Comments on: The Conservative Mind = The Reactionary Mind?

By: Gary Morrison

Gary Morrison — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 09:28:00 +0000

It has always seemed to me that in trying to draw a distinction between the conservative mind and that of the contemporary right wing radical, we are seeking to split hairs. The bottom line for the last three hundred years or so has been simply this; power occupies its mind seeking to constrain the will of those without the means. Economies that distribute wealth and power upward, drain the resources of those below while seeking to maintain the legal appearences of equality, eventually to accumulate enormous resources for sustaining just such a social construction.
What impresses me about the intellectual pretensions of conservatives as a movement in today’s terms is a romantic attachment to the past liberated from any recollection of what has actually occured over the course of the past one hundred and fifty years.

By: Larry Damms

Larry Damms — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:42:00 +0000

Ah, I see, he already posted a while ago. Shows you how recently I was last here. I will digest what he has to say and comment when time permits.

By: Larry Damms

Larry Damms — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 23:48:00 +0000

Wow, fantastic. I eagerly await what he has to say.

By: Jeffrey Goldfarb

Jeffrey Goldfarb — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 01:29:00 +0000

I have reached Gottfried and he promises a post on the reactionary mind.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 01:14:00 +0000

again, Andrew Sullivan.

By: Jeffrey Goldfarb

Jeffrey Goldfarb — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 22:31:00 +0000

Is Gottfried still active? I wonder how he might be approach to contribute to our discussion. He is extreme (perhaps in the sense of extremism in defense of liberty is no vice), not sure he really is interested in speaking to the unconverted.

By: Jeffrey Goldfarb

Jeffrey Goldfarb — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 18:40:00 +0000

I suppose one can’t take anyone at face value, i.e. one should be critical. But the challenge is to take positions with which one agrees and disagrees seriously on its own terms. This is what I am trying to do here both the conservatives and their critics, such as Robin.

By: Jeffrey Goldfarb

Jeffrey Goldfarb — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 18:21:00 +0000

I also think that the crux of the problem isn’t a rightward shift. Rather the problem is more specifically about a tendency of right wing ideologues supported by Fox and company developing a habit of substituting assertion and fiction for reason and evidence. The left isn’t immune to this by any means, but it is an acute problem of the right. For this reason I am quite interested in those on the right who respond to this problem. This is the position of Andrew Sullivan, I believe.

By: Jeffrey Goldfarb

Jeffrey Goldfarb — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 18:18:00 +0000

I suppose he is in a sense conservative and I would be interested in his point of view. It is informed and certainly different from your and mine.

By: Jeffrey Goldfarb

Jeffrey Goldfarb — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 18:16:00 +0000

Yes. He is a distinguished scholar. It would be quite interesting to hear from him. I am pretty sure he would just find Robin’s book offensive.