IRVING LOUIS HOROWITZ
The American Consensus and
The American
Conservative
F
OR THE PAST TWO DECADES
it has become apparent that an implo–
sion has taken place within the ranks of American conservatism–
that ideological tendency which emphasizes liberty over equality,
national interest over global commitments, and moral principles over
pragmatic policies. For once we move from the abstract to the concrete,
the weakness of this ideology, as indeed all ideology, begins to show.
Real interests trump general guides.
In the case of the rift between "paleo" conservatives and "new" con–
servatives, long-standing shared animosities, ranging from the existence
of the Soviet Union abroad to the preeminence of the Democratic Party
and its post-Vietnam syndrome at home, served to paper over the dif–
ferences. But with profound changes in the international and national
scene alike, these conditions have also changed . The divisive issues now
become war with Iraq, mass immigration, and the status of the free
enterprise system in advanced capitalist conditions .
But going one step further toward the specific, it has become appar–
ent that the flashpoint is the status of Israel and the power of the Jew–
ish community in the United States. Old-line conservatives, who did
little but pay lip service to the "Judeo-Christian tradition" to start with,
began to emphasize the hyphen rather than the tradition. At the fore–
front of what might be called the post-Russell Kirk wing of traditional
conservatism is Patrick
J.
Buchanan, who far from taking his electoral
beatings for the presidency in sullen silence, decided instead to establish
a new publication,
The American Conservative.
Traditionally one should wait at least three years before assessing
new publications and new editors. My own view is that one might bet–
ter wait thirty years to perform such a task. But
The American Conser–
vative
is no ordinary magazine, and Patrick
J.
Buchanan is no ordinary
editor. Although it may seem premature, after only three issues, this
Irving Louis Horowitz is Hannah Arendt Distinguished University Profes–
sor Emeritus at Rutgers.
