dpillie's blog

I wanted to post an update following my initial item about using Facebook to create a conservative book club that would allow people to discuss the roots of conservatism and better form their understanding of their personal philosophy.

I have been a little suprised at the diversity of members that have come to join the group.  We are up to 47 members and welcoming more each day.  Group members come from all over the United States and one member from overseas.  Their backgrounds are as varied as the books they chose for our first book to read.

We started with a broad list of books that were recommended by group members or suggested by an article on conservative books in the National Review online as well as a speech Russell Kirk gave at The Heritage Foundation.  In the end, The Conservative Mind won the balloting by a nose, but several books received one or two votes, indicative of the wide range of interests group members share.

We're in the process of discussion the first part, but I thought I would post some of the discussion questions that I shared with the group.  Even if you choose not to join the group, I'd be interested to read any responses you'd like to share to some of the questions we're considering in the comments below:

1. Kirk posits six principles of conservatism, borrowing from F.J.C. Hearnshaw's twelve principles in his "Conservatism in England". Do you feel these principles adequately cover the scope of conservative thought? Should any be excluded or are there other principles that should be included?
2. Kirk also identifies several lines of attack that have been used to undermine conservatism. Do any of these lines of attack resemble forces within conservatism today? If so, should this force be considered dangerous to conservatism or should it be adopted and embraced by conservatism?
3. Kirk suggests that the relative stability in England and the United States (no revolution since 1790), merit study of conservatism. Should the Civil War (or War Between the States) be considered a revolution. If so, does this fact undermine Kirk's presumption that the United States has enjoyed relative political stability compared to other major states?
4. Kirk wrote this introduction following World War II. At the time he writes that conservatism has been handed a unilateral defeat. From what you've read so far, do you think Kirk would have considered Reagan's victory in 1980 or the change in leadership in the House of Representatives in 1994 as victories for the conservative movement?
5. Kirk postulates two reasons for the demise of conservatism, 1) "Conservative ideas, however sound, cannot resist the unreasoning forces of industrialism, centralization, secularism, and the leveling impulse," and 2) "Conservative thinkers have lacked perspicacity sufficient to meet the conundrums of modern times." Do you agree with either of these sentiments? Do you believe that conservatism has suffered from a staggering decline? Why or why not?

You're also welcome to join the discussion at our Facebook group site.

Thanks,

Derek Pillie

Calling all activists!

Not long ago I started a group on Facebook named "Conservative Book Club"  My hope is to harness the networking power of Facebook as well as Twitter and other 2.0 media to start a conversation about conservatism.

This isn't new to readers here at The Next Right, Mindy Finn posted as much in her item "Conservative Government: Oxymoron?"  Many people know that they are conservative but don't know why they are conservative.  I was in that group until I started reading more "foundational" conservative works. Often times someone would run an idea by me and I would have a visceral reaction against it.  I might have a difficult time articulating why I was against the idea.  I just knew that it was wrong and that it was something I'd fight against.

The idea reared its head again during a discussion about this phenomenah with a local city councilman.  We were lamenting the decline of the party apparatus and I mentioned my personal struggle to articulate my conservative beliefs.  He told me that his precinct committeeman gave him a copy of Russell Kirk's "The Conservative Mind" as a demonstration of one way the party used to try to build up the understanding and knowledge of our volunteer base.

Not long after this conversation I picked up a copy of the book and started reading, and underlining, and having passionate discussions at the dinner table with my wife each time I finished a chapter.  That book helped me understand my "gut" reactions to these proposals.  It presented me with new challenges to understand my conservative identity.  It clarified why there are real differences between conservatism and libertarianism.  In short, it filled a pretty big void in my formation as a conservative activist.

Not long after, Tertium Quod, one author at From Burk to Kirk and Beyond posted a link to an archived Heritage Foundation lecture by Russell Kirk on important books about conservatism.  Reading his lecture only stoked my desire to use some forum to encourage discussion of these ideas and books. Notably, Kirk mentions during the lecture:

So, ladies and gentlemen, if you have been seeking forsome Infallible Manual of Pure Conservatism--why, you have been wasting your time. Conservatism not being an ideology, it has no presumptuous crib, the fond creation of some Terrible Simplifier, to which the ingenuous devotee of political salvation may repair whenever in doubt. Do not fall into political bibliolatry; in particular, do not regard Kirk's Works as written by one endowed with the prophetic afflatus. (Kirk, Ten Conservative Books)

Acknowledging there is no one book that we can hope to read, recongnizing that we will always have disagreements about finding one conservative approach to any situation, dialogue and discussion are critical as we work to build up the base and being answering Mindy's question.  As with so many other things in life, it is not the answer itself, but the search for an answer that will help us to understand conservatism and our individual conservative identities.  So to that end, join the conversation and help us to figure out which book we'll use for our first study!