THE RIGHT

Sturdy account of the many divisions within modern conservatism, divisions that have been growing over a century.

There are many forms of conservatism, writes American Enterprise Institute fellow Continetti, but there are essentially two large camps: populist and elitist, which often battle and occasionally cooperate. “Is the American Right the party of insiders or outsiders? Is the Right the elites—the men and women in charge of America’s political, economic, social, and cultural institutions—or is it the people?” he asks. “And is the Right even able to answer such a question?” A century ago, the Harding administration devalued conservatism with the same disregard for the law and ineptitude during a pandemic that characterized the Trump administration, but both presidents were essentially self-serving rather than ideological. True conservatism, writes the author, safeguards the classical liberal ideals of self-government. “The preservation of the American idea of liberty and the familial, communal, religious, and political institutions that incarnate and sustain it—that is what makes American conservatism distinctly American,” he writes, memorably. Trump instead converted the GOP from the intellectually grounded political opposition of the time of Goldwater and Buckley into a government-hating mob stocked with legions of antisemites and White supremacists. Indeed, Continetti writes, “Every bad habit of the Right was on display in the Capitol riot that left five dead, $30 million in damage, close to three hundred arrested, and Capitol Hill an armed camp.” The author presents a convincing case for a brand of conservatism that checks overly ambitious progressives. He also clearly shows how the Democratic Party has moved to the left precisely in reaction to Trump and needs the restraint of a principled opposition. Highlighting a long string of heroes and villains, Continetti urges “a de-personalization of the Right” and return to core values.

Rational, well thought out, and impeccably argued—of interest to all students of politics.