But the truth is that, while I admired the essay immensely, I didn't really like it. Which is but another way of saying that I disagreed with it. Today, looking back over the past forty years, I can see why. I was American, Michael was English.
...
In short, Oakeshott's ideal conservative society is a society without religion, since all religions bind us as securely to past and future as to the present.
...
Oakeshott's conservative disposition runs squarely against the American grain. Oh, Americans possess such a disposition all right. Despite all one reads about the frustrations of American life, it is the rare American who dreams of moving to another land, and hardly any do.
No comments:
Post a Comment