The Reactionary Mind

Tracing conservatism back to its roots in the reaction against the French Revolution, Corey Robin argues that the right is fundamentally inspired by a hostility to emancipating the lower orders. Written by a keen, highly regarded observer of the contemporary political scene, The Reactionary Mind advances the notion that all rightwing ideologies, from the eighteenth century through today, are historical improvisations on a theme: the felt experience of having power, seeing it threatened, and trying to win it back.