Tag: Intellectuals

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Books

Other People’s Nerve

– “Other People's Nerve” (as William Ferry), Enquiry, May 1943.
Excerpt: The January-February and March-April issues of  Partisan Review have featured a discussion of the “New Failure of Nerve.”  It has been interesting, provocative… More

Flying off the Broomstick

– "Flying off the Broomstick," Commentary, April 1951. (A review of Witch Hunt: The Revival of Heresy by Carey McWilliams.)
Excerpt: Perhaps the most important premise is that which sets up a fundamental distinction between the sacred and the profane—the East and the West. The former is beyond human… More

“Civil Liberties,” 1952 – A Study in Confusion

– "'Civil Liberties,' 1952 – A Study in Confusion," Commentary, March 1952.
Excerpt: Is it conceivable that the line was incorrectly drawn in the first place? The liberals are loath to weigh the possibility lest it give comfort to the enemy; Senator McCarthy for… More

Ordeal by Mendacity

– “Ordeal by Mendacity,” Twentieth Century, October 1952. (A review of Ordeal by Slander by Owen Lattimore.)

Koestler: One Who Survived

– “Koestler: One Who Survived,” The New Leader, October 6, 1952. (A review of Arrow in the Blue by Arthur Koestler.)

Table Talk

– “Table Talk,” Encounter, October 1955.

Trivia and History

– "Trivia and History," Commentary, December 1956. (A review of The Crucial Decade: America 1945-1955 by Eric F. Goldman.)
Excerpt: Oddly enough, Professor Goldman’s intentions are serious, not to say honorable. He has a thesis: the “crucial decade” witnessed the culmination of a “Half-Century of… More

Class and Sociology: “The Shadow of Marxism”

– "Class and Sociology: 'The Shadow of Marxism'," Commentary, October 1957. (A review of The American Class Structure by Joseph A. Kahl and Social Stratification: A Comparative Analysis of Structure and Process by Bernard Barber.)
Excerpt: Twentieth-Century America is perhaps the most egalitarian society the civilized world has ever seen, yet nowhere has there been so much solemn brooding over “class” as in this… More

A Cool Sociological Eye

– “A Cool Sociological Eye,” Reporter, February 4, 1960.  (A review of Political Man: The Social Basis of Politics by Seymour Martin Lipset.)

Learning to Live with the N.S. & N.

– “Learning to Live with the N.S. & N.,” Encounter, August 1963.  (A review of New Statesmanship by Edward Hyams and The New Statesman by Edward Hyams.)

The Troublesome Intellectuals

– "The Troublesome Intellectuals," The Public Interest, Winter 1966.
Excerpt: The American intellectual has not yet been favored with tax loopholes, nor has he been supplied with his own official depreciation schedule; but in every other respect he is now… More

American Intellectuals and Foreign Policy

– “American Intellectuals and Foreign Policy,” Foreign Affairs, July 1967.
Excerpt: An intellectual may be defined as a man who speaks with general authority about a subject on which he has no particular competence. This definition sounds ironic, but is not. The… More

The New York Intellectuals: An Exchange

– “The New York Intellectuals: An Exchange” (with Irving Howe), Commentary, January 1969.
Excerpt: Behind Mr. Howe’s perspective there lies an unexamined premise: that there is something unnatural in an intellectual being anything but politically radical, a man of the… More

Who Knows New York?—and Other Notes on a Mixed-Up City

– "Who Knows New York?—and Other Notes on a Mixed-Up City" (with Paul Weaver), The Public Interest, Summer 1969.
Excerpt: TOMAS WOLFE once entitled a memorable short story, “Only the Dead Know Brooklyn.” Who knows New York? Not very many among the living, it would seem. New York is not different… More

On the Democratic Idea in America

– New York: Harper, 1972.
1. Urban Civilization and its Discontents 2. The Shaking of the Foundations 3. Pornography, Obscenity, and the Case for Censorship 4. American Historians and the Democratic Idea 5. American… More

About Equality

– "About Equality," Commentary, November 1972.
Excerpt: So this, it appears to me, is what the controversy “about equality” is really about. We have an intelligentsia which so despises the ethos of bourgeois society, and which is so… More

Equality and Justice

– "Equality and Justice" (A reply to letters), Commentary, February 1973.
Excerpt: I still do believe that any society has to be governed by a principle of justice which legitimates particular inequalities, and that our own society is having trouble finding such… More

Professors, Politicians and Public Policy

– Professors, Politicians and Public Policy: A Round Table Held on July 29, 1977 (AEI Forum No. 10), ed. John Charles Daly (Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute, 1977).

Two Cheers for Capitalism

– New York: Basic Books, March 1978.
PART ONE: The Enemy of Being is Having 1. Corporate Capitalism in America 2. Business and the “New Class” 3. Frustrations of Affluence 4. Ideology and Food 5. The… More

Irving Kristol, Standard-Bearer

– Peter Steinfels, "Irving Kristol, Standard-Bearer," a chapter in The Neoconservatives: The Men Who Are Changing America's Politics (New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 1979).

William Baroody, Sr., Recipient of the 1980 Boyer Award

– “William Baroody, Sr., Recipient of the 1980 Boyer Award” (Remarks for a symposium), December 11, 1980.
Excerpt: It is a truth generally acknowledged that, the older one is, the less the likelihood of acquiring good and close friends. I count myself fortunate in having experienced some… More

Reflections of a Neoconservative

– “Reflections of a Neoconservative,” Partisan Review, no. 4, 1984.
Excerpt: Even to raise that question, of course, is to define oneself as some kind of conservative, if only an incipient kind of conservative. Just what “conservative” means,… More

The Changing World of New York Intellectuals

– "The Changing World of New York Intellectuals" (A letter to the editor), New York Times, September 29, 1985.
Excerpt: In his article on New York’s intellectuals, James Atlas quotes me as saying that it was a tradition among New York intellectuals to marry money. Obviously, Mr. Atlas misheard… More

Ideas Shape Every Generation

– “Ideas Shape Every Generation,” in American Business and the Quest for Freedom (Washington, D. C.: Ethics and Public Policy, February 86).

