Description
Book SynopsisSocial conservatives and libertarians: Is a meeting of the minds possible?Feuding among US conservatives for the title True Conservative is nothing new. Underlying the feud has been a failure to grasp that conservatism in America forms a family of principles that require accommodation: to each other, to the exigencies of the moment, and to the changing habits and opinions of the American people. In Constitutional Conservatism, Peter Berkowitz identifies the political principles social conservatives and libertarians share, or should share, and sketches the common ground on which they can and should join forces. Drawing on the writings of Edmund Burke, The Federalist, and the high points of post-War II American conservatism, Berkowitz argues that the top political priority for social conservatives and libertarians should be to rally around the principles of liberty crystallized in the US Constitution and pursue reform in light of them. He shows that this task depends on the cultivatio
Trade Review“Peter Berkowitz makes a match between Edmund Burke and the American Founders to give 'political moderation' a good name on our partisan battlefield. A short, effectual book with shining prose, a telling argument, and a lasting message.” — Harvey C. Mansfield, Harvard University
“Peter Berkowitz is among America's wisest and best political philosophers. He proves again why in
Constitutional Conservatism: Liberty, Self-Government, and Political Moderation. In it he covers a significant amount of intellectual terrain—from Burke and the American Founders through Buckley and Reagan to the here and now—in a manner that is lively, informed, accessible and timely.
Conservatism is now engaged in a period of reflection that may lead to recalibration. One of the best things that could happen is for those on the right to listen to the counsel of Professor Berkowitz as he helps us to recover the constitutional connection between liberty, self-government, and political moderation rightly understood. Constitutional Conservatism is a wonderful and necessary book. In looking back, Peter Berkowitz helps us to see our way forward.” — Peter Wehner, Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, member of the Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush administrations
