A Conservative Revolution

The triumph of the conservative movement in reshaping American politics is one of the great untold stories of the past fifty years. At the end of World War II, hardly anyone in public life would admit to being a conservative, but as Lee Edwards shows in this magisterial work, in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, a small group of committed men and women began to chip away at the liberal colossus, and their descendants would scale the ramparts of power in the 1980s and 1990s. Not even the fall of Newt Gingrich has changed the indisputable fact that the movement has truly rewritten the rules of American political life, and the republic will never be the same. Edwards tells the stories of how conservatives built a movement from the ground up by starting magazines, by building grass-roots organizations, and by seizing control of the Republican party from those who espoused collaboration with the liberals and promised only to manage the welfare state more efficiently and not to dismantle it. But most of all he tells the story of four men, four leaders who put their personal stamp on this movement and helped to turn it into the most important political force in our country today: * Robert Taft, "Mr. Republican," the beacon of conservative principle during the lean Roosevelt and Truman years * Barry Goldwater, "Mr. Conservative," the flinty Westerner who inspired a new generation * Ronald Reagan, "Mr. President," the optimist whose core beliefs were sturdy enough to subdue an evil empire * Newt Gingrich, "Mr. Speaker," the fiery visionary who won a Congress but lost control of it By their example and vision, these men brought intellectual and ideological stability to an often fractions conservative movement and held the high ground against the pragmatists who would compromise conservative principles for transitory political advantage. And through their efforts and those of their supporters, they transformed the American political landscape so thoroughly that a Democratic president would one day proclaim, "The era of big government is over." Political history in the grand style, The Conservative Revolution is the definitive book on a conservative movement that not only has left its mark on our century but is poised to shape the century about to dawn.

Embracing some of Germany's best known writers, academics, journalists and philosophers, the Conservative Revolution in the Weimar Republic was the intellectual vanguard of the Right. By approaching the Conservative Revolution as an intellectual movement, this study sheds new light on the evolution of its ideas on the meaning of the First World War, its appropriation of the work of Friedrich Nietzsche, its enthusiasm for political activism and a strong leader, and its ambiguous relationship with National Socialism.

An unapologetic advocate for mainstream values, Cory Bernardi presents a bold vision for a stronger nation that is founded on conservative principles. He takes the fight to the political left and calls for an overturning of the existing moral relativism that threatens Australia's way of life. Bernardi argues that the best way to tackle this threat is to protect and defend the traditional institutions that have stood the test of time, something that he has done during his time as a senator in the Australian Parliament. Bernardi's work courageously promotes the conservative cause and sets out a path to a better Australia through a commitment to faith, family, flag, freedom and free enterprise. This volume reminds us that conservative principles - not the populist whims of the left - generate enduring stability, success and strength. That is why we need a conservative revolution.

A provocative and timely call to action for civic-minded Canadians yearning for a more competitive political system ane better government. Canadians everywhere are asking: what's wrong with the Conservative Party? The Liberal Party of Canada has held power for 70 of the past 100 years--a feat unrivaled by any other political party in the Western hemisphere. This dominance has caused a great deal of frustration on all political fronts, especially on the right. In the past two years, the long-awaited merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives has not achieved the results many were expecting. Despite the explosive revelations of the sponsorship scandal, and attempts to improve his party's image, Stephen Harper's Conservatives still trail in the polls. In Rescuing Canada's Right, the authors examine the problems facing the Conservative Party and the broader conservative movement, and offer concrete solutions on how to fix them. Some of the issues the book will address: Why the Conservative Party and its predecessor parties have such a poor electoral record; Why today's Conservative Party is not really conservative. Why a new political vision is necessary to inspire Canadians--and what it should be. How the Liberals use public money to entrench an unhealthy reliance on the state--and how the right has failed to challenge it What Canadian conservatives can learn from the American and British experiences How to build a Canadian Conservative counter-culture in the media, academia, and the law How the right can break through to the young, and to immigrants in Quebec An action plan to end Canada's democratic deficit and level the political playing field. Rescuing Canada's Right will be a hard-hitting and groundbreaking work that will introduce new ideas and a passionate call for change for 21st century Canada.

The Conservative Revolution in Germany, 1918-1932 is one the most comprehensive, most lasting, and most influential studies of the European Right--in particular, the fifteen years in Germany between the Armistice and Third Reich. This chaotic time witnessed a new type of right-wing thinking: traditionalist, yet oriented towards a new beginning . . . consciously nationalist (völkisch), yet civilizational in scope . . . born in the despair of defeat and humiliation, yet envisioning a triumphant new age. The Conservative Revolutionaries sought an "overthrow of an overthrow." Armin Mohler, who knew many of these figures personally, traces the development of this German ideal from Friedrich Nietzsche, Richard Wagner, Oswald Spengler, Thomas Mann, Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, Ernst Jünger, Carl Schmitt, and beyond. The Conservative Revolutionaries persistently thought against the grain. They stood in opposition both to Bolshevism and Anglo-American capitalism, as well as Hitler and the incipient National Socialist regime. They continue to offer a vital alternative to both Left and Right in the twenty-first century. Available in English for the first time, this edition includes new essays by Paul E. Gottfried and Alain de Benoist, who discuss the book's influence and contemporary relevance.

Interweaving political, intellectual, cultural and diplomatic histories, Tsui demonstrates how the Guomindang's national revolution turned conservative after the 1927 anti-Communist coup and contributed to the ascendancy of the global radical right. This revisionist reading of Nationalist China will appeal to a wide range of students and scholars.

Despite winning control of twenty-four new state governments since 1992, Republicans have failed to enact policies that substantially advance conservative goals. This book offers the first systematic assessment of the geography and consequences of Republican ascendance in the states and yields important lessons for both liberals and conservatives.

This book reconsiders the origins of the European human rights system, arguing that its conservative inventors, foremost among them Winston Churchill, conceived of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) as a means of realizing a controversial political agenda and advancing a Christian vision of European identity.