New York Intellectuals

– “New York Intellectuals,” Washington Times, April 7, 1986. (A review of Prodigal Sons: The New York Intellectuals and Their World by Alexander Bloom.)

Why I Left

– "Why I Left," The New Republic, April 11, 1988.
Excerpt: But there is one area in which Washington is an intellectual center, and that is public policy: economic policy, social policy, foreign policy, today even educational policy. This… More

This Is the Place to Be

– “This Is the Place to Be” (Interview with Ken Adelman), Washingtonian, July 1989.

The Capitalist Future

– “The Capitalist Future,” Francis Boyer Lecture at the American Enterprise Institute, December 4, 1991.
Excerpt: This cultural nihilism will have, in the short term, only a limited political effect—short of a massive, enduring economic crisis. The reason it will not happen—this is still… More

Countercultures

– "Countercultures," Commentary, December 1994.
Excerpt: Countercultures are dangerous phenomena even as they are inevitable. Their destructive power always far exceeds their constructive power. The delicate task that faces our… More

Toasts and Remarks Delivered at a Dinner in Honor of Irving Kristol on His Seventy-fifth Birthday

– Christopher DeMuth, George Will, Walter Berns, Midge Decter, Charles Krauthammer, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and William Kristol, "Toasts and Remarks Delivered at a Dinner in Honor of Irving Kristol on His Seventy-fifth Birthday," The American Enterprise Institute, January 21, 1995.
Excerpt: If what is called neoconservatism is by now an institution of sorts, it truly is what Emerson said institutions are–the lengthening shadow of a man. And the man is Irving… More

Irving Kristol in London

– Sir Peregrine Worsthorne, "Irving Kristol in London," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

The Australian Connection

– Owen Harries, "The Australian Connection," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

A Letter from Paris

– H. J. Kaplan, "A Letter from Paris," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

The Common Man’s Uncommon Intellectual

– Michael S. Joyce, "The Common Man's Uncommon Intellectual," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

Culture and Kristol

– Robert H. Bork, "Culture and Kristol," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

Reflections of a Neoconservative Disciple

– Mark Gerson, "Reflections of a Neoconservative Disciple," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

Magazines & American Politics

– "Magazines & American Politics" (A symposium of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University), February 27, 1995.

Neoconservatism: The Autobiography of an Idea

– New York: Free Press, 1995.
SECTION I 1. An Autobiographical Memoir   SECTION II: RACE, SEX, AND FAMILY 2. Welfare: The Best of Intentions, the Worst of Results 3. The Tragedy of “Multiculturalism” 4.… More

Booknotes

– "Booknotes" (An interview with Brian Lamb), September 5, 1995.

An Autobiographical Memoir

– “An Autobiographical Memoir” from Neoconservatism: The Autobiography of an Idea, (New York, NY: The Free Press, 1995).
Excerpt: Is there such a thing as a “neo” gene? I ask that question because, looking back over a lifetime of my opinions, I am struck by the fact that they all quality as “neo.” I… More

Arguing the World

– "Arguing the World" (A documentary), written and directed by Joseph Dorman, January 7, 1998.

Kristol Clear

– Bruce Bartlett, "Kristol Clear," National Review Online, June 26, 2002.
Excerpt: This critical foundation, which Kristol put together in the 1970s, all came together with the Reagan campaign in 1980. The people and the policies Kristol had nurtured for a decade… More

Forty Good Years

– "Forty Good Years," The Public Interest, Spring 2005.
Excerpt: Yet The Public Interest, it should be said, transcended any political ideology, or even any political “disposition.” Inevitably, to be sure, my own political identity… More

Our Own Cool Hand Luke

– Charles Krauthammer, "Our Own Cool Hand Luke," The Washington Post, April 29, 2005.
Excerpt: Kristol’s influence and intellect and importance to the political history of our time are well known. The most remarkable and least known thing about him, however, is his… More

Irving Kristol, 1920-2009

– John Podhoretz, "Irving Kristol, 1920-2009," Contentions blog, Commentary, September 18, 2009.
Excerpt: Just an example of Irving’s approach: In 1979, as a first-year student at the University of Chicago, I started a magazine called Midway (later Counterpoint) with my friend Tod… More

Farewell to the Godfather

– Christopher Hitchens, "Farewell to the Godfather," Slate, September 20, 2009.
Excerpt: The neoconservative faction, or should we say movement, is generally secular and often associated with the name of Leo Strauss. Kristol was one of those who never minded saying… More

Three Cheers for Irving by David Brooks

– David Brooks, "Three Cheers for Irving," The New York Times, September 21, 2009.
Excerpt: Kristol championed capitalism and wrote brilliantly about Adam Smith. But like Smith, he could only give two cheers for capitalism, because the system of creative destruction has… More

Irving Kristol: The “Universal Resource”

– Tevi Troy, "Irving Kristol: The 'Universal Resource'," The Corner blog, National Review, September 21, 2009.
Excerpt: Goldwin was not the only White House staffer enamored of Kristol. Then–deputy chief of staff Dick Cheney was a fan as well, and he wrote in a memo to Goldwin, “I greatly… More

Irving Kristol’s Gone–We’ll Miss His Clear Vision

– Irwin Stelzer, "Irving Kristol's Gone–We'll Miss His Clear Vision," Daily Telegraph, September 22, 2009.
Excerpt: Irving is best known as the godfather of neoconservatism, although his persuasive tools were not those of Tony Soprano or Marlon Brando’s Godfather-figures, but contained in… More

The Practical Liberal by Christopher DeMuth

– Christopher DeMuth, "The Practical Liberal," The American, September 22, 2009.
Excerpt: Irving was, from start to finish, a proponent of vigorous government within its proper sphere. He never passed up a chance to enter a dissent, serious or wisecracking, against… More

