THE UNIVERSITY BOOKMAN and POSTMODERN CONSERVATISM

So here’s a smart and uncritical (and therefore great) review of MODERN AND AMERICAN DIGNITY by the postmodern conservative Richard Reinsch. The editor of THE UNIVERSITY BOOKMAN encouraged me to post it to shamelessly promote me and his fascinating journal.

The most capable followers of Russell Kirk these days have taken to calling themselves postmodern conservatives, and they’re right to do so. Kirk styled himself a BOHEMIAN TORY (as opposed to a RED TORY). Kirk dropped out of academic life, had no interest in business, went home to a place he was only sort-of from (Mecosta, Michigan—rural Michigan is at least at redneck as rural Georgia), and scraped by having a good time writing what he pleased. Nobody who’s ever been to Mecosta would call the place retro-charming or a hotbed of Wendell Berryish agrarian virtue. But you can see how it might be fun to go to the doughnut shop after spending all night writing or sort-of writing with friends who were just staying at your place for while.

For Kirk, a true bohemian knows how to enjoy himself reading, writing, talking, listening to music, and just hanging out with his friends and family pretty much wherever he is. So he’s not all that much about social reform or all that edgy about how screwed up life is these days (meaning any days). Kirk’s objection to the techno-multiuniversity is that it’s BORING, and he wrote that what was really wrong with those SIXTIES pseudo-revolutionary children of the privileged is they were bored. Our BOURGEOIS BOHEMIANS could learn a lot from Kirk about the so-called art of life. (Having said that, I want avoid the wrath of Carl by adding I wouldn’t have gone to Kirk for political advice.)