Ideology and Tradition: An Epistemological View of Neoconservatism
-
Tibor Mándi
Abstract
The paper aims to give an account of the emergence of American neoconservatism, approaching its subject from a theoretical point of view. Its main thesis is that the defining difference between neoconservatism and older, more traditional kinds of conservatism can be found in their relation to political knowledge. While traditional conservatism completely rejects a rationalist-ideological approach to political knowledge, accepting only tradition as a guide to political action, neoconservatism holds that among the circumstances of modern politics, especially in the US, relying on abstract ideas and general principles in the form of an ideology is a prerequisite of effective political performance. Neoconservatives use the classical liberal tradition of American political thought to forge a modern ideology that can be employed in contemporary political battles. The first part of the paper gives an outline of the theoretical framework regarding the roles of tradition and ideology as rival forms of political knowledge, using the works of Michael Oakeshott and Friedrich Hayek as representatives of two related, but opposing positions. The second part sketches the basic character of neoconservatism through the writings of primarily Irving Kristol, focusing on his drawing a distinction between a tradition-minded British conservatism and a more ideological American neoconservatism. In this part, we briefly mention the influence of Leo Strauss on the development of neoconservative political thought in the US Finally, the paper proceeds to show the duality of idealism and realism (loosely corresponding to ideology and tradition) in American neoconservative foreign policy thought in the 1970s and 1980s through the writings of Jeane Kirkpatrick.
- 1
Oakeshott’s intransigence concerning the role of ideology in politics is splendidly illustrated by the following anecdote: John Kekes, the Hungarian-born American political philosopher approached Michael Oakeshott on an occasion, and asked him what an East-European, or American conservative should do, given the perhaps limited availability of the “intimations of tradition” in his own country, at least as compared to Professor Oakeshott’s. And the great thinker’s answer apparently was: “That’s your problem.” (Shared by John Kekes in a conversation.)
- 2
Consequently, “there is more to learn about this disposition from Montaigne, Pascal, Hobbes and Hume than from Burke or Bentham” (Oakeshott 1991: p. 435).
- 3
This would seem a good example of what Paul Franco, concluding his monograph, somewhat euphemistically refers to as Oakeshott remaining “too sketchy and laconic on important issues” (Franco 1990: p. 236).
- 4
This, of course, could be considered a feature of Hayekian thought that should be much appreciated in the former Communist countries of Eastern Europe, which have been struggling with the task of establishing solid, democratic constitutional regimes in the decades since the fall of Communism – and for which, as we saw, Michael Oakeshott could offer only so much help.
- 5
This, one hardly needs to add, says nothing about the intellectual qualities of the two books.
- 6
So does George H. Nash in his The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America (Nash 1976: p. 4).
- 7
The Straussian connection to neoconservatism was much in focus a few years ago. Articles e.g., in The New York Times and The Economist, though sometimes with questionable conclusions, nevertheless quite clearly documented the intellectual and personal influences linking Strauss, his disciples and some of the day’s leading neoconservative figures (Atlas 2003; The Economist 2003).
- 8
See, e.g., Drury 1997; Norton 2004.
- 9
One of the favourite texts of the Straussians, and some neoconservatives is Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War. That war, of course, was lost by Athens, and won by Sparta.