Irving Kristol

– "Irving Kristol," The Economist, September 24, 2009.
Excerpt: Conservatism, Kristol-style, acquired a “neo”. He was always, he mused, a neo-something: neoMarxist, neoliberal, neo-Orthodox (because he believed, though he wasn’t sure… More

My Irving Kristol and Ours by Mary Eberstadt

– Mary Eberstadt, "My Irving Kristol and Ours," The Weekly Standard, October 5, 2009.
Excerpt: “More than anyone alive, perhaps, Irving Kristol can take the credit for reversing the direction of American political culture.” These words taken from the Nation a few… More

A Genius of Temperament

– Joseph Epstein, "A Genius of Temperament," The Weekly Standard, October 5, 2009.
Excerpt: As the last of the New York intellectuals depart the planet, it becomes apparent that Irving Kristol, who published less than most of them, had a wider and deeper influence on his… More

For the Record

– Daniel Bell and Nathan Glazer, "For the Record" (Letters to he editor), The Economist, October 8, 2009.
Excerpt: Daniel Bell, Seymour Martin Lipset and I were not part of Kristol’s project to transform American conservatism. I, his co-editor for many years, consistently supported the… More

The Equilibrist

– Wilfred M. McClay, "The Equilibrist," National Review, October 19, 2009.
Excerpt: LUNCH with Irving Kristol was an experience to remember. I had the pleasure only three times, always in the excellent dining room atop the American Enterprise Institute, but I… More

The Interested Man

– Nathan Glazer, "The Interested Man," The New Republic, November 4, 2009.
Excerpt: I think back to these early days because it seems to me that Irving was all of a piece, almost from the beginning. No comment on his passing has failed to mention the young… More

The Problem of Doing Good: Irving Kristol’s Philanthropy

– William Schambra, Rachel Wildavsky, Leslie Lenkowsky, James Piereson, Roger Hertog, Amy Kass, Kim Dennis, Chester E. Finn Jr., Hillel Fradkin, and Adam Meyerson, "The Problem of Doing Good: Irving Kristol’s Philanthropy" (A panel discussion with four additional essays), December 15, 2009.

The Moral Realism of Irving Kristol by Eric Cohen

– Eric Cohen, "The Moral Realism of Irving Kristol," National Affairs, Winter 2010.
Excerpt: Neoconservatism was, as Kristol always described it, merely a “­persuasion” that tried to “imagine the world as it might be,” but also to “live and… More

Beyond Ideology

– James Q. Wilson, "Beyond Ideology," Wall Street Journal, January 21, 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: The essays in “The Neoconservative Persuasion”—all but one never before brought together in a book—are a remarkable introduction to one of the few people who… More

Irving Kristol’s Brute Reason

– Paul Berman, "Irving Kristol's Brute Reason," New York Times Book Review, January 30, 2011.
Excerpt: And, in this new spirit, he plunged into his magnum opus, which, instead of a book, was the constructing of something called “neoconservatism.” This was intended to be a new… More

Irving Kristol’s Neoconservative Persuasion

– Gertrude Himmelfarb, "Irving Kristol's Neoconservative Persuasion," Commentary, February 2011.
Excerpt: Much has been made of the consistency of tone in his writings—bold and speculative but never dogmatic or academic, always personal, witty, ironic. That tone is not only a matter… More

The Neoconservative Persuasion

– Amy Kass, Charles Krauthammer, Irwin Stelzer, Leon Kass, and William Kristol, "The Neoconservative Persuasion" (A panel discussion), February 2, 2011.

The Flexible Temperament

– James Piereson, "The Flexible Temperament," The New Criterion, March 2010. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: Kristol’s intellectual contribution was to bring these fundamental ideas into contemporary debates about politics and public policy through his writings in outlets like the Wall… More

Ideas Rule the World

– Franklin Foer, "Ideas Rule the World," The New Republic, March 17, 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: We are still living in the world of total ideological combat that Irving Kristol created (or re-created, since it was also the world into which he was born) in the course of… More

A Legacy of Temperament

– Roger Kimball, "A Legacy of Temperament," National Review, June 6, 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: An honest man, said the poet William Blake, may change his opinions, but not his principles. Irving Kristol, who died in September 2009 just shy of 90, embarked on intellectual… More

The Enduring Irving Kristol

– Wilfred M. McClay, "The Enduring Irving Kristol," First Things, August/September 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: In any event, one must remember that it was in the shadow of events eerily similar in many ways to those of our own times that neoconservatism took shape, both in Irving… More

The Brooklyn Burkeans

– Jonathan Bronitsky, "The Brooklyn Burkeans," National Affairs, Winter 2014.
Excerpt: By the time Kristol and Himmelfarb moved back home to New York in 1958, they were entrenched in the classical-liberal tradition and, therefore, primed to react negatively to the… More

The Public Interest at 50

– Adam Keiper, National Affairs, Fall 2015.
Excerpt: Before long, of course, The Public Interest would bring together policy, philosophy, morality, social science, and political economy as had never been done before. Kristol, Bell,… More

Essays

Other People’s Nerve

– “Other People's Nerve” (as William Ferry), Enquiry, May 1943.
Excerpt: The January-February and March-April issues of  Partisan Review have featured a discussion of the “New Failure of Nerve.”  It has been interesting, provocative… More

Flying off the Broomstick

– "Flying off the Broomstick," Commentary, April 1951. (A review of Witch Hunt: The Revival of Heresy by Carey McWilliams.)
Excerpt: Perhaps the most important premise is that which sets up a fundamental distinction between the sacred and the profane—the East and the West. The former is beyond human… More

“Civil Liberties,” 1952 – A Study in Confusion

– "'Civil Liberties,' 1952 – A Study in Confusion," Commentary, March 1952.
Excerpt: Is it conceivable that the line was incorrectly drawn in the first place? The liberals are loath to weigh the possibility lest it give comfort to the enemy; Senator McCarthy for… More

Ordeal by Mendacity

– “Ordeal by Mendacity,” Twentieth Century, October 1952. (A review of Ordeal by Slander by Owen Lattimore.)

