Conservative Minds

We've been away a while, but we're back and working on new episodes. In the meantime, here are our thoughts from last summer about the Dobbs decision when it was first handed down.

While most discussions of liberty center on government power, the subject of Mill's essay is the nature and limits of society's power over the individual. Society exercises control over the individual through prevailing opinion. Mill also argues that individuals should be allowed to participate in any activity they choose, so long as it does not harm others.

Goldberg explains that fascism is an offshoot of socialism and, rather than being conservative, is just another variety of far-left thought.

Haidt writes about social media and the downfall of normal society.

Rachel Bovard serves as Senior Director of Policy at the Conservative Partnership Institute.

For our centennial episode, we read God and Man at Yale, a 1951 book by William F. Buckley Jr., based on his undergraduate experiences at Yale . Buckley criticized the school for forcing collectivist, Keynesian, and secularist ideology on students. We discuss this and how it relates to current debates about politcis in the academy.

Mearsheimer argues that liberal hegemony — the foreign policy pursued by the United States since the Cold War ended — is doomed to fail. It would be better, he says, for America to practice restraint in the foreign policy sphere based on a sound understanding of how nationalism and realism constrain great powers. We also discuss Ukraine and both agree that American solidiers do not belong in the conflict.

Strain questions Trump's trade and immigration policies. We disagree on whether he's right.

We explore Kimberle Crenshaw's law review article from 1989, one of the foundational documents of critical race theory.

Wrapping up season 5, we summarize and compare the readings from episodes 70 though 85.

Hazllitt's 1969 book examines inflation, price controls, and all of the downsides of a managed economy in a strong defense of free-market capitalism.

Scruton argues that conservatism starts from a sentiment that good things are easily destroyed but not easily created. We have collectively inherited good things that we must strive to keep. Further, democray needs boundaries to flourish. A shared identity - territory, culture, language - is a prerequisite for the politics of compromise.

Special Guest - Josh Lewis, host of Saving Elephants Podcast: https://www.savingelephantsblog.com/podcast This volume edited by Frank Meyer offers a collection of essays from conservative luminaries, including Russell Kirk, F.A. Hayek, and William F. Buckley, Jr. Josh joins us to discuss the current and future state of conservatism.

Reading the Left from a conservative perspective series Marcuse argues that technology creates new forms of social control. Consumer culture creates false needs that distract from reality and rob the masses of free choice. Science and rationality are tools of the oppressor. Liberation necessarily appears to come from without and from above

Schmitt argues that political actions and motives are rooted in friend-enemy relationships. The end of politics is to counter and oppose the enemy. All political concepts have a concrete opposition in mind. When party antagonisms within a state become the primary enemy grouping, conflict or civil war become a real possibility.

Smith argues that a nation's wealth stems from the goods and services it produces, rather than the amount of money it collects. Specialization increases wealth through a dramatic increase in productivity. A market economic system is the most effecient method for setting prices and creating wealth. Money is a medium for exchange and has no inherent value of its own. International trade makes both nations in a transaction better off. Eamon Butler, Condensed Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith Institute 2011: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56eddde762cd9413e151ac92/t/56fbaba840261dc6fac3ceb6/1459334065124/CondensedWealthofNationsASI.pdf

Turner argues that the frontier area of free land and the advance of American settlement westward, explain American democracy. Up to the late 1800s, American social development had been continually beginning over again on the frontier. This perennial rebirth, this fluidity of American life, this expansion westward with its new opportunities furnish the forces dominating American character. He says the true point of view in the history of this nation is not the Atlantic coast, it is the Great West.

Robert Welch founded the Johh Birch Society in the late 1950s as a bulwark against communist advancement in America. We dive into the history and beliefs of the "Birchers." We also read The Paranoid Style in American Politics by Richard Hofstadter. We use these readings as a jumping off point to discuss conspiracy theories on the Right and Left.

Carney examines how counties voted in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries. Among Trump's core supporters, Carney finds a story of working-class struggle. In places that shunned Trump, Carney finds thriving community and civil society. He argues that achieving the American Dream requires strong local institutions, community, and religous participation, even more than better jobs and economic opportunity.

