Description
Book SynopsisThis book offers a strikingly original interpretation of Leo Strauss, his 'political philosophy', and the connection of both to the American conservative movement. There is nothing essentially 'conservative' about what Strauss or his leading disciples have taught about politics or morals, instead they have been avid champions of American modernity.
Trade Review'Paul Gottfried's book shows evidence of a lifetime of more intimate engagement with Straussians. He is respectful of the master, formed in 'a richer cultural world than his followers - indeed a Teutonic one that most of his prominent students detested'. Gottfried is clearly disappointed in Strauss's 'epigones', who are happy to refute their poorly informed but respectable critics on the Left but who refuse to engage in serious debate with their learned and perceptive critics on the Right.' Mark Shiffman, Modern Age
'I've always wanted to read a critique of Strauss - and more particularly, of Straussianism - which didn't devolve into leftist hyperbole or paranoia. This is the first I've read. Gottfried's critique is really from the right - against Strauss's postmodern reading of texts … against the abolition of history as well as historicism, against the reclusiveness and defensiveness of the Straussian enclave, and against their fixation with Western weakness in which the world is forever 1938. He persuaded me that the core of Straussianism is political, not philosophical - and a true competitor to what I would call conservatism, properly understood. None of this takes away from the truly remarkable scholarship that Strauss and Straussians have given us, or their useful antidote to the idea that all our core debates about the world have been resolved. But it helps reveal the deeply un-conservative and profoundly radical nature of neoconservatism, and its mania for imperialism and Israel.' Andrew Sullivan, The Daily Dish
'[The only book that] specifically offers a right-wing critique of this German-Jewish émigré professor who is so often assumed to be a right-winger himself … Paul Gottfried's book… is sufficiently magnanimous that it may lead readers to a new appreciation for Strauss.' Daniel McCarthy, The University Bookman
Table of Contents1. Introduction; 2. A significant life; 3. Constructing a methodology; 4. The method under assault; 5. Politics as practice; 6. Political theory as political practice; 7. Conclusion.