Koestler: One Who Survived

– “Koestler: One Who Survived,” The New Leader, October 6, 1952. (A review of Arrow in the Blue by Arthur Koestler.)

Table Talk

– “Table Talk,” Encounter, October 1955.

Trivia and History

– "Trivia and History," Commentary, December 1956. (A review of The Crucial Decade: America 1945-1955 by Eric F. Goldman.)
Excerpt: Oddly enough, Professor Goldman’s intentions are serious, not to say honorable. He has a thesis: the “crucial decade” witnessed the culmination of a “Half-Century of… More

Class and Sociology: “The Shadow of Marxism”

– "Class and Sociology: 'The Shadow of Marxism'," Commentary, October 1957. (A review of The American Class Structure by Joseph A. Kahl and Social Stratification: A Comparative Analysis of Structure and Process by Bernard Barber.)
Excerpt: Twentieth-Century America is perhaps the most egalitarian society the civilized world has ever seen, yet nowhere has there been so much solemn brooding over “class” as in this… More

A Cool Sociological Eye

– “A Cool Sociological Eye,” Reporter, February 4, 1960.  (A review of Political Man: The Social Basis of Politics by Seymour Martin Lipset.)

Learning to Live with the N.S. & N.

– “Learning to Live with the N.S. & N.,” Encounter, August 1963.  (A review of New Statesmanship by Edward Hyams and The New Statesman by Edward Hyams.)

The Troublesome Intellectuals

– "The Troublesome Intellectuals," The Public Interest, Winter 1966.
Excerpt: The American intellectual has not yet been favored with tax loopholes, nor has he been supplied with his own official depreciation schedule; but in every other respect he is now… More

American Intellectuals and Foreign Policy

– “American Intellectuals and Foreign Policy,” Foreign Affairs, July 1967.
Excerpt: An intellectual may be defined as a man who speaks with general authority about a subject on which he has no particular competence. This definition sounds ironic, but is not. The… More

The New York Intellectuals: An Exchange

– “The New York Intellectuals: An Exchange” (with Irving Howe), Commentary, January 1969.
Excerpt: Behind Mr. Howe’s perspective there lies an unexamined premise: that there is something unnatural in an intellectual being anything but politically radical, a man of the… More

Who Knows New York?—and Other Notes on a Mixed-Up City

– "Who Knows New York?—and Other Notes on a Mixed-Up City" (with Paul Weaver), The Public Interest, Summer 1969.
Excerpt: TOMAS WOLFE once entitled a memorable short story, “Only the Dead Know Brooklyn.” Who knows New York? Not very many among the living, it would seem. New York is not different… More

On the Democratic Idea in America

– New York: Harper, 1972.
1. Urban Civilization and its Discontents 2. The Shaking of the Foundations 3. Pornography, Obscenity, and the Case for Censorship 4. American Historians and the Democratic Idea 5. American… More

About Equality

– "About Equality," Commentary, November 1972.
Excerpt: So this, it appears to me, is what the controversy “about equality” is really about. We have an intelligentsia which so despises the ethos of bourgeois society, and which is so… More

Equality and Justice

– "Equality and Justice" (A reply to letters), Commentary, February 1973.
Excerpt: I still do believe that any society has to be governed by a principle of justice which legitimates particular inequalities, and that our own society is having trouble finding such… More

Professors, Politicians and Public Policy

– Professors, Politicians and Public Policy: A Round Table Held on July 29, 1977 (AEI Forum No. 10), ed. John Charles Daly (Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute, 1977).

Two Cheers for Capitalism

– New York: Basic Books, March 1978.
PART ONE: The Enemy of Being is Having 1. Corporate Capitalism in America 2. Business and the “New Class” 3. Frustrations of Affluence 4. Ideology and Food 5. The… More

Irving Kristol, Standard-Bearer

– Peter Steinfels, "Irving Kristol, Standard-Bearer," a chapter in The Neoconservatives: The Men Who Are Changing America's Politics (New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 1979).

William Baroody, Sr., Recipient of the 1980 Boyer Award

– “William Baroody, Sr., Recipient of the 1980 Boyer Award” (Remarks for a symposium), December 11, 1980.
Excerpt: It is a truth generally acknowledged that, the older one is, the less the likelihood of acquiring good and close friends. I count myself fortunate in having experienced some… More

Reflections of a Neoconservative

– “Reflections of a Neoconservative,” Partisan Review, no. 4, 1984.
Excerpt: Even to raise that question, of course, is to define oneself as some kind of conservative, if only an incipient kind of conservative. Just what “conservative” means,… More

The Changing World of New York Intellectuals

– "The Changing World of New York Intellectuals" (A letter to the editor), New York Times, September 29, 1985.
Excerpt: In his article on New York’s intellectuals, James Atlas quotes me as saying that it was a tradition among New York intellectuals to marry money. Obviously, Mr. Atlas misheard… More

Ideas Shape Every Generation

– “Ideas Shape Every Generation,” in American Business and the Quest for Freedom (Washington, D. C.: Ethics and Public Policy, February 86).

New York Intellectuals

– “New York Intellectuals,” Washington Times, April 7, 1986. (A review of Prodigal Sons: The New York Intellectuals and Their World by Alexander Bloom.)

Why I Left

– "Why I Left," The New Republic, April 11, 1988.
Excerpt: But there is one area in which Washington is an intellectual center, and that is public policy: economic policy, social policy, foreign policy, today even educational policy. This… More

This Is the Place to Be

– “This Is the Place to Be” (Interview with Ken Adelman), Washingtonian, July 1989.

