The Ten Conservative Principles (by Russell Kirk, 1986)

The Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal ^ | 1986 | Russell Kirk

[Telepathic Intruder]

Lastly, that there is only one perfect form of dictatorship, and it will never be of this world, so don’t even try.

[AllAmericanGirl44]

Bkmk

[dr_lew]

The attitude we call conservatism is sustained by a body of sentiments, rather than by a system of ideological dogmata.

Well, there you are! Or more accurately, there I am!

A very insightful essay.

[Jacquerie]

Excellent. Kirk reminded me why I discarded Libertarianism some twenty years ago.

[Betty Jane]

Marking for later

[posterchild]

Thanks for posting.

[Manly Warrior]

I doubt most self-named conservatives agree with certainly the first, and probably most of these tenets.

Ditch the first and all you have is a disorganized, pointless mess.

[DrPretorius]

I have always admired Russell Kirk’s erudition ever since I read “The Conservative Mind” over forty years ago. But today, after witnessing the slow collapse of the freedom and liberty movement and the relentless rise of Leviathan government during that intervening period, I have come to the conclusion that this country is not interested in preserving our culture and traditions. People today wouldn’t know the value of Constitutionalism and the American system of government if it bit them in the ass. And they have no desire to know, since the entire corpus of writing outlining the freedom and liberty philosophy is available at no cost in archives readily available on the Internet. We truly live in the end times of a degenerate culture and are witnessing the collapse of the new Roman Empire in real time every day.

[IronJack]

Russell Kirk is one of the godfathers of modern conservatism. A brilliant man. I wish I had read him 40 years ago.

[killermosquito]

I think missing from the list is that conservatives favor truth over fiction. And also that conservatives would rather be right and unpopular than wrong and popular.

[PubliusMM]

Thanks for the post, Mr Mojo

It’s time to revisit Kirk, methinks. A fresh read is in order.
But, this is very insightful and, moreover, succinct.

[bkopto]

So what, exactly, has Kirk’s conservative principles actually, you know, conserved over the past, say, 50 years? Practically, his principles have failed. Just like the Constitution has failed.

[beaversmom]

BTTT...

[DrPretorius]

“So what, exactly, has Kirk’s conservative principles actually, you know, conserved over the past, say, 50 years? Practically, his principles have failed. Just like the Constitution has failed.”

I agree.

[PeterPrinciple]

Practically, his principles have failed. Just like the Constitution has failed.

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Ready them slowly and let your lips move.

What we have had the last 50 years and today is “conservatism is anything I want it to be.” What we have here on FR most is Idealism.

The constitution in not idealism but principles. So is this.

I have posted these many times and they seldom get comment because peole don’t want to think.

[wastoute]

Ditto

[kalee]

Bttt

[PeterPrinciple]

Just like the Constitution has failed.”

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So lets throw it out? Yep, that will fix things. Lets move to Idealism, ours vs the left.? I would not care to be ruled by Idealistic conservatives any more than I would by leftists.

EXACTLY WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE GUIDED BY? The headlines put out by the liars? How you feel today? What feels right in your own mind?

Did you even read the article and reflect? Read it again and let your lips move.

[DrPretorius]

“Did you even read the article and reflect? Read it again and let your lips move.”

WTF?! You, sir, are outright nutz! Did you even read what the heck I wrote? Your diatribe, coming from out of nowhere, disconnected from any comment I made or intention I might have had, shows you to be totally unhinged. GFY!