Just fifty years ago the literary critic Lionel Trilling spoke of liberalism as "not only the dominant but even the sole intellectual tradition" in American society. At the turn of the twentieth century this is clearly no longer the case, when conservative ideas have succeeded in many areas of public policy. Yet America's mainstream institutions-the media, the academy, popular culture, religion, the law-remain largely under the sway of a liberal ethos. In this incisive collection of essays which appeared originally in The New Criterion, nine distinguished critics and observers examine the origins and prospects of liberalism, from its roots in thinkers such as Rousseau and Mill to its troubled legacy in twentieth-century pursuits. They are cogent in explaining the compromising effects of liberalism in the moral and intellectual life of our culture, and seek to disentangle what is beneficent from what is destructive in its ideas. At a time when basic liberal assumptions about man and society are so deeply entrenched that they go largely unrecognized-and unexamined-The Betrayal of Liberalism offers a rewarding and enriching analysis. Its contributors include Roger Scruton, Keith Windschuttle, Hadley Arkes, Robert Conquest, Jean Bethke Elshtain, Robert Kagan, John Silber, John O'Sullivan, Hilton Kramer, and Roger Kimball.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
A fine collection of original essays that ponder the main conundrum besetting conservative intellectuals: Why is it that they have all the best arguments and yet seem to lose at every turn in liberalism? -- David Steigerwald * The Historian * Provocative...challenging time-honored heritage of freedom and equality. * Library Journal * It is a rich book...Whatever one's views on this particular question, the essays in The Betrayal of Liberalism are all worth reading and pondering. -- Robert Bork * The Wall Street Journal *
Sprache
Verlagsort
Produkt-Hinweis
Maße
Höhe: 216 mm
Breite: 140 mm
Dicke: 15 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-1-56663-258-4 (9781566632584)
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Schweitzer Klassifikation
Hilton Kramer is editor of The New Criterion and author, most recently, of The Twilight of the Intellectuals. He is also art critic of the New York Times Observer. Roger Kimball is managing editor of The New Criterion. He has written Tenured Radicals and has recently edited a new edition of Walter Bagehot's Physics and Politics.