The Capitalist Future

– “The Capitalist Future,” Francis Boyer Lecture at the American Enterprise Institute, December 4, 1991.
Excerpt: This cultural nihilism will have, in the short term, only a limited political effect—short of a massive, enduring economic crisis. The reason it will not happen—this is still… More

Countercultures

– "Countercultures," Commentary, December 1994.
Excerpt: Countercultures are dangerous phenomena even as they are inevitable. Their destructive power always far exceeds their constructive power. The delicate task that faces our… More

Toasts and Remarks Delivered at a Dinner in Honor of Irving Kristol on His Seventy-fifth Birthday

– Christopher DeMuth, George Will, Walter Berns, Midge Decter, Charles Krauthammer, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and William Kristol, "Toasts and Remarks Delivered at a Dinner in Honor of Irving Kristol on His Seventy-fifth Birthday," The American Enterprise Institute, January 21, 1995.
Excerpt: If what is called neoconservatism is by now an institution of sorts, it truly is what Emerson said institutions are–the lengthening shadow of a man. And the man is Irving… More

Irving Kristol in London

– Sir Peregrine Worsthorne, "Irving Kristol in London," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

The Australian Connection

– Owen Harries, "The Australian Connection," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

A Letter from Paris

– H. J. Kaplan, "A Letter from Paris," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

The Common Man’s Uncommon Intellectual

– Michael S. Joyce, "The Common Man's Uncommon Intellectual," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

Culture and Kristol

– Robert H. Bork, "Culture and Kristol," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

Reflections of a Neoconservative Disciple

– Mark Gerson, "Reflections of a Neoconservative Disciple," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

Magazines & American Politics

– "Magazines & American Politics" (A symposium of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University), February 27, 1995.

Neoconservatism: The Autobiography of an Idea

– New York: Free Press, 1995.
SECTION I 1. An Autobiographical Memoir   SECTION II: RACE, SEX, AND FAMILY 2. Welfare: The Best of Intentions, the Worst of Results 3. The Tragedy of “Multiculturalism” 4.… More

Booknotes

– "Booknotes" (An interview with Brian Lamb), September 5, 1995.

An Autobiographical Memoir

– “An Autobiographical Memoir” from Neoconservatism: The Autobiography of an Idea, (New York, NY: The Free Press, 1995).
Excerpt: Is there such a thing as a “neo” gene? I ask that question because, looking back over a lifetime of my opinions, I am struck by the fact that they all quality as “neo.” I… More

Arguing the World

– "Arguing the World" (A documentary), written and directed by Joseph Dorman, January 7, 1998.

Kristol Clear

– Bruce Bartlett, "Kristol Clear," National Review Online, June 26, 2002.
Excerpt: This critical foundation, which Kristol put together in the 1970s, all came together with the Reagan campaign in 1980. The people and the policies Kristol had nurtured for a decade… More

Forty Good Years

– "Forty Good Years," The Public Interest, Spring 2005.
Excerpt: Yet The Public Interest, it should be said, transcended any political ideology, or even any political “disposition.” Inevitably, to be sure, my own political identity… More

Our Own Cool Hand Luke

– Charles Krauthammer, "Our Own Cool Hand Luke," The Washington Post, April 29, 2005.
Excerpt: Kristol’s influence and intellect and importance to the political history of our time are well known. The most remarkable and least known thing about him, however, is his… More

Irving Kristol, 1920-2009

– John Podhoretz, "Irving Kristol, 1920-2009," Contentions blog, Commentary, September 18, 2009.
Excerpt: Just an example of Irving’s approach: In 1979, as a first-year student at the University of Chicago, I started a magazine called Midway (later Counterpoint) with my friend Tod… More

Farewell to the Godfather

– Christopher Hitchens, "Farewell to the Godfather," Slate, September 20, 2009.
Excerpt: The neoconservative faction, or should we say movement, is generally secular and often associated with the name of Leo Strauss. Kristol was one of those who never minded saying… More

Three Cheers for Irving by David Brooks

– David Brooks, "Three Cheers for Irving," The New York Times, September 21, 2009.
Excerpt: Kristol championed capitalism and wrote brilliantly about Adam Smith. But like Smith, he could only give two cheers for capitalism, because the system of creative destruction has… More

Irving Kristol: The “Universal Resource”

– Tevi Troy, "Irving Kristol: The 'Universal Resource'," The Corner blog, National Review, September 21, 2009.
Excerpt: Goldwin was not the only White House staffer enamored of Kristol. Then–deputy chief of staff Dick Cheney was a fan as well, and he wrote in a memo to Goldwin, “I greatly… More

Irving Kristol’s Gone–We’ll Miss His Clear Vision

– Irwin Stelzer, "Irving Kristol's Gone–We'll Miss His Clear Vision," Daily Telegraph, September 22, 2009.
Excerpt: Irving is best known as the godfather of neoconservatism, although his persuasive tools were not those of Tony Soprano or Marlon Brando’s Godfather-figures, but contained in… More

The Practical Liberal by Christopher DeMuth

– Christopher DeMuth, "The Practical Liberal," The American, September 22, 2009.
Excerpt: Irving was, from start to finish, a proponent of vigorous government within its proper sphere. He never passed up a chance to enter a dissent, serious or wisecracking, against… More

Irving Kristol

– "Irving Kristol," The Economist, September 24, 2009.
Excerpt: Conservatism, Kristol-style, acquired a “neo”. He was always, he mused, a neo-something: neoMarxist, neoliberal, neo-Orthodox (because he believed, though he wasn’t sure… More

My Irving Kristol and Ours by Mary Eberstadt

– Mary Eberstadt, "My Irving Kristol and Ours," The Weekly Standard, October 5, 2009.
Excerpt: “More than anyone alive, perhaps, Irving Kristol can take the credit for reversing the direction of American political culture.” These words taken from the Nation a few… More

A Genius of Temperament

– Joseph Epstein, "A Genius of Temperament," The Weekly Standard, October 5, 2009.
Excerpt: As the last of the New York intellectuals depart the planet, it becomes apparent that Irving Kristol, who published less than most of them, had a wider and deeper influence on his… More

For the Record

– Daniel Bell and Nathan Glazer, "For the Record" (Letters to he editor), The Economist, October 8, 2009.
Excerpt: Daniel Bell, Seymour Martin Lipset and I were not part of Kristol’s project to transform American conservatism. I, his co-editor for many years, consistently supported the… More

The Equilibrist

– Wilfred M. McClay, "The Equilibrist," National Review, October 19, 2009.
Excerpt: LUNCH with Irving Kristol was an experience to remember. I had the pleasure only three times, always in the excellent dining room atop the American Enterprise Institute, but I… More

The Interested Man

– Nathan Glazer, "The Interested Man," The New Republic, November 4, 2009.
Excerpt: I think back to these early days because it seems to me that Irving was all of a piece, almost from the beginning. No comment on his passing has failed to mention the young… More

The Problem of Doing Good: Irving Kristol’s Philanthropy

– William Schambra, Rachel Wildavsky, Leslie Lenkowsky, James Piereson, Roger Hertog, Amy Kass, Kim Dennis, Chester E. Finn Jr., Hillel Fradkin, and Adam Meyerson, "The Problem of Doing Good: Irving Kristol’s Philanthropy" (A panel discussion with four additional essays), December 15, 2009.

