Who was Russell Kirk and why is he important?
In 1950, the literary critic Lionel Trilling wrote that in America liberalism is not only the dominant but even the sole intellectual tradition. Unbeknownst to Trilling, a young Midwestern academic was writing an intellectual history that would demolish such liberal arrogance. With The Conservative Mind (1953), Russell Kirk gave the conservative movement its name and conservatism an intellectual respectability it had lacked in the modern era. Kirk later became one of 20th century conservatism's most active apostles, publishing over 30 books and lecturing on hundreds of college campuses.
His definition of conservatism consists of six canons: (1) a divine intent as well as personal conscience rules society; (2) traditional life is filled with variety and mystery while radical systems are characterized by uniformity; (3) civilized society requires orders and classes; (4) property and freedom are inseparably connected; (5) man must control his will and appetite knowing he is governed more by emotion than reason; and (6) society must alter slowly.
For more on Kirk, see Edwin J. Feulner's First Principles essay "Roots of Modern Conservative Thought from Burke to Kirk."
In 1950, the literary critic Lionel Trilling wrote that in America liberalism is not only the dominant but even the sole intellectual tradition. Unbeknownst to Trilling, a young Midwestern academic was writing an intellectual history that would demolish such liberal arrogance. With The Conservative Mind (1953), Russell Kirk gave the conservative movement its name and conservatism an intellectual respectability it had lacked in the modern era. Kirk later became one of 20th century conservatism's most active apostles, publishing over 30 books and lecturing on hundreds of college campuses.
His definition of conservatism consists of six canons: (1) a divine intent as well as personal conscience rules society; (2) traditional life is filled with variety and mystery while radical systems are characterized by uniformity; (3) civilized society requires orders and classes; (4) property and freedom are inseparably connected; (5) man must control his will and appetite knowing he is governed more by emotion than reason; and (6) society must alter slowly.
For more on Kirk, see Edwin J. Feulner's First Principles essay "Roots of Modern Conservative Thought from Burke to Kirk."