The Conservative (Emerson)

Emerson’s lecture sets the party of conservatism against the party of innovation and refuses to let either win. Conservatism, he says, starts from the facts of the world as it is and is therefore always right about circumstance and always inadequate about possibility; reform starts from what ought to be and is therefore always right in principle and often useless in practice. The quarrel between them, he argues, is the subject of civil history itself.

Why it’s on the list: It closes the Modern Conservatism section — the list’s one entry from outside the movement’s own canon, framing conservatism as a permanent human temper rather than a political programme.

Where I saw it: On Brendan McCord’s Philosopher-Entrepreneur Reading List, in the section on Modern Conservatism, saved to Kyle’s “Books To Read” Apple Note. The full 211-entry transcription lives on The Philosopher-Entrepreneur Reading List.

Connections

• Ralph Waldo Emerson — the author.
• Transcendentalism — the movement he was lecturing from within.
• The Philosopher-Entrepreneur Reading List — the list this came from.