The Moral Realism of Irving Kristol by Eric Cohen

– Eric Cohen, "The Moral Realism of Irving Kristol," National Affairs, Winter 2010.
Excerpt: Neoconservatism was, as Kristol always described it, merely a “­persuasion” that tried to “imagine the world as it might be,” but also to “live and… More

Beyond Ideology

– James Q. Wilson, "Beyond Ideology," Wall Street Journal, January 21, 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: The essays in “The Neoconservative Persuasion”—all but one never before brought together in a book—are a remarkable introduction to one of the few people who… More

Irving Kristol’s Brute Reason

– Paul Berman, "Irving Kristol's Brute Reason," New York Times Book Review, January 30, 2011.
Excerpt: And, in this new spirit, he plunged into his magnum opus, which, instead of a book, was the constructing of something called “neoconservatism.” This was intended to be a new… More

Irving Kristol’s Neoconservative Persuasion

– Gertrude Himmelfarb, "Irving Kristol's Neoconservative Persuasion," Commentary, February 2011.
Excerpt: Much has been made of the consistency of tone in his writings—bold and speculative but never dogmatic or academic, always personal, witty, ironic. That tone is not only a matter… More

The Neoconservative Persuasion

– Amy Kass, Charles Krauthammer, Irwin Stelzer, Leon Kass, and William Kristol, "The Neoconservative Persuasion" (A panel discussion), February 2, 2011.

The Flexible Temperament

– James Piereson, "The Flexible Temperament," The New Criterion, March 2010. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: Kristol’s intellectual contribution was to bring these fundamental ideas into contemporary debates about politics and public policy through his writings in outlets like the Wall… More

Ideas Rule the World

– Franklin Foer, "Ideas Rule the World," The New Republic, March 17, 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: We are still living in the world of total ideological combat that Irving Kristol created (or re-created, since it was also the world into which he was born) in the course of… More

A Legacy of Temperament

– Roger Kimball, "A Legacy of Temperament," National Review, June 6, 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: An honest man, said the poet William Blake, may change his opinions, but not his principles. Irving Kristol, who died in September 2009 just shy of 90, embarked on intellectual… More

The Enduring Irving Kristol

– Wilfred M. McClay, "The Enduring Irving Kristol," First Things, August/September 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: In any event, one must remember that it was in the shadow of events eerily similar in many ways to those of our own times that neoconservatism took shape, both in Irving… More

The Brooklyn Burkeans

– Jonathan Bronitsky, "The Brooklyn Burkeans," National Affairs, Winter 2014.
Excerpt: By the time Kristol and Himmelfarb moved back home to New York in 1958, they were entrenched in the classical-liberal tradition and, therefore, primed to react negatively to the… More

The Public Interest at 50

– Adam Keiper, National Affairs, Fall 2015.
Excerpt: Before long, of course, The Public Interest would bring together policy, philosophy, morality, social science, and political economy as had never been done before. Kristol, Bell,… More

Commentary

Other People’s Nerve

– “Other People's Nerve” (as William Ferry), Enquiry, May 1943.
Excerpt: The January-February and March-April issues of  Partisan Review have featured a discussion of the “New Failure of Nerve.”  It has been interesting, provocative… More

Flying off the Broomstick

– "Flying off the Broomstick," Commentary, April 1951. (A review of Witch Hunt: The Revival of Heresy by Carey McWilliams.)
Excerpt: Perhaps the most important premise is that which sets up a fundamental distinction between the sacred and the profane—the East and the West. The former is beyond human… More

“Civil Liberties,” 1952 – A Study in Confusion

– "'Civil Liberties,' 1952 – A Study in Confusion," Commentary, March 1952.
Excerpt: Is it conceivable that the line was incorrectly drawn in the first place? The liberals are loath to weigh the possibility lest it give comfort to the enemy; Senator McCarthy for… More

Ordeal by Mendacity

– “Ordeal by Mendacity,” Twentieth Century, October 1952. (A review of Ordeal by Slander by Owen Lattimore.)

Koestler: One Who Survived

– “Koestler: One Who Survived,” The New Leader, October 6, 1952. (A review of Arrow in the Blue by Arthur Koestler.)

Table Talk

– “Table Talk,” Encounter, October 1955.

Trivia and History

– "Trivia and History," Commentary, December 1956. (A review of The Crucial Decade: America 1945-1955 by Eric F. Goldman.)
Excerpt: Oddly enough, Professor Goldman’s intentions are serious, not to say honorable. He has a thesis: the “crucial decade” witnessed the culmination of a “Half-Century of… More

Class and Sociology: “The Shadow of Marxism”

– "Class and Sociology: 'The Shadow of Marxism'," Commentary, October 1957. (A review of The American Class Structure by Joseph A. Kahl and Social Stratification: A Comparative Analysis of Structure and Process by Bernard Barber.)
Excerpt: Twentieth-Century America is perhaps the most egalitarian society the civilized world has ever seen, yet nowhere has there been so much solemn brooding over “class” as in this… More

A Cool Sociological Eye

– “A Cool Sociological Eye,” Reporter, February 4, 1960.  (A review of Political Man: The Social Basis of Politics by Seymour Martin Lipset.)

