Russell Kirk: Knight-Errant Against the Ideologues

By |2017-06-27T14:39:16-05:00March 11th, 2011|Categories: Bradley J. Birzer, Conservatism, Russell Kirk, Traditional Conservatives and Libertarians|

Russell Kirk “This present life here below, Kirk had perceived often in his mind’s eye, is an ephemeral existence, precarious, as in an arena rather than upon a stage: some men are meant to be gladiators or knights-errant, not mere strolling players,” Russell Kirk wrote, using the third person in reference to himself, [...]

Kirk and McClellan’s Political Principles of Taft

By |2017-06-20T13:38:02-05:00September 23rd, 2010|Categories: Books, Bradley J. Birzer, Conservatism, Russell Kirk, Traditional Conservatives and Libertarians|

This past Saturday, I had a meaningful time with Vigen Guroian, Annette Kirk, George Nash, Doug Minson, and a number of very bright students from the University of Virginia and from Central Michigan University. After the best lecture that I have ever seen George Nash deliver (and, he’s always quite good), Vigen brilliantly led us [...]

Finding “The Book” of Conservatism

By |2018-10-16T20:25:59-05:00August 25th, 2010|Categories: Ayn Rand, RAK, Russell Kirk, Traditional Conservatives and Libertarians|

The following 1950 quote from Russell Kirk [“How Dead is Edmund Burke?,” Queen’s Quarterly 57 (1950): 162] made me think of our recent conversation on the power of Ayn Rand to attract strong, young minds, eager for Truth. Men of conservative impulse are numerous in every society; they are among us today, but most of [...]

Ayn Rand & the Paganization of the American Right

By |2017-06-16T12:36:49-05:00August 22nd, 2010|Categories: Ayn Rand, Bradley J. Birzer, Catholicism, Traditional Conservatives and Libertarians|

(Part I link) What finally made me question Rand, though, was an essay she wrote on why an Objectivist would be pro-choice on the abortion issue. For whatever reason, this hit me as absurd and hypocritical on her part. It seemed (and still does) to contradict the best of what she believed and promoted. Again, [...]

Looking Up from Valhalla

By |2017-06-16T12:32:47-05:00August 21st, 2010|Categories: Ayn Rand, Bradley J. Birzer, C.S. Lewis, Film, Traditional Conservatives and Libertarians|Tags: , |

National Review’s cover featured a very captivating art-deco style rendering of Ayn Rand. Whether intentional or not (and most likely it is), the portrait divides Rand’s face in manichaen fashion, half light, half dark. Though the article, “Ayn Rand Reconsidered: A Greatness Stunted by Hate,” by Jason Steorts, is relatively short, it packs a serious [...]

Jim Otteson, “Happy Government Day!”

By |2017-06-16T12:15:04-05:00August 19th, 2010|Categories: Bradley J. Birzer, Conservatism, Traditional Conservatives and Libertarians|

Highly recommended for those who can stomach it: Jim Otteson's post at Pileus. Books on the topic of this essay may be found in The Imaginative Conservative Bookstore. The Imaginative Conservative applies the principle of appreciation to the discussion of culture and politics—we approach dialogue with magnanimity rather than with mere civility. Will you help us remain [...]

Libertarianism and Conservatism: A Matter of Essentials?

By |2017-06-09T15:17:49-05:00July 16th, 2010|Categories: Bruce Frohnen, Traditional Conservatives and Libertarians|

Our editor has done an excellent job of using Russell Kirk’s words to show both the danger and the attraction of libertarianism for conservatives. The essay on Freud and the academy shows, I think, the nature of the common enemy conservatives share with libertarians. No conservative wants to be coddled, or to have his children [...]

The Difference Between Fellow Travelers and Friends

By |2017-06-09T14:57:46-05:00July 15th, 2010|Categories: Barbara J. Elliott, Politics, Traditional Conservatives and Libertarians|

As someone who had libertarianism poured into my morning milk as a child, I am in some ways still “in recovery.” However, I have lived a long time the American conservative movement, as it grew from obscurity into an intellectual movement, then into a national political triumph, and then as it squandered much of the [...]

Conservatives and Libertarians

By |2019-04-11T10:34:36-05:00July 15th, 2010|Categories: Conservatism, Libertarianism, Politics, RAK, Russell Kirk, Traditional Conservatives and Libertarians|Tags: |

Dr. Kirk uses strong words to oppose a conservative alliance with libertarians. In light of the recent discussion of this issue on this online journal I think it may prove fruitful to let Dr. Kirk join the conversation by way of excerpts from his essay “Chirping Sectaries.” The entire essay is well worth reading. Is [...]

Decision at the Marias: Alliance or Not?

By |2018-05-25T17:11:12-05:00July 14th, 2010|Categories: Bradley J. Birzer, Politics, Traditional Conservatives and Libertarians|

Thanks, Winston (and Bruce). A few, random thoughts regarding the current essays. Conservatism, as I see it, can do little in this world of sorrows without allies. An alliance of the humane right—those who oppose the growth of Leviathan, Demos, and Mars at home and abroad—seems nothing short of prudent. Conservatives, libertarians, Catholics, Jews, Protestants, [...]

Go to Top