Neoconservatism: An Obituary for an Idea Book

This is an extraordinary book, and one that is of crucial importance in our time, considering the rapid spread of neoconservatism and the seductive stealth with which it is grabbing hold in the United States.

Taking neoconservative ideas seriously, and with a solemn respect devoid of the shrill hysteria that is found in other treatments of the topic, C. Bradley Thompson and Yaron Brook pin down the essence of neoconservative thought, from its roots in the writings of Leo Strauss and Irving Kristol to its manifestations in the post-9/11 world. The authors systematically identify the neoconservative principles in each of the main branches of philosophy: metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and politics.

This is no small feat, for the neoconservatives themselves generally deny subscribing to rigid principles. Furthermore, built in to the very core of neoconservatism is a split between their exoteric preaching (which constitutes their public face, directed toward the masses) and their esoteric views (which they hold privately, as advanced ideas that only a special elite--namely, neocons--could be expected to understand). This duality creates a tangled mess, which Thompson and Brook manage to penetrate and put in order. The result is a thorough exposure of what the neoconservative message is and what it means.