James Burnham and the Struggle for the World: A Life

James Burnham (1905-1987) may be the "forgotten man" of the Conservative movement. Although he has been the subject of a few monographs and chapters in various books on the conservative movement, his name is not well known in the conservative world. Many who have heard of Russell Kirk, Whittaker Chambers and William Buckley probably know him only as a writer of apocalyptic anti-Communist books in the 50s and 60s. Burnham's life was fascinating, and this book is a well-written, enjoyable biography. Born to a wealthy railroad executive, Burnham attended Princeton where he studied philosophy and literature. There he first became associated with Philip Wheelwright (he was also at Princeton at the same time as Cornelius van Til - another Wheelwright student -- but Kelly makes no mention of whether they were acquainted). He attended Oxford where he met Tolkien and Brand Blanshard. In the 1930s, Burnham became a Communist (of sorts) and an advisor to Leon Trotsky. In the late 1930s, Burnham rejected Communism and ultimately became a conservative. He even worked for the CIA for a few years. Burnham began writing for National Review from its inception in 1954 where most of his writing concerned foreign policy and winning the Cold War. Burnham continued with National Review until he suffered a stroke in 1977, which impaired his short-term memory. Burnham is not easy to pigeonhole. He was neither a member of the Old Right nor the Neocon Right, but shared characteristics of both. While sympathetic to free enterprise, he wasn't a doctrinaire believer in laissez faire. He rejected isolationism, but his internationalism was largely limited to anti-Communism. For example, he opposed US involvement in the Middle East. Burnham's views on Congressional supremacy, his partial support for Sen. Joseph McCarthy and his views on racial matters would place him, broadly speaking, on the paleconservative spectrum. Burnham rejected neoconservatism when it first appeared as a distinct ideology in the 70s and his last public appearance, in 1983, was to accept an award from The Ingersoll Foundation, which is associated with a paleoconservative think-tank. In light of all this, it is a stretch for Mr. Kelly to suggest that Burnham was a proto-neoconservative.