The Death of Conservatism

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science
Cover of the book The Death of Conservatism by Sam Tanenhaus, Random House Publishing Group
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Sam Tanenhaus ISBN: 9781588369482
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group Publication: September 1, 2009
Imprint: Random House Language: English
Author: Sam Tanenhaus
ISBN: 9781588369482
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Publication: September 1, 2009
Imprint: Random House
Language: English

Sam Tanenhaus’s essay “Conservatism Is Dead” prompted intense discussion and debate when it was published in The New Republic in the first days of Barack Obama’s presidency. Now Tanenhaus, a leading authority on modern politics, has expanded his argument into a sweeping history of the American conservative movement. For seventy-five years, he argues, the Right has been split between two factions: consensus-driven “realists” who believe in the virtue of government and its power to adjust to changing conditions, and movement “revanchists” who distrust government and society–and often find themselves at war with America itself.

Eventually, Tanenhaus writes, the revanchists prevailed, and the result is the decadent “movement conservatism” of today, a defunct ideology that is “profoundly and defiantly unconservative–in its arguments and ideas, its tactics and strategies, above all in its vision.”

But there is hope for conservatism. It resides in the examples of pragmatic leaders like Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan and thinkers like Whittaker Chambers and William F. Buckley, Jr. Each came to understand that the true role of conservatism is not to advance a narrow ideological agenda but to engage in a serious dialogue with liberalism and join with it in upholding “the politics of stability.”

Conservatives today need to rediscover the roots of this honorable tradition. It is their only route back to the center of American politics.
At once succinct and detailed, penetrating and nuanced, The Death of Conservatism is a must-read for Americans of any political persuasion.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Sam Tanenhaus’s essay “Conservatism Is Dead” prompted intense discussion and debate when it was published in The New Republic in the first days of Barack Obama’s presidency. Now Tanenhaus, a leading authority on modern politics, has expanded his argument into a sweeping history of the American conservative movement. For seventy-five years, he argues, the Right has been split between two factions: consensus-driven “realists” who believe in the virtue of government and its power to adjust to changing conditions, and movement “revanchists” who distrust government and society–and often find themselves at war with America itself.

Eventually, Tanenhaus writes, the revanchists prevailed, and the result is the decadent “movement conservatism” of today, a defunct ideology that is “profoundly and defiantly unconservative–in its arguments and ideas, its tactics and strategies, above all in its vision.”

But there is hope for conservatism. It resides in the examples of pragmatic leaders like Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan and thinkers like Whittaker Chambers and William F. Buckley, Jr. Each came to understand that the true role of conservatism is not to advance a narrow ideological agenda but to engage in a serious dialogue with liberalism and join with it in upholding “the politics of stability.”

Conservatives today need to rediscover the roots of this honorable tradition. It is their only route back to the center of American politics.
At once succinct and detailed, penetrating and nuanced, The Death of Conservatism is a must-read for Americans of any political persuasion.

More books from Random House Publishing Group

Cover of the book Work 101 by Sam Tanenhaus
Cover of the book Norse Code by Sam Tanenhaus
Cover of the book Brothel by Sam Tanenhaus
Cover of the book Two From Galilee by Sam Tanenhaus
Cover of the book Mrs. Pollifax and the Hong Kong Buddha by Sam Tanenhaus
Cover of the book Sole Survivor by Sam Tanenhaus
Cover of the book Once Upon a Bride by Sam Tanenhaus
Cover of the book Atlantis God by Sam Tanenhaus
Cover of the book Girl [Maladjusted] by Sam Tanenhaus
Cover of the book The River Wife by Sam Tanenhaus
Cover of the book Accelerated Learning for the 21st Century by Sam Tanenhaus
Cover of the book The Whole-Brain Child by Sam Tanenhaus
Cover of the book Broken Open by Sam Tanenhaus
Cover of the book Lights, Camera, Hairballs! by Sam Tanenhaus
Cover of the book Hot Commodities by Sam Tanenhaus
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy