Table Of Content

i Praise for The Reactionary Mind “I think that the best model [of conservatism] is . . . the Corey Robin notion that it’s about preserving hierarchy.” — Paul Krugman, New York Times “The Reactionary Mind has emerged as one of the more influential political works of the last decade. . . .Robin . . . is a synthesizer and a brilliant and ruthless diviner of the hidden wellsprings of absolutely everything.” —T he Washington Monthly “When The Reactionary Mind first appeared in 2011, it met with a good deal of critical skepticism. . . . Six years later, Robin has been vindicated.” — Bookforum “I confess to being one of those who likes to divide conservatives into their parts as opposed to treating them as a whole. Robin makes a vigorous case that I am wrong, and I am tempted by his analysis. . . .Robin is an engaging writer, and just the kind of broad- ranging public intellectual all too often missing in aca- demic political science. . . .Robin’s arguments deserve widespread attention.” —T he New Republic “The Reactionary Mind certainly cuts hard against the common view that the radical populist conservatism epitomized by Sarah Palin represents a sharp break with the cautious, reasonable, mod- erate, pragmatic conservatism inaugurated by the 18th- century British statesman Edmund Burke. . . .This counterrevolutionary spirit, Mr. Robin argues, animates every conservative, from the Southern slaveholders to Ayn Rand to Antonin Scalia, to name just a few of the figures he pulls into his often slashing analysis.” — New York Times ii “. . . ground- breaking book . . .” — Rolling Stone “The common opinion on the Left is that conservatives are fire- breathing idiots, who make up in heat what they lack in light. Robin’s book is a welcome correction of this simplistic view and puts the debate where it ought to be: on the force and content of conservative ideas.” — Dissent “ ‘The Reactionary Mind’ demands to be taken seriously by conservatives, and it helps that it’s written with panache. The series of scholarly strikes Robin makes against conventional wisdom are often exhilarating.” —T he Daily “It is a thoughtful, even- tempered sort of book. The old maid ten- dency that dominates liberal polemic in the U.S.A.— the shrieking, clutching at skirts, and jumping up on kitchen chairs that one gets from a Joe Nocera, a Maureen Dowd, or a Keith Olbermann— is quite absent.” —T he American Conservative “This little book will continue to spark controversy, but that is not the reason to read it: it is a witty, erudite and opinionated account of one of the most significant movements of our times.” —T imes Higher Education “Robin, a New York- based political scientist and regular contribu- tor to publications like The Nation and the London Review of Books, has written an original book with an armful of theses that shed revealing light on the whys and wherefores of right- wing politics in the United States and beyond.” —T he National iii “Stemming from a conversation he had with the late William F. Buckley, Robin’s book provides clear, well- documented insight on how the right came to be what it now is.” —W ashington Times “Corey Robin’s extraordinary collection, constantly fresh, con- tinuously sharp, and always clear and eloquent, provides the only satisfactory philosophically coherent account of elite conservatism I have ever read. Then there’s this bonus: his remarkably penetrating side inquiry into the notion of ‘national security’ as a taproot of America’s contemporary abuse of democracy. It’s all great, a model in the exercise of humane letters.” — Rick Perlstein, author of Nixonland “This book is a fascinating exploration of a central idea: that conservatism is, at its heart, a reaction against democratic challenges, in public and private life, to hierarchies of power and status. Corey Robin leads us through a series of case studies over the last few centuries— from Hobbes to Ayn Rand, from Burke to Sarah Palin— showing the power of this idea by illuminating conservatives both sublime and ridiculous.” — Kwame Anthony Appiah, Professor of Philosophy, Princeton University “Beautifully written, these essays deepen our understanding of why conservatism remains a powerful force in American politics.” — Joyce Appleby, Professor Emerita of History, University of California- Los Angeles, and past president of the American Historical Association iv “The Reactionary Mind is a wonderfully good read. It combines up- to- the- minute relevance with an eye to the intellectual history of conservatism in all its protean forms, going back as far as Hobbes, and taking in not only restrained and sentimental defenders of tradition such as Burke, but his more violent, proto- fascist contemporary Joseph de Maistre. Some readers will enjoy Corey Robin’s dismantling of different recent thinkers— Barry Goldwater, Antonin Scalia, Irving Kristol; others will enjoy his demolition of Ayn Rand’s intellectual pretensions. Some will be uncomfortable when they discover that those who too lightly endorse state violence, and even officially sanctioned torture, include some of their friends. That is one of the things that makes this such a good book.” — Alan Ryan, Professor of Political Theory, Oxford University v THE REACTIONARY MIND Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Donald Trump SECOND EDITION COREY ROBIN 1 vi 1 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America. © Oxford University Press 2018 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: Robin, Corey, 1967– author. Title: The reactionary mind : conservatism from Edmund Burke to Donald Trump / Corey Robin. Description: Second edition. | New York : Oxford University Press, [2018] | Previous edition: 2011. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2017029793 | ISBN 9780190692001 (bc) | ISBN 9780190842024 (bb) | ISBN 9780190692018 (updf) | ISBN 9780190692025 (epub) Subjects: LCSH: Conservatism—History. Classification: LCC JC573 .R63 2018 | DDC 320.52—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017029793 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Paperback printed by LSC Communications, United States of America Hardback printed by Bridgeport National Bindery, Inc., United States of America vii For Laura viii ix C O N T E N T S Preface to the Second Edition xi Part 1 Reaction: A Primer 1. The Private Life of Power 3 2. On Counterrevolution 39 3. The Soul of Violence 59 Part 2 Europe’s Old Regimes 4. The First Counterrevolutionary 91 5. Burke’s Market Value 105 6. In Nietzsche’s Margins 133 Part 3 American Vistas 7. Metaphysics and Chewing Gum 167 8. The Prince as Pariah 189 9. Remembrance of Empires Past 201 10. Affirmative Action Baby 221 11. A Show About Nothing 239 Notes 273 Acknowledgments 317 Index 321 ix