Meaning of Conservatism - Hardcover

Scruton, Visiting Professor School Of Philosophical Anthropological And Film Studies Roger

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 189031840X ISBN 13: 9781890318406

Publisher: St. Augustine's Press, 2002

Synopsis

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 Philosophy

About this title

Review

'...a marvellously lucid writer.' - Seamus Perry, Politics

From the Publisher

TOC
Contents:

Preface to the Third Edition

Preface to the First Edition

Introduction: Philosophy, Policy and Dogma

The Conservative Attitude

Authority and Allegiance

Constitution and the State

Law and Liberty

Property

Alienated Labour

The Autonomous Institution

Establishment

The Public World

Appendix: Liberalism versus Conservatism

Notes

Index

ROGER SCRUTON is an academic philosopher who has been Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College London and at Boston University, Massachusetts. He is a writer and journalist and has published over twenty books, including philosophy, political theory, criticism and novels.

Edition details

• Publisher: St. Augustine's Press
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 189031840X
• ISBN 13: 9781890318406
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 272