References
Atlas, James (2003) “A Classicist’s Legacy: New Empire Builders,” The New York Times, 4 May 2003.Search in Google Scholar
Cassidy, John (2000) “The Price Prophet,” The New Yorker, 7 February 2000.Search in Google Scholar
Constant, Benjamin (1993) “The Liberty of the Ancients Compared with that of the Moderns.” In: (B. Fontana, ed.) Political Writings, Trans. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Deutsch, Kenneth L. and Walter Soffer (1987) The Crisis of Liberal Democracy. A Straussian Perspective. Albany: State University of New York Press.Search in Google Scholar
Drury, Shadia (1997) Leo Strauss and the American Right. London: Palgrave MacMillan.Search in Google Scholar
Economist, The (2003) “Philosophers and Kings,” The Economist, 19 June 2003.Search in Google Scholar
Franco, Paul (1990) The Political Philosophy of Michael Oakeshott. New Haven: Yale University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Gray, John (1993) Post-Liberalism. Studies in Political Thought. New York and London: Routledge.Search in Google Scholar
Hayek, Friedrich A. (1984a) “A Model Constitution.” In: (C. Nishiyama and K. L. Leube, eds.) The Essence of Hayek. Stanford: Hoover Institution Press, pp. 382–406.Search in Google Scholar
Hayek, Friedrich A. (1984b) “Individualism: True and False.” In: (C. Nishiyama and K. L. Leube, eds.) The Essence of Hayek. Stanford: Hoover Institution Press, pp. 131–59.Search in Google Scholar
Hayek, Friedrich A. (1984c) “Principles and Expediency.” In: (C. Nishiyama and K. L. Leube, eds.) The Essence of Hayek. Stanford: Hoover Institution Press, pp. 299–317.Search in Google Scholar
Hayek, Friedrich A. (1984d) “Why I Am Not a Conservative.” In: (C. Nishiyama and K. L. Leube, eds.) The Essence of Hayek. Stanford: Hoover Institution Press, pp. 281–98.Search in Google Scholar
Hayek, Friedrich A. (1991) The Trend of Economic Thinking: Essays on Political Economists and Economic History. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.10.7208/chicago/9780226321363.001.0001Search in Google Scholar
Hoeveler, J. David, Jr. (1991) Watch on the Right. Conservative Intellectuals in the Reagan Era. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press.Search in Google Scholar
Huntington, Samuel P. (1957) “Conservatism as an Ideology.” American Political Science Review, 51:454–73.10.2307/1952202Search in Google Scholar
Kirk, Russell (1993) The Conservative Mind: from Burke to Eliot. Chicago: Regnery Gateway.Search in Google Scholar
Kirkpatrick, Jeane J. (1982) Dictatorships and Double Standards. Rationalism and Reason in Politics. Washington, DC and New York: American Enterprise Institute, Simon and Schuster.Search in Google Scholar
Kirkpatrick, Jeane J. (1983) The Reagan Phenomenon and Other Speeches on Foreign Policy. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute.Search in Google Scholar
Kristol, Irving (1995) Neoconservatism. The Autobiography of an Idea. New York: Free Press.Search in Google Scholar
Nash, Geroge H. (1976) The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America, Since 1945. New York: Basic Books.Search in Google Scholar
Nisbet, Robert (1991) Conservatism: Dream and Reality. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Norton, Anne (2004) Leo Strauss and the Politics of American Empire. New Haven – London: Yale University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Oakeshott, Michael (1991) Rationalism in Politics and Other Essays. Indianapolis: Liberty Press.Search in Google Scholar
Podhoretz, Norman (1996) “Neoconservatism: A Eulogy.” Commentary, 101(3):19–28.Search in Google Scholar
Quinton, Anthony (1978) The Politics of Imperfection. London: Faber & Faber.Search in Google Scholar
Strauss, Leo (1952) The Political Philosophy of Hobbes. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Search in Google Scholar
Strauss, Leo (1953) Natural Right and History. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Search in Google Scholar
©2014 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
- From the Heart of Darkness: Critical Reading and Genuine Listening in Constructivist Norm Research
- Office Hours: How (Critical) Norm Research Can Regain Its Voice
- Media and Democracy: An Investigation on the Role of Journalist as Mediator
- The Distribution of E-democracy and E-participation Tools in Slovenian Municipalities
- Lonely Riders and Cooperation Networks: Member of Parliaments’ Private Motions in the Finnish Parliament 1999–2010
- Mobilization Against the Left? Partisan Consequences of Voter Turnout in the Post-Communist Context
- Ideology and Tradition: An Epistemological View of Neoconservatism
- Social Changes within Insurgent Groups as a Result of Collective Punishment during National Crises
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
- From the Heart of Darkness: Critical Reading and Genuine Listening in Constructivist Norm Research
- Office Hours: How (Critical) Norm Research Can Regain Its Voice
- Media and Democracy: An Investigation on the Role of Journalist as Mediator
- The Distribution of E-democracy and E-participation Tools in Slovenian Municipalities
- Lonely Riders and Cooperation Networks: Member of Parliaments’ Private Motions in the Finnish Parliament 1999–2010
- Mobilization Against the Left? Partisan Consequences of Voter Turnout in the Post-Communist Context
- Ideology and Tradition: An Epistemological View of Neoconservatism
- Social Changes within Insurgent Groups as a Result of Collective Punishment during National Crises
