Varieties of American Conservatism
Discover the intellectual roots of modern conservatism.
When Charles Krauthammer left medicine for politics in the late 1970s, he was a Jimmy Carter-supporting liberal. When he wrote his last column for The Washington Post in 2018, he had become America’s most prominent conservative voice. But Krauthammer’s conservatism was as unique as his biography—and revealing of the intellectual and political currents of the latter half of the American century. Krauthammer was not only an influential columnist and essayist. He was emblematic of his times.
In this weekend seminar, students will reflect on Charles Krauthammer’s seminal writing, distinguished career, and his life dedicated to the things that matter.
Matthew Continetti on Charles Krauthammer's work
This seminar will take place in Washington, DC. Travel, housing, meals, and course materials are provided by the Hertog Foundation.
Faculty
Matthew Continetti
Matthew Continetti is the director of domestic policy studies and the inaugural Patrick and Charlene Neal Chair in American Prosperity at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where his work is focused on American political thought and history, with a particular focus on the development of the Republican Party and the American conservative movement in the 20th century.
Matthew Continetti
Matthew Continetti is the director of domestic policy studies and the inaugural Patrick and Charlene Neal Chair in American Prosperity at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where his work is focused on American political thought and history, with a particular focus on the development of the Republican Party and the American conservative movement in the 20th century.
A prominent journalist, analyst, author, and intellectual historian of the right, Mr. Continetti was the founding editor and the editor in chief of The Washington Free Beacon. Previously, he was opinion editor at The Weekly Standard.
Mr. Continetti is the author of three books, including, most recently, The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism (Basic Books, 2022).
He has a B.A. in history from Columbia University.
Download the Full Syllabus
Preview the Syllabus by Week/Session
Friday
Group Dinner & Screening
Saturday
Session I: The Man
Readings:
- Introduction to Cutting Edges
- Introduction to Things That Matter, pp. 1–15
- John Stuart Mill, selections from The Libertarian Reader, ed. David Boaz
- Isaiah Berlin, “Two Concepts of Liberty,” Four Essays on Liberty, Excerpts
- “Thank You, Isaiah Berlin,” The Point of It All, pp. 15–17
- “Three Pages of Sage Advice,” The Point of It All, pp. 125–31
- “Reveries of a Newborn Father,” The Point of It All, pp. 3–5
- “Marcel, My Brother,” Things That Matter, pp. 19–21
- “Krauthammer’s First Law,” Things That Matter, pp. 67–69
- “Judging Israel,” Things That Matter, pp. 251–57
Recommended:
- Isaiah Berlin, “John Stuart Mill and the Ends of Life,” S. Mill: On Liberty in Focus, eds. John Gray and G.W. Smith
- Jorge Luis Borges, “The Library of Babel,” Labyrinths, trans. James E. Kirby
Discussion Questions:
- Describe the influences on Krauthammer’s thinking. What events and experiences were important in shaping his sensibility and point of view?
- What ideas from Mill and Berlin were most important to Krauthammer?
- What is the “central paradox” of Berlin’s pluralism, according to Krauthammer? Does Krauthammer resolve the paradox in his own thinking?
Group Lunch & Guest Speaker
George F. Will
George F. Will writes a twice-weekly column on politics and domestic and foreign affairs. He began his column with The Washington Post in 1974, and he received the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1977. He is also a regular contributor to MSNBC and NBC News. His books include: One Man’s America: The Pleasures and Provocations of Our Singular Nation, Restoration: Congress, Term Limits and the Recovery of Deliberative Democracy, Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball, The New Season: A Spectator’s Guide to the 1988 Election, and Statecraft as Soulcraft. He grew up in Champaign, Illinois, attended Trinity College and Oxford University, and received a Ph.D. from Princeton University.
Readings:
Session II: His Politics
Readings:
- “Chapter 7: Citizen and State,” Things That Matter, pp. 133–49
- “Chapter 15: On Liberty,” The Point of It All, pp. 259–76
- “The Mirror-Image Fallacy,” Things That Matter, pp. 93–97
- “On Moral Equivalence,” Cutting Edges
- “Apocalypse: The End of the World,” Cutting Edges
- “When Liberty Really Means Neglect,” Time, December 2, 1985
- “Jones Beach and the Decline of Liberalism,” Time, September 3, 1994
- “A Social Conservative Credo,” The Public Interest, Fall 1995
- “A Critique of Pure Newt,” The Weekly Standard, September 17, 1995
Discussion Questions:
- How do Americans see the world, according to Krauthammer? What errors are they susceptible to? What, if anything, mitigates those errors?
- Describe Krauthammer’s politics. How did his views change over his career? What continuities do you find?
- Was Krauthammer a conservative? If so, what kind of conservative was he?
Group Dinner
Sunday
Group Breakfast
Session III: His World
Readings:
- “Chapter 16: Three Essays on America and the World,” Things That Matter, pp. 321–65
- “The Unipolar Moment Revisited,” The National Interest, Winter 2002/2003
- “Chapter 16: Reluctant Colossus,” The Point of It All, pp. 279–92
- “Chapter 17: The End of ‘The End of History,’” The Point of It All, pp. 293–313
Recommended:
- Francis Fukuyama, “The Neoconservative Moment,” The National Interest, Summer 2004
- “In Defense of Democratic Realism,” The National Interest, Fall 2004
Discussion Questions:
- What was the situation of the United States, post-Cold War, according to Krauthammer? What does it mean to say we live in a “unipolar world”? In the age of a rising China and resurgent Russia, is this still true?
- What is “democratic realism”? How does it improve upon the other three schools of American foreign policy? According to democratic realism, what justifies American intervention?
Group Lunch & Guest Speaker
Daniel Krauthammer
Daniel Krauthammer is an independent writer and consultant based in San Francisco and Washington, DC. Daniel’s primary professional background is in economic consulting and analysis. He has worked in government and NGOs, where he focused on economic policymaking, and in recent years pursued projects and start-up ventures in the entertainment and technology sectors. He is the editor of The Point of It All: A Lifetime of Great Loves and Endeavors. Daniel spent the past year — that last year of his father’s life — close by his father’s side in the hospital, where together they worked toward the completion of that book.
