may be the meat of the book, but Muller's take on conservatism is its lifeblood. His afterword. . . is nothing short of brilliant. . . . Muller's exciting anthology effectively shows that conservatism, for all its apparent stodginess, is remarkably alive and organic."—-John J. Miller, The Detroit News

"Jerry Muller's thoughtful primer on conservative thinkers from David Hume to the present day is timely. If the dispossessed of the right feel the need to go back to basics, they could do worse than start here. . . . This anthology, with Muller's useful introductions to the work of two dozen or so political theorists, reminds us that conservatism has always been the most amorphous of political philosophies."—-Philip Stephens, Financial Times

"Mr. Miller has covered the bases well, giving a good accounting of the breadth and variety of the subject he anthologizes."—-Stephen Goode, Washington Times

From the Publisher

Mr. Miller has covered the bases well, giving a good accounting of the breadth and variety of the subject he anthologizes.

Washington Times - Stephen Goode

Jerry Muller's thoughtful primer on conservative thinkers from David Hume to the present day is timely. If the dispossessed of the right feel the need to go back to basics, they could do worse than start here. . . . This anthology, with Muller's useful introductions to the work of two dozen or so political theorists, reminds us that conservatism has always been the most amorphous of political philosophies.

Financial Times - Philip Stephens

A smartly designed anthology. Muller is a capable teacher. . . . He brings a freshness to old standbys like Edmund Burke and James Madison and unearths fascinating conservative passages from Winston Churchill and several lesser lights. The readings may be the meat of the book, but Muller's take on conservatism is its lifeblood. His afterword. . . is nothing short of brilliant. . . . Muller's exciting anthology effectively shows that conservatism, for all its apparent stodginess, is remarkably alive and organic.

The Detroit News - John J. Miller

Muller's book is a bracing commentary on the present-day condition of American conservatism, and a welcome invitation to rethink what conservatives ought to be conserving.

Wilson Quarterly - Charles R. Kesler

Mr. Miller has covered the bases well, giving a good accounting of the breadth and variety of the subject he anthologizes.
— Stephen Goode

Washington Times

Jerry Muller's thoughtful primer on conservative thinkers from David Hume to the present day is timely. If the dispossessed of the right feel the need to go back to basics, they could do worse than start here. . . . This anthology, with Muller's useful introductions to the work of two dozen or so political theorists, reminds us that conservatism has always been the most amorphous of political philosophies.
— Philip Stephens

Financial Times

A smartly designed anthology. Muller is a capable teacher. . . . He brings a freshness to old standbys like Edmund Burke and James Madison and unearths fascinating conservative passages from Winston Churchill and several lesser lights. The readings may be the meat of the book, but Muller's take on conservatism is its lifeblood. His afterword. . . is nothing short of brilliant. . . . Muller's exciting anthology effectively shows that conservatism, for all its apparent stodginess, is remarkably alive and organic.
— John J. Miller

The Detroit News

Muller's book is a bracing commentary on the present-day condition of American conservatism, and a welcome invitation to rethink what conservatives ought to be conserving.
— Charles R. Kesler

Wilson Quarterly