The Rhetoric Of Conservatism

Hirschman maps the diffuse and treacherous world of reactionary rhetoric in which conservative public figures, thinkers, and polemicists have been arguing against progressive agendas and reforms for 200 years. Ultimately, he shows that progressives are apt to employ related rhetorical postures, which are as biased as their reactionary counterparts.

In practice, because conservatism traditionally relies on negative definition to imagine its exclusion from the American political system, American conservatism ends up defining both 'the people' and the market as forces with a mutual skepticism of an overweening political order. Johnson also tackles the suggestion that conservatives learned to practice identity politics from social progressives. From the beginning, conservatism was an identity politics. U.S. conservatism relied on a rhetoric of victimhood, whether critiquing the liberal Cold War consensus or fears about Barack Obama's electoral success. Finally, the manuscript makes an important contribution to conversations about populism. Just because conservatism invokes 'the people' does not make it a collective, public-facing enterprise. .

Richard M. Weaver (1910-1963) was one of the leading rhetoricians of the 1950s, whose philosophical and pedagogical writings helped revitalize interest in rhetoric. His rhetorical contributions are difficult to separate from his conservative stances on social and political issues; and, indeed, he espoused the cultural role of rhetoric, conceiving of his intellectual task as one of reinventing a philosophical conservatism and employing rhetorical theory to oppose liberalism and modernism. Today, his politics would be viewed as extreme by liberals, feminists, and civil libertarians; on the other hand, his theories laid the philosophical groundwork for contemporary American political conservatism, and his argumentation on a number of social issues remains pertinent. This first full-length study of Weaver examines the relationship between his rhetorical theory and his cultural views, focusing on the rhetorical insights---for instance, his conception of language as sermonic, its function being to influence others to think and act according to the speaker's moral precepts and, ideally, to convey the abiding truth of a culture. Authors Duffy and Jacobi advance the idea that Weaver was at his best as an epideictic rhetor, engaged in the celebration of abstract values, and at his worst as a forensic rhetor, pleading conservative causes with no more than the pretense of impartiality. Based largely on primary materials but with adroit application of previous criticism, this work will be valuable for a wide range of research specialties in rhetoric and public address.

Why do conservatives tell stories? Because it helps them win elections and assail liberal policies like health care reform and economic stimulus. "Why" is important, but the "what" and the "how" behind the stories that conservatives tell are equally interesting, and in this new book, David Ricci reveals all. He shows how conservative activists and candidates tell many tales that come together to project a large-scale story; a cultural narrative; a vision of what America is and what it should do to prosper socially, economically, and politically. Liberals, by contrast, tend to look for theories rather than stories, for mathematical explanations rather than theological axioms, for data rather than anecdotes, and for statistics rather than homilies. The difference is paradoxical. Liberals are unlikely to fashion sweeping narratives that capture the public s attention and commitment. Yet conservatives may tell attractive stories like the ones that got us into Iraq that momentarily capture voter support but end up costing the country more than it can afford."

This book examines the political oratory, rhetoric and persona of Margaret Thatcher as a means of understanding her justifications for ‘Thatcherism’. The main arenas for consideration are set piece speeches to conference, media engagements, and Parliamentary orations. Thatcher’s rhetorical style is analysed through the lens of the Aristotelian modes of persuasion (ethos, pathos, logos). Furthermore, the classical methods of oratorical engagement (deliberative, epidictic, judicial) are employed to consider her style of delivery. The authors place her styles of communication into their respective political contexts over a series of noteworthy issues, such as industrial relations, foreign policy, economic reform, and party management. By doing so, this distinctive book shines new light on Thatcher and her political career.

This book is a combination of rhetorical theory and critical thinking. It argues that liberalism in its most meaningful sense is not ideological, but a politics of rational and civic virtue. It uses different frames and references to address problems liberals face in confronting the rhetorical strengths of conservative policy argument.