I swore off politics a year and a half ago and I don't miss it one bit. I still vote and keep myself informed - but it doesn't "fire me up" like it used to. This book caught my eye and when I looked at the authors recommended, it made me take a second look. I bought it on my Kindle for a fraction of the bookstore cost and I greatly enjoyed it.
This is not so much a political book as a world-view book. For Benjamin Wiker, conservatism and liberalism are worldviews - not political parties. Check out the list of books that are discussed:
Part I: What is Conservatism?
The Politics by Aristotle
Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton
The New Science of Politics by Eric Voegelin
The Abolition of Man by CS Lewis
Part II: Democracy and the Founding of America
Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke
Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville
The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay
The Anti-Federalists by Various Authors
Part III: Conservative Economics
The Servile State by Hilaire Belloc
The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich August
Part IV: Other Conservative Stories
The Tempest by William Shakespeare
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
The Jerusalem Bible
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (Listed as the impostor conservative book)
Side Note: I particularly liked how Benjamin Wiker dismantled Ayn Rand who has long been championed as a conservative intellectual - and who I have found utterly boorish and unreadable.
It's an impressive list and Benjamin Wiker gives each a fair treatment. Two things to keep in mind: the author is both conservative and Christian. I did not agree with everything the author said and at times I thought his points were a little too pointed and far-reaching but it did me good to read it and I think any one of any political stripe would benefit from an exploration of two basic worldviews that have been at odds since the dawn of civilization.
I think that, regardless if you lean left or right, you will find portions of this book illuminating and challenging. I got the impression that any "liberal" who reads this book will come away a better and more informed liberal. Same goes for conservatives.
In the end, I think that it was an excellent book (not perfect) and one that could help in elevating our political discourse above the sound-bite politics of the day.
This is not so much a political book as a world-view book. For Benjamin Wiker, conservatism and liberalism are worldviews - not political parties. Check out the list of books that are discussed:
Part I: What is Conservatism?
The Politics by Aristotle
Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton
The New Science of Politics by Eric Voegelin
The Abolition of Man by CS Lewis
Part II: Democracy and the Founding of America
Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke
Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville
The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay
The Anti-Federalists by Various Authors
Part III: Conservative Economics
The Servile State by Hilaire Belloc
The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich August
Part IV: Other Conservative Stories
The Tempest by William Shakespeare
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
The Jerusalem Bible
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (Listed as the impostor conservative book)
Side Note: I particularly liked how Benjamin Wiker dismantled Ayn Rand who has long been championed as a conservative intellectual - and who I have found utterly boorish and unreadable.
It's an impressive list and Benjamin Wiker gives each a fair treatment. Two things to keep in mind: the author is both conservative and Christian. I did not agree with everything the author said and at times I thought his points were a little too pointed and far-reaching but it did me good to read it and I think any one of any political stripe would benefit from an exploration of two basic worldviews that have been at odds since the dawn of civilization.
I think that, regardless if you lean left or right, you will find portions of this book illuminating and challenging. I got the impression that any "liberal" who reads this book will come away a better and more informed liberal. Same goes for conservatives.
In the end, I think that it was an excellent book (not perfect) and one that could help in elevating our political discourse above the sound-bite politics of the day.
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