Redeeming the Time

Russell Kirk gave many lectures at the Heritage Foundation in the years before his death. These lectures have been collected in THE POLITICS OF PRUDENCE and REDEEMING THE TIME. Kirk was the leading exponent of intellectual conservatism in the United States. By "conservatism" I don't mean that mix of Evangelical religion, free enterprise, and US boosterism that goes by that name. Kirk was steeped in European conservative thought and some of his views would fall outside much of the conservative mainstream today. Yes he was religious, a believer in free enterprise, and also an advocate of the Cold War. On the other hand, he critiqued the individualism of the libertarians, supported some government intervention in the economy, and opposed the first Gulf War. Had he been alive, he probably would have opposed the current war against Iraq (certainly if framed as part of a global crusade to spread democracy). So there is plenty here for anyone to agree or disagree with. The lectures gathered in this work cover a broad range of topics, from education to politics to foreign policy. There is a particularly interesting discussion of the death penalty and also a wide-ranging critique of egalitarianism. I liked some of the "personal touches" that Kirk weaved into these articles, such as Kirk's opposition to television and the computer. In fact, Kirk didn't even drive an automobile. As Wes McDonald argues in his book on Kirk, he is hard to follow as a guide in all things, but is always a stimulating thinker.