Dutch Courage

A brief item of self-promotion: PoMoCon readers who happen to understand Dutch may be interested in a new volume, Conservatieve Vooruitgang recently published by Prometheus. It’s a greatest-hits tour of 20th century conservative thought, with an emphasis on libertarian, pluralist, and otherwise heterodox writers. The entry on Robert Nisbet was written by me. But there are also more important chapters by more important people, including Roger Scruton on Eliot and Theodore Dalrymple on Oakeshott.

In addition to its academic interest, the book is a contribution to the revival of intellectual conservatism in the Netherlands, where it’s been partly eclipsed by the antics of populists like Geert Wilders. It’s to be hoped that the editors, Michiel Visser and Thierry Baudet, continue to articulate conservative ideas without venom or rage , which is the only way they’re likely to succeed in the Netherlands, and elsewhere.