Neoconservatism

Kristol’s retrospective collection of the essays through which he defined neoconservatism — the movement he is usually credited with naming and which he described as the outlook of liberals mugged by reality. The pieces range over capitalism and its cultural legitimacy, the Great Society’s unintended consequences, religion’s place in a commercial republic, and the responsibilities of an intellectual class that had, in his reading, come to despise the society paying for it.

Why it’s on the list: It sits in Modern Conservatism as the movement’s own account of itself — the counterpart to reading the tradition’s critics, and the reason the sub-section is a family tree rather than a single position.

Where I saw it: Brendan McCord’s Philosopher-Entrepreneur Reading List, in the section on Modern Conservatism. Shared on X on March 9, 2026 and saved to Kyle’s “Books To Read” Apple Note. The full 211-entry transcription, with the four parts and sixteen sub-sections, is on The Philosopher-Entrepreneur Reading List.

Connections

• The Philosopher-Entrepreneur Reading List — the curriculum this card came from.
• Capitalism — the system Kristol defends while doubting its cultural self-sufficiency.
• Liberalism — the position most of these essays are departures from.