The Conservative Mind Book Summary - The Conservative Mind Book explained in key points

The Conservative Mind summary

Name: The Conservative Mind
Rating: 3.7 (30 reviews)
Author: Russell Kirk

Russell Kirk

From Burke to Eliot

3.7 (30 ratings)

15 mins

Topics

US History Democracy US Politics Anthropology

Table of Contents

The Conservative Mind
Summary of 8 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 8

What’s in it for me? Discover the roots of conservatism and how the movement has evolved.

From ancient Mesopotamia to the vast Roman empire, many ancient societies believed in a divine order, with gods and rulers at the top of the power pyramid, rewarding those who are subservient and punishing those who rebel. If this order is disrupted, immorality follows and society collapses.

Crucially, not just anybody is suited to safeguard this order. It takes an extraordinary individual to lead. Whether they be tribal kings, caesars or modern-day politicians, some people are just better suited to be leaders than are others. The gist of this social order? We are not all created equal.

The conservative political movement shares many of these views. Too sudden changes can lead to societal chaos; if there is no God to keep our actions in check, how can we act morally? And if everyone is created equally, who should lead?

In these blinks you’ll learn

why for a conservative a democratic system is misguided;
why scientific studies to predict human behavior are always misleading; and
why property for the conservative is power.

A conservative is guided by a moralistic higher power. God exists and influences everything we do.

Conservatism as a movement didn’t really come into being until 1790, with the publishing of Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France.

Burke’s book was the first to make people aware of the arguments and convictions of conservatives. While many other thinkers have since added their own contributions, conservative thinkers all share one thing in common: strong religious beliefs.

Conservatives believe that there is a higher power which manifests itself in us and in our actions. For most conservatives, this higher power is the Christian God. They believe that the presence of God can be felt inside each individual.

According to Burke, reason, revelation and an assurance beyond the senses all strongly signify that God both exists and is omniscient. After all, so many people believe that God is real; this must mean that God exists. If not, where could these beliefs have originated?

God's will can be seen through human history as it has developed under God’s divine influence. Because God influences our lives greatly, every thought or action that endures the test of time (like societal traditions) is very likely to be an expression of God's will. Otherwise, such thoughts or actions simply could not have survived rapid and violent societal changes.

Not only does God exist, but also we need to constantly remind ourselves of God’s influence. Life would lose its meaning if we ignored the influence of a higher power.

In the conservative mind-set, God’s influence extends over all our actions. Say you entered into a business contract. You suddenly realize that you could break the contract without anyone ever finding out.

If this were so, then the only thing that might stop you from breaking your contractual promise is the belief that the document represents an even higher form of promise, that is, something divinely sanctioned by God. Breaking the contract then would be deeply, morally wrong.

A conservative does not believe in the call of the French Revolution: “All men are created equal.”

Edmund Burke’s book on the French Revolution took to task many of that historical event’s founding philosophies. For the revolutionaries, all men are created equal; yet conservatives beg to differ.

It is true that people are, in general, different from each other. There is no arguing that we have many distinguishing features, such as gender, age, strength, morality, intellect and wealth.

Equality is the death of progress. Ability needs to be rewarded; an equal society offers no incentives.

Using the knowledge that each person differs in their abilities as a starting point, conservatives propose that striving for absolute equality is not only misguided, but also dangerous.

History has shown that progress stems from a desire to achieve a better-than-average life, which is only possible if there is inequality in society.

A civilized society only exists when a natural aristocracy steps up and leads the masses.

Many thinkers who praise the idea of equality have also argued for the establishment of a classless society, in which no societal group has more power or influence than others.

In contrast, a conservative believes that such a society is not only impossible but undesirable. People need leaders, and some individuals are better suited to lead than are others.

A conservative isn’t a democrat, as equal voting power misrepresents what’s really good for society.

Even though democratic systems of government are held up as an ideal in our modern times, for a conservative, democracy needs to be judged on its merits, not its aspirations.

A conservative’s view on democracy, as it turns out, isn’t exactly positive. Conservatives believe that democracy is based on the wrong ideas of what is important for society.

Property is power, and needs to be adequately represented in modern government.

As we’ve seen, conservatives consider democracy to be merely a form of “nose-counting” that doesn’t take into consideration the things in society that truly matter.

One of these important things is property. Indeed, property has always been closely linked to power.

Abstract concepts and numbers are unable to adequately describe the human condition.

We live in an age obsessed with measurement and numbers. But can you really capture the essence of human behavior with a number or a formula? Conservatives say no, you can’t.

Humans are complicated creatures and can’t be summed up with a statistic. And you certainly can’t use those values to predict future behavior.

A conservative wants to change society, but only gradually and not as a result of hasty decisions.

Conservatives aren’t just political thinkers; they’re interested in changing society to reflect their beliefs, too. Yet while societal change is inevitable, a conservative believes it shouldn’t be rushed.

A common accusation is that conservatives are stuck in the past and work to prevent change. This is simply untrue. Even the staunchest conservatives would agree that there are situations, such as in times of war or technological advancement, in which the state needs to adapt.

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What is The Conservative Mind about?

The Conservative Mind (1953) offers insights into the axioms that underpin modern conservative thought by looking at conservatism’s historical roots.

Best quote from The Conservative Mind

Either order in the cosmos is real, or all is chaos.

—Russell Kirk

Who should read The Conservative Mind?

Historians studying the development of conservative thought
Students of political science curious about the history of conservatism
People interested in politics and American history

About the Author

Russell Kirk was an American author, historian and political theorist, whose book The Conservative Mind was hugely influential in shaping the conservative movement following World War II. He wrote a number of works of fiction as well as other nonfiction works, such as The Roots of American Order.

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