Buckley Passes the National Review Torch

Many Americans believe that Ronald Reagan was Mr. Conservative, but he was a late-comer to an intellectual revolution in America that was begun almost single-handedly by William F. Buckley, Jr. Mr. Buckley's National Review was the house organ of the intellectual right during the days of Rockefeller Republicanism, and fifty years on, the grand old man has decided it is time to move over and let younger hands hold the wheel.

His intention in the old days was to stand "athwart history, yelling 'Stop,' at a time when no one is inclined to do so, or to have much patience with those who urge it." At the time, it seemed like one may as well rail against the tides. And yet, the conservative movement flourished in large part because of him and his work.

He may have yelled "stop," but age ignored him as it ignores everyone. Rather than die in harness, he has opted to turn things over to contributor Austin Bramwell, a Yalie from the class of 2000. And very little will change (how frightfully conservative). However, there is an ugly secret -- the National Review has never made a profit. It is kept afloat by voluntary contributions from donors who take up the slack. This charming quirk may not survive Mr. Buckley's departure.

However, it is easier to build a movement up in reaction to something than it is to keep it in power as reality slips through the ideological cracks. American conservatism comes in three flavors: bible-thumping moralism, anti-government libertarian and Wall Street socialist (welfare for the Fortune 500 only). These have stayed together long enough to begin disliking one another, not least over Iraq and the current deficit. And indeed, Mr. Buckley debated Mr. Reagan over the Panama Canal Treaty, proving that in the glory days, there were divisions in the ranks of the right. Whether a split is inevitable is unclear, but the odds are improving daily.

Mr. Buckley has been wrong about most things, but he has never been stupid about them. And in those areas where he has been right (like the Panama Canal Treaty), he has done the nation and the world a huge service. His career as a publisher has proved again that ideas can change the world, which may be the least conservative idea of them all.


© Copyright 2004 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.


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