Chris Hayes' Sunday morning "Up" political talk show is one of the smart forums on TV, with some of the youngest and brightest political pundits from the left and the right. Yesterday, they talked with Robin Corey, the author of this book, who claims conservatism has always been an extreme, reactinonary movement:
"Conservatism...provides the most consistent and profound argument as why the lower orders should not be allowed to exercise their independent will.."
Tracing conservatism back to its roots in the reaction against the French Revolution, Robin argues that the right is fundamentally inspired by a hostility to emancipating people who have no power. The conservative impulse to defend power and privilege against movements demanding freedom and equality. Fascinating and heady stuff which sounds about right to me. Listen for yourself:
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This helps to explain the conservative backlashes against the abolition of slavery, worker rights, civil rights, women's rights, and the equality movement for the LGBT. As one of the panelists contended yesterday, there have been losers in these successful emancipation movements: mostly white, heterosexual men ceding some of their power and privilege. And to a great degree, the Tea Party movement with its angry GOP political base, whose battle cry is "taking back our country," is a reaction to the election of a black man as president and the advances of gay people and women.
One of the conservative panelists on the show, Noah Kristula-Green, works for David Frumm, a thoughtful conservative reformist who is trying to steer the GOP in the direction of the British Conservative party, especially on social issues. I sincerely wish them luck in their endeavor. That would be good for the GOP and the rest of us.
I am going to start reading this book.
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