What Is Conservatism?

What Is Conservatism? is a conservative classic—as relevant today as it was a half century ago.

Just what is conservatism? Many people are groping for answers, especially as conservatives seem to retreat into factions—Tea Partiers, traditionalists, libertarians, social conservatives, neoconservatives, and on and on. But this illuminating book shows what unites conservatives even as it explores conservatism's rich internal debate. Edited by Frank S. Meyer, who popularized the idea of "fusionism" that became the basis for modern conservatism, What Is Conservatism? features brilliant essays by such leading lights as:

• F. A. Hayek, Nobel Prize–winning economist and author of The Road to Serfdom

• William F. Buckley Jr., founder of National Review and the man perhaps most responsible for the rise of modern conservatism

• Russell Kirk, whose seminal book The Conservative Mind gave the conservative movement its name

• M. Stanton Evans, author of the conservative movement's central credo, the "Sharon Statement"

In a foreword to this new edition, #1 New York Times bestselling author and National Review contributing editor Jonah Goldberg explains the influence of What Is Conservatism? on conservative thought and the book's relevance today.

Frank S. Meyer (1909–1972) was one of the most influential conservative philosophers and popularizers. He was perhaps best known as an advocate of "fusionism"—a political philosophy that unites elements of libertarianism and traditionalism and that is often seen as the basis of modern American conservatism. Meyer was a senior editor at National Review and the author of In Defense of Freedom. Jonah Goldberg is the author of two New York Times bestsellers, Liberal Fascism and The Tyranny of Clichés. He is a nationally syndicated columnist, a Fox News contributor, a contributing editor to National Review, the founding editor of National Review Online, and a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.