New Conservatism and its Critics

Joseph Prud’homme is the Burton Family Chair in Religion, Politics, and Culture and associate professor of political science and affiliated faculty member in religious studies at Washington College. Professor Prud’homme is the founding Director of the Institute for Religion, Politics, and Culture at Washington College. He received his doctorate from Princeton University, where he studied in the Interdepartmental Program in Political Philosophy, with additional specialization in constitutional law and religious studies.

We live in a time of political, social, and philosophical unrest. Such times call for a rethinking. One effort at this rethinking is what we call the 'new conservatism.' What is this new conservatism? What makes it conservative and what makes it new? Joseph Prud’homme has produced the best summary yet of this new movement through contributions from its leading lights, fellow travelers, and critics. His introduction alone is a masterful summary of the conservative intellectual tradition and the new right’s place in it. No reader will walk away from this book ignorant of what the new conservatism is and what it means for the country or for the future of the conservative intellectual tradition in all its variety.

• Table of Contents Introduction by Joseph Prud’homme, Washington College, USAClassical Liberal FoundationsChapter 1: The New Conservatism and the Classical Liberal Inheritanceby Joseph Prud’homme, Washington College, USAArticulations of New ConservatismChapter 2: The Culture of Conservatism and Our Current Condition by Roger Kimball, The New Criterion, USAChapter 3: New versus Old Right by Arthur Milikh, Claremont College, USAChapter 4: Closing the Door on the Open Society: An Overview of National Conservatism by Scott Yenor, Claremont College, USAChapter 5: The Priority of Order by Patrick J. Deneen, University of Notre Dame, USAChapter 6: The New Conservatism and Overturning ‘Engel v. Vitale’ by John Hirschauer, City Journal, USAChapter 7: Civil Discourse with Trump Supporters: Are They Wicked or Irrational? by Shannon Holzer, Houston Christian University, USA and Jonathan Fuqua, Conception Seminary College, USACautions and Current PossibilitiesChapter 8: In Defense of a Renewed Fusionism by William Ruger, American Institute for Economic Research, USAChapter 9: A Coalition of the Sensible: What’s Wrong with “The New Right” by David Corey, Baylor University, USAChapter10: Four Nietzsches: A Cautionary Account by Joshua Mitchell, Georgetown University, USAChapter 11: Liberalism, Religion, and Conservative Political Thought: The Baby and the Bathwater by Ryan T. Anderson, Princeton University, USA and Robert P. George, Princeton University, USAChapter 12: Against Nostalgia: Liberalism, Conservatism, and Puritanism by Samuel Goldman, George Washington University, USAChapter 13: Race and Movement Conservatism in America by Brandon Turner, Clemson University, USAChapter 14: The Crisis of Free Expression and the Value of the Integralist Impulse in American Political Thought: A Plan to Reinvigorate Free Speech in the United States by Joseph Prud’homme, Washington College, USAChapter 15: Quo Vadis? Miguel de Unamuno and the Transcendence of Freedom by Enrique Pallares, University of Pennsylvania, USAChapter 16: Conservatism and the Nation Rightly Understood by Daniel Cullen, Rhodes College, USACritiques and Political Assessments Chapter 17: Liberalism, Social Justice Activism, and the Politics of Complicity by Timothy Wyman McCarty, University of San Diego, USAChapter 18: Against Atomism by Steven Pittz, University of Colorado, USAChapter 19: Patrick Deneen vs. 1619: Comparing Cultural Tracts from the Trump Era by Laura K. Field, American University, USAChapter 20: When the State Speaks, What Must it Say? by Corey Brettschneider, Brown University, USAChapter 21: American Liberalism and Its Rivals by Jacob Levy, McGill University, CanadaThe Spirit of Conservatism Chapter 22: The New Conservative Era by R.R. Reno, First Things, USAChapter 23: The Conservatism of Memory by Wilfred M. McClay, Hillsdale College, USA