Russell Kirk
Also known as Russell Amos Kirk
American conservative thinker and author (1918 to 1994); wrote The Conservative Mind.
At a glance
Main ideas
Six canons of conservatism, Christian humanism, Beyond economics
See all 3Criticism
Midge Decter, Drew Maciag
See all 2Books to start with
The Conservative Mind, Old House of Fear, Eliot and His Age …
See all 4Connections
The Conservative Mind and The Unsettling of America
See all 2
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Kirk was a political philosopher, historian and critic whose 1953 book The Conservative Mind traced Anglo-American conservatism from Edmund Burke and helped shape the postwar conservative movement.
- After it appeared he left Michigan State and worked as an independent writer from Mecosta, Michigan.
- He helped found National Review and Modern Age, and was also a noted author of ghost stories.
- He grounded his conservatism in tradition, religion and letters rather than economics.
Why it matters
- He gave postwar American conservatism an intellectual lineage and remains the leading figure of traditionalist conservatism.
Key facts
- Born
- 19 Oct 1918, Plymouth, Michigan1
- Died
- 29 Apr 1994, at his home in Mecosta, Michigan, of heart failure, aged 751
- Education
- BA, Michigan State; MA, Duke; Doctor of Letters, University of St Andrews (1953), its first American recipient1
- Journals
- Helped found National Review (1955) and Modern Age (1957), editing it from 1957 to 1959; founded the University Bookman in 19601
- Output
- Over 30 books and nearly 3,000 newspaper columns1
- Honour
- Presidential Citizens Medal (1989)1
Main ideas
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Six canons of conservatism1
Transcendent order, variety and mystery, natural distinctions, property and freedom, custom and prescription, and prudent change.
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Christian humanism1
Scholars place him alongside T. S. Eliot and Christopher Dawson.
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Beyond economics2
Conservatism rooted in tradition, religion and letters rather than free-market reasoning.
Criticism
Books to start with
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Connections
Links
Sources
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