We reflect on the books we read during Season 4. Topics include the culture war in America, the future of the Republican and Democratic Parties, and the common threads between Marxism and the Social Justice movement.

Pluckrose and Lindsay describe the ideological underpinnings of the Social Justice movement. This new ideology long incubated in the academe but has now broken into the mainstream. They explain new terms like cis-gender, hetero-normative, non-binary, and systemic racism. Cynical Theories is a guide to the language and customs of the new Social Justice activism.

Election 2020 crashes through Conservative Minds! Every other podcast has something to say, we may as well give our two cents. We used a few articles to guide our discussion: Ron Brownstein, "Democrats' 2024 Problem is Already Clear" (https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/11/joe-biden-win-presidency-2020-coalition/617081/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share) Noah Rothman, "The Problem with a 'Working-Class GOP'" (https://www.commentarymagazine.com/noah-rothman/the-problem-with-a-working-class-gop/) Los Angeles Times, Editorial, "We Turned Over Our Letters Page to Trump Readers" (https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-11-14/handing-our-entire-letters-page-over-trump-voters)

Special Guest - Avi Woolf, writer and Twitter influencer, joins our discussion. Goodhart sees Britain divided between two principal political groups: the educated and geographically mobile 'Anywheres', and the working class with strong attachments to local places and people that he calls 'Somewheres'. We find many parallels with the cultural divide in the United States.

Special Guest - Kevin Vallier joins us to discuss his book Trust in a Polarized Age Vallier argues that there is a close relationship between partisan divergence and trust. He explains the interaction between societal and political trust. He believes falling trust and increasing partisan divergence are mutually reinforcing Visit Kevin's website at https://www.kevinvallier.com/ Read his blog at https://www.kevinvallier.com/reconciled/

In a recent New Yorker article, journalist Nicholas Lemann explores the future of the Republican Party after Trump. We discuss the scenarios he puts forth and offer some of our own guesses.

Reading the Left from a conservative perspective series Marx and Engels see the world as a story of class struggle. Oppressor and oppressed facing off in constant opposition. During the industrial revolution, the authors identify the bourgeoisie as the oppressor who exploits the proletariat. The authors declare communism the solution, including the abolition of private property and the centralization of industry and finance.

Special Guest - Rachel Bovard joins us to discuss her book Conservative: Knowing What to Keep She describes with her coauthor, former Senator Jim DeMint, how to apply long-standing conservative principles to our contemporary era. Rachel has operated in the vanguard of the conservative movement for the past decade. We discuss the state of conservatism, how it might be evolving, and how the Republican Party may need to adapt.

Contrary to conventional expectations, political parties do not remain static. In his recent Federalist article, Kyle explored what the choice of Kamala Harris means for the future Democratic coalition. He wrote another article about Trump's growing Hispanic support. We discuss what the Democratic and Republican parties might look like in the coming years.

Cooke describes his political philosophy that combines elements of conservatism and libertarianism. We also discuss the differences between these two temperaments. What do libertarians believe? Why does it seem like libertarians used to be Republican but have now shifted into the Democratic coalition?

Douthat argues that Western civilization finds itself on a treadmill. The speed of growth and innovation has slowed. Fresh discoveries and new worlds seem out of reach. And we find ourselves aging, comfortable and stuck, cut off from the past and no longer optimistic about the future.

Meyer pioneered the the idea of combining the traditionalist and libertarian strains of conservatism into one unified theory that later became known as "fusionism." For Meyer, a conservative is someone who believes in objective morality, an elevated individual, limited government, and the Constitution of the United States as originally conceived.

Special Guest - Gerald Russello, editor of University Bookman at the Russell Kirk Center, joins our discussion. Reno believes American elites forged a general theory of society following WWII to prevent another rise of totalitarianism. This "postwar consensus" involved a weakening of the "Strong Gods" - the objects of men's love and devotion. He believes this loss is driving populism in the West.

Postman argues that public discourse in America has dissolved into the art of show business. In early American history, the written word reigned supreme, and our politics and culture were better for it. He provides fascinating insights into how the media medium structures our understanding and perceptions.