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Meaning Of Conservatism Hardcover – July 1, 2002
by Roger Scruton (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 6 ratings
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The Meaning of Conservatism
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This is a major contribution to political thought from conservatism’s greatest contemporary proponent. Originally published in Britain in 1980 and revised in 1984, this edition – the first ever in the United States – is a major rewriting of the work. Scruton’s idea of conservatism – what in America we tend to call “paleo-conservatism” – might well shock the sensibilities of those American conservatives” who view it as little more than the workings of the free market. Conservatism, says Scruton, is neither automatic hostility toward the state nor the desire to limit the state’s obligations toward the citizen.
Rather, conservatism regards the individual not as the premise but the conclusion of politics, a politics that is fundamentally opposed to the ethic of social justice, to equality of station, income, and achievement, or to the attempt to bring major institutions of society (such as schools and universities) under government control.
The conservative outlook, says Scruton, is neither outmoded nor irrational. On the contrary, it is the most reasonable of political alternatives. The evils of socialism, he maintains, lie precisely where its supporters find its strengths, and the conditions for the credibility of socialism have long since disappeared. Neither socialism nor liberalism can come to terms with the real complexity of human society, and both appear plausible only because they direct attention away from what is actual, toward what is merely ideal.
From earlier editions of The Meaning of Conservatism:
“The book provides exactly that swift kick on the intellectual bottom which every undergraduate student of political science needs, most of them more urgently than ever before.” – T. E. Utley, (London) Daily Telegraph
“If the text is full of surprises, the manner is no less striking than the matter. Scruton is a great stylist, and one is continually arrested by beautifully crafted phrases which beg for quotation. . . . [He] is a cultured and critical guide through the traditional landscape of conservatism; his book provokes thought and it is a pleasure to read.”
– Bram Gieben, Political Quarterly
“. . . remarkable work. . . . The highest praise which one can bestow on The Meaning of Conservatism is to say that it reminds one at every page of Thomas Hobbes, the greatest master of the English language ever to write a work of political theory.” – Jonathan Sumption, Sunday Telegraph
“. . . clearly too ghastly to be taken seriously.” – Andrew Belsey, Radical PhilosophyRead less
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Print length
220 pages
July 1, 2002
Product details
Publisher : St. Augustines Press; 1st edition (July 1, 2002)
Language : English
Hardcover : 220 pages
ISBN-10 : 189031840X
ISBN-13 : 978-1890318406
Item Weight : 14.1 ounces
Dimensions : 6 x 0.7 x 9 inchesBest Sellers Rank: #3,747,973 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)#2,510 in Political Parties (Books)
#10,722 in Political Philosophy (Books)
#15,759 in History & Theory of PoliticsCustomer Reviews:
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 6 ratings
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Roger Scruton
Roger Vernon Scruton, FBA, FRSL (/ˈskruːtən/; born 27 February 1944) is an English philosopher who specialises in aesthetics. He has written over thirty books, including Art and Imagination (1974), The Meaning of Conservatism (1980), Sexual Desire (1986), The Philosopher on Dover Beach (1990), The Aesthetics of Music (1997), Beauty (2009), How to Think Seriously About the Planet: The Case for an Environmental Conservatism (2012), Our Church (2012), and How to be a Conservative (2014). Scruton has also written several novels and a number of general textbooks on philosophy and culture, and he has composed two operas.
Scruton was a lecturer and professor of aesthetics at Birkbeck College, London, from 1971 to 1992. Since 1992, he has held part-time positions at Boston University, the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., and the University of St Andrews. In 1982 he helped found The Salisbury Review, a conservative political journal, which he edited for 18 years, and he founded the Claridge Press in 1987. Scruton sits on the editorial board of the British Journal of Aesthetics, and is a Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Scruton has been called "the man who, more than any other, has defined what conservatism is" by British MEP Daniel Hannan and "England’s most accomplished conservative since Edmund Burke" by The Weekly Standard.
Outside his career as a philosopher and writer, Scruton was involved in the establishment of underground universities and academic networks in Soviet-controlled Central Europe during the Cold War, and he has received a number of awards for his work in this area.
Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Pete Helme (http://www.rogerscruton.com) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
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D. S. Heersink
4.0 out of 5 stars Conservative or Communitarian?Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2003
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This is an extraordinarily well-written and energetic tome of small frame but great stature. Scruton, the Enblish conservative that he is, explains why conservatism is not a theory to be applied but a doctrine to be worked out. The dogmatics of conservatism, a phrase he uses, is that all of us are by nature social beings before we are individuals; indeed, our own individualsim is discovered only in confrontation with the "other". This social animal, known as man, has accured many rites, rituals, ceremonies, institutions, and habits that indoctrinate him before he even gets going. Of course, humans are free to modify and change these institutions, but it is alway thus -- modification and change of existent institutions, ceremonies, and the like. The conservative wants to preserve those rites, ceremonies, and institutions that have been tested by time, not for the sake of preservation, but for the sake of their timeless success.
With the Sixties, all these assumptions were turned on their head; everything was challenged, and much that was good and noble was like the proverbial baby thrown out with the bath water. For conservatives, it is sufficient to demonstrate that these instutions, tradtions, and histories worked; the fact that they worked is dogmatic, not theoretical or possible, but true and sure. Naturally, some of the assumptions and instutitions at the time of the Sixties were in need of reform, but for the most part, these reforms have begotten us worst institutions than preceded them.
Some of the subjects of which Scruton addresses are authority and allegiance, constitution and state, law and liberty, property, alienated labor, autonomous institutions, and the Establishment. He addresses all the familiar gripes by the Far Left in an intelligent and able manner. By the book's end, I couldn't tell whether Scruton was a "conservative" or what these days goes by "communitarian." In many ways, the notions overlap, and those wanting a thorough-going understanding of either "concept" will enjoy reading this short, but fulsome, book.
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Will Barto
4.0 out of 5 stars An unusual but interesting discussion of conservatismReviewed in the United States on October 16, 2008
I am very conflicted in my response to this work. As an attorney and student of political philosophy, I was intrigued by the author's attempt to craft a conservative dogmatic, an effort that is sadly overdue in our times. His critique of liberalism is withering and effective. As an avid reader, I often enjoyed the author's prose. Here is an interesting extract with one of his many efforts to describe the conservative: "in so far as people love life they will love what has given them life; in so far as they desire to give life it is in order to perpetuate what they have. In that intricate entanglement of individual and society resides the 'will to live' that constitutes conservatism." And yet, my enjoyment was tempered by two shortcomings. As noted by a previous reviewer, I am not sure what the author is ultimately describing, but I am fairly confident that many would disagree with labeling his dogmatic "conservative." By way of illustration, many Americans who belong to the Republican party would be very surprised to see their views described as decidedly non-conservative, while many a loyal Democrat would read with wonder to discover that they were conservatives. Another limitation for the non-English reader is that many of the author's examples are parochially British and lack persuasive and/or explanatory power for the reader not intimate with life in Great Britain. That all being noted, I finished the book and then beleaguered my spouse with readings from all the pages that I had dog-eared because of the author's insights or delightful prose. An interesting and thought-provoking read, especially for the political scientists, philosophers, and politicians in the audience.
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L. J. McKinnon
4.0 out of 5 stars A thoughtful consideration of conservatismReviewed in the United States on September 7, 2003
The English philosopher Roger Scruton has here written a book, which is, as he explains at the beginning, not so much a work of philosophy as an exercise in doctrine. By this he means that this book is not a reasoned argument for what is now called the paleo-conservative point of view, but is rather instead a systematic presentation of it. Scruton takes it for granted that a conservative philosophy naturally defends that which is virtuous in society as it stands, and that it is up to the progressive to provide the reasoned proof for why the status quo should be changed.
This is both a thoughtfully written and thought provoking book which should be compulsory reading for anyone interested in modern politics. Every subject that Scruton touches upon has obviously been deeply considered by him, and for this reason I have found this work not only interesting, but also a stimulus to deeper reflection on the nature of society and its institutions, even though I don't always agree with the views that he expresses. Although it is only two hundred pages long, this book covers a wide variety of topics, with chapters entitled The Conservative Attitude, Authority and Allegiance, Constitution and the State, Law and Liberty, Property, Alienated Labour, The Autonomous Institution, Establishment, and The Public World. There is also a philosophical appendix dealing with the subject of Liberalism versus Conservatism. These are issues central to politics today, and Roger Scruton's intelligent treatment of them makes this a worthy addition to the bookshelf of anyone who has a serious interest in public affairs.
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