The Political Right and Equality: Turning Back the Tide of Egalitarian Modernity

ISBN-13: 9781032310848 / Angielski

Matthew McManus

Opis

McManus presents an intellectual history of the conservative and reactionary tradition, stretching from Aristotle and Confucius to Ayn Rand and Patrick Deneen.

Providing a comprehensive critical genealogy of the intellectual political right, McManus traces its core to a nostalgia for the hierarchical cosmos of antiquarian and scholastic thinking. The yearning for a shared vision of the universe where each part of reality has its place maps onto the conservative admiration for orderly political and social stratification. It stamps even the more moderate forms of liberal conservatism which emerged in the aftermath of the revolutionary 18th century, as the political right struggled to accept and later master first the politics of liberal capitalism and later universal suffrage. In its most radical forms this nostalgia for an orderly and hierarchical existence can harden into a resentment at the perceived shallowness of liberal modernity. McManus argues for those who support the project of modernity to commit themselves to better understanding the depth of the political right’s critiques, many of which expose uncomfortable but solvable problems with the quest for equality and freedom.

A critical guide to the history of conservative and reactionary thought for students and scholars of political science and political history.

Recenzje

An indispensable public resource in recent years, Matthew McManus has been tracing our everyday political controversies back to the intellectual traditions that help make sense of our times. Now he has turned in the most accessible and useful analysis of conservative thought there is. Incisive, learned, and up-to-date, The Political Right and Equality provides desperately needed orientation for anyone who hopes to forge a progressive response.

Samuel Moyn, Yale University

Matt McManus brilliantly surveys two millennia of political philosophy to uncover the oft-misunderstood roots of contemporary conservatism. A must-read for anyone who really wants to grasp the deeper historical and theoretical currents driving today’s authoritarian, post-liberal right.

Greg Sargent, The Washington Post

　

McManus provides a highly readable, intellectual history of the 'political right' that underscores the present dangers of reactionary politics and offers a timely reminder about what is at stake for those interested in a better world.

Igor Shoikhedbrod, Department of Political Science, St. Francis Xavier University

Spis treści

Foreword by Ronald Beiner

Introduction: What Does it Mean to be on the Political Right?

 

Part I: A World Without Seam

1.The Danger of the Swinish Multitude

2.Preserving the Soul of the World

Part II: Entering the Wasteland

3.Between God and Baal I-Culture Wars in the Early Twentieth Century

4.Between God and Baal II-Culture Wars in the Late Twentieth Century

5.The Far Right, War and Genocide

Conclusion: The World Out of Joint

O autorze

Matthew McManus is a Lecturer in Political Science at the University of Michigan. He is a contributor to Jacobin and Quillette online magazines.