Learning to Live with the N.S. & N.

– “Learning to Live with the N.S. & N.,” Encounter, August 1963.  (A review of New Statesmanship by Edward Hyams and The New Statesman by Edward Hyams.)

The Troublesome Intellectuals

– "The Troublesome Intellectuals," The Public Interest, Winter 1966.
Excerpt: The American intellectual has not yet been favored with tax loopholes, nor has he been supplied with his own official depreciation schedule; but in every other respect he is now… More

American Intellectuals and Foreign Policy

– “American Intellectuals and Foreign Policy,” Foreign Affairs, July 1967.
Excerpt: An intellectual may be defined as a man who speaks with general authority about a subject on which he has no particular competence. This definition sounds ironic, but is not. The… More

The New York Intellectuals: An Exchange

– “The New York Intellectuals: An Exchange” (with Irving Howe), Commentary, January 1969.
Excerpt: Behind Mr. Howe’s perspective there lies an unexamined premise: that there is something unnatural in an intellectual being anything but politically radical, a man of the… More

Who Knows New York?—and Other Notes on a Mixed-Up City

– "Who Knows New York?—and Other Notes on a Mixed-Up City" (with Paul Weaver), The Public Interest, Summer 1969.
Excerpt: TOMAS WOLFE once entitled a memorable short story, “Only the Dead Know Brooklyn.” Who knows New York? Not very many among the living, it would seem. New York is not different… More

On the Democratic Idea in America

– New York: Harper, 1972.
1. Urban Civilization and its Discontents 2. The Shaking of the Foundations 3. Pornography, Obscenity, and the Case for Censorship 4. American Historians and the Democratic Idea 5. American… More

About Equality

– "About Equality," Commentary, November 1972.
Excerpt: So this, it appears to me, is what the controversy “about equality” is really about. We have an intelligentsia which so despises the ethos of bourgeois society, and which is so… More

Equality and Justice

– "Equality and Justice" (A reply to letters), Commentary, February 1973.
Excerpt: I still do believe that any society has to be governed by a principle of justice which legitimates particular inequalities, and that our own society is having trouble finding such… More

Professors, Politicians and Public Policy

– Professors, Politicians and Public Policy: A Round Table Held on July 29, 1977 (AEI Forum No. 10), ed. John Charles Daly (Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute, 1977).

Two Cheers for Capitalism

– New York: Basic Books, March 1978.
PART ONE: The Enemy of Being is Having 1. Corporate Capitalism in America 2. Business and the “New Class” 3. Frustrations of Affluence 4. Ideology and Food 5. The… More

Irving Kristol, Standard-Bearer

– Peter Steinfels, "Irving Kristol, Standard-Bearer," a chapter in The Neoconservatives: The Men Who Are Changing America's Politics (New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 1979).

William Baroody, Sr., Recipient of the 1980 Boyer Award

– “William Baroody, Sr., Recipient of the 1980 Boyer Award” (Remarks for a symposium), December 11, 1980.
Excerpt: It is a truth generally acknowledged that, the older one is, the less the likelihood of acquiring good and close friends. I count myself fortunate in having experienced some… More

Reflections of a Neoconservative

– “Reflections of a Neoconservative,” Partisan Review, no. 4, 1984.
Excerpt: Even to raise that question, of course, is to define oneself as some kind of conservative, if only an incipient kind of conservative. Just what “conservative” means,… More

The Changing World of New York Intellectuals

– "The Changing World of New York Intellectuals" (A letter to the editor), New York Times, September 29, 1985.
Excerpt: In his article on New York’s intellectuals, James Atlas quotes me as saying that it was a tradition among New York intellectuals to marry money. Obviously, Mr. Atlas misheard… More

Ideas Shape Every Generation

– “Ideas Shape Every Generation,” in American Business and the Quest for Freedom (Washington, D. C.: Ethics and Public Policy, February 86).

New York Intellectuals

– “New York Intellectuals,” Washington Times, April 7, 1986. (A review of Prodigal Sons: The New York Intellectuals and Their World by Alexander Bloom.)

Why I Left

– "Why I Left," The New Republic, April 11, 1988.
Excerpt: But there is one area in which Washington is an intellectual center, and that is public policy: economic policy, social policy, foreign policy, today even educational policy. This… More

This Is the Place to Be

– “This Is the Place to Be” (Interview with Ken Adelman), Washingtonian, July 1989.

The Capitalist Future

– “The Capitalist Future,” Francis Boyer Lecture at the American Enterprise Institute, December 4, 1991.
Excerpt: This cultural nihilism will have, in the short term, only a limited political effect—short of a massive, enduring economic crisis. The reason it will not happen—this is still… More

Countercultures

– "Countercultures," Commentary, December 1994.
Excerpt: Countercultures are dangerous phenomena even as they are inevitable. Their destructive power always far exceeds their constructive power. The delicate task that faces our… More

Toasts and Remarks Delivered at a Dinner in Honor of Irving Kristol on His Seventy-fifth Birthday

– Christopher DeMuth, George Will, Walter Berns, Midge Decter, Charles Krauthammer, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and William Kristol, "Toasts and Remarks Delivered at a Dinner in Honor of Irving Kristol on His Seventy-fifth Birthday," The American Enterprise Institute, January 21, 1995.
Excerpt: If what is called neoconservatism is by now an institution of sorts, it truly is what Emerson said institutions are–the lengthening shadow of a man. And the man is Irving… More

Irving Kristol in London

– Sir Peregrine Worsthorne, "Irving Kristol in London," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

The Australian Connection

– Owen Harries, "The Australian Connection," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

A Letter from Paris

– H. J. Kaplan, "A Letter from Paris," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

The Common Man’s Uncommon Intellectual

– Michael S. Joyce, "The Common Man's Uncommon Intellectual," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

Culture and Kristol

– Robert H. Bork, "Culture and Kristol," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

Reflections of a Neoconservative Disciple

– Mark Gerson, "Reflections of a Neoconservative Disciple," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

Magazines & American Politics

– "Magazines & American Politics" (A symposium of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University), February 27, 1995.

