Publisher's Synopsis
This text provides a framework within which to understand conservative politics and compare what, in the past, have always been viewed as opposite ideal types - a British conservatism characterized by traditionalism and an American conservatism defined by its optimistic individualism.;Despite this tradition of academic interpretation, the abiding concerns of British and American conservative thought have been remarkably similiar; despite very different national experiences there also exists a fundamental basis of comparison. Both the similarities and distinctions of British and American thought and practice are considered in this book through the study of prominent and recurring themes of conservative political discourse: revolution; democracy; property; culture; social discipline and national character.;The chapters provide an exploration of the writings of conservative thinkers in the 19th and 20th centuries and relate these concerns to the major social and political issues of their times. The concluding chapter draws together the strands of the preceding discussions and attempts to make some assessment of the character of contemporary conservative argument in Britain and America.
