When Russell Kirk, a most engaging intellectual and the father of the modern conservative movement, wrote about terrestrial hells and zealotry, he was referring to ideology. So adamant was he about the perils brought on by ideas and change, Kirk put together an entire book on this, The Politics of Prudence. To Kirk, ideology is a series of “terrestrial hells” that is not favorable to a statesman’s prudence because it bears the fruit of malevolent revolution against tried-and-true conservative traditions. Hence, it is a serious vice. Kirk advocates prudence over ideology, telling us that the two are polar opposites. He … Continue reading The Conservative War on Ideas