Neoconservatism: The Autobiography of an Idea

– New York: Free Press, 1995.
SECTION I 1. An Autobiographical Memoir   SECTION II: RACE, SEX, AND FAMILY 2. Welfare: The Best of Intentions, the Worst of Results 3. The Tragedy of “Multiculturalism” 4.… More

Booknotes

– "Booknotes" (An interview with Brian Lamb), September 5, 1995.

An Autobiographical Memoir

– “An Autobiographical Memoir” from Neoconservatism: The Autobiography of an Idea, (New York, NY: The Free Press, 1995).
Excerpt: Is there such a thing as a “neo” gene? I ask that question because, looking back over a lifetime of my opinions, I am struck by the fact that they all quality as “neo.” I… More

Arguing the World

– "Arguing the World" (A documentary), written and directed by Joseph Dorman, January 7, 1998.

Kristol Clear

– Bruce Bartlett, "Kristol Clear," National Review Online, June 26, 2002.
Excerpt: This critical foundation, which Kristol put together in the 1970s, all came together with the Reagan campaign in 1980. The people and the policies Kristol had nurtured for a decade… More

Forty Good Years

– "Forty Good Years," The Public Interest, Spring 2005.
Excerpt: Yet The Public Interest, it should be said, transcended any political ideology, or even any political “disposition.” Inevitably, to be sure, my own political identity… More

Our Own Cool Hand Luke

– Charles Krauthammer, "Our Own Cool Hand Luke," The Washington Post, April 29, 2005.
Excerpt: Kristol’s influence and intellect and importance to the political history of our time are well known. The most remarkable and least known thing about him, however, is his… More

Irving Kristol, 1920-2009

– John Podhoretz, "Irving Kristol, 1920-2009," Contentions blog, Commentary, September 18, 2009.
Excerpt: Just an example of Irving’s approach: In 1979, as a first-year student at the University of Chicago, I started a magazine called Midway (later Counterpoint) with my friend Tod… More

Farewell to the Godfather

– Christopher Hitchens, "Farewell to the Godfather," Slate, September 20, 2009.
Excerpt: The neoconservative faction, or should we say movement, is generally secular and often associated with the name of Leo Strauss. Kristol was one of those who never minded saying… More

Three Cheers for Irving by David Brooks

– David Brooks, "Three Cheers for Irving," The New York Times, September 21, 2009.
Excerpt: Kristol championed capitalism and wrote brilliantly about Adam Smith. But like Smith, he could only give two cheers for capitalism, because the system of creative destruction has… More

Irving Kristol: The “Universal Resource”

– Tevi Troy, "Irving Kristol: The 'Universal Resource'," The Corner blog, National Review, September 21, 2009.
Excerpt: Goldwin was not the only White House staffer enamored of Kristol. Then–deputy chief of staff Dick Cheney was a fan as well, and he wrote in a memo to Goldwin, “I greatly… More

Irving Kristol’s Gone–We’ll Miss His Clear Vision

– Irwin Stelzer, "Irving Kristol's Gone–We'll Miss His Clear Vision," Daily Telegraph, September 22, 2009.
Excerpt: Irving is best known as the godfather of neoconservatism, although his persuasive tools were not those of Tony Soprano or Marlon Brando’s Godfather-figures, but contained in… More

The Practical Liberal by Christopher DeMuth

– Christopher DeMuth, "The Practical Liberal," The American, September 22, 2009.
Excerpt: Irving was, from start to finish, a proponent of vigorous government within its proper sphere. He never passed up a chance to enter a dissent, serious or wisecracking, against… More

Irving Kristol

– "Irving Kristol," The Economist, September 24, 2009.
Excerpt: Conservatism, Kristol-style, acquired a “neo”. He was always, he mused, a neo-something: neoMarxist, neoliberal, neo-Orthodox (because he believed, though he wasn’t sure… More

My Irving Kristol and Ours by Mary Eberstadt

– Mary Eberstadt, "My Irving Kristol and Ours," The Weekly Standard, October 5, 2009.
Excerpt: “More than anyone alive, perhaps, Irving Kristol can take the credit for reversing the direction of American political culture.” These words taken from the Nation a few… More

A Genius of Temperament

– Joseph Epstein, "A Genius of Temperament," The Weekly Standard, October 5, 2009.
Excerpt: As the last of the New York intellectuals depart the planet, it becomes apparent that Irving Kristol, who published less than most of them, had a wider and deeper influence on his… More

For the Record

– Daniel Bell and Nathan Glazer, "For the Record" (Letters to he editor), The Economist, October 8, 2009.
Excerpt: Daniel Bell, Seymour Martin Lipset and I were not part of Kristol’s project to transform American conservatism. I, his co-editor for many years, consistently supported the… More

The Equilibrist

– Wilfred M. McClay, "The Equilibrist," National Review, October 19, 2009.
Excerpt: LUNCH with Irving Kristol was an experience to remember. I had the pleasure only three times, always in the excellent dining room atop the American Enterprise Institute, but I… More

The Interested Man

– Nathan Glazer, "The Interested Man," The New Republic, November 4, 2009.
Excerpt: I think back to these early days because it seems to me that Irving was all of a piece, almost from the beginning. No comment on his passing has failed to mention the young… More

The Problem of Doing Good: Irving Kristol’s Philanthropy

– William Schambra, Rachel Wildavsky, Leslie Lenkowsky, James Piereson, Roger Hertog, Amy Kass, Kim Dennis, Chester E. Finn Jr., Hillel Fradkin, and Adam Meyerson, "The Problem of Doing Good: Irving Kristol’s Philanthropy" (A panel discussion with four additional essays), December 15, 2009.

The Moral Realism of Irving Kristol by Eric Cohen

– Eric Cohen, "The Moral Realism of Irving Kristol," National Affairs, Winter 2010.
Excerpt: Neoconservatism was, as Kristol always described it, merely a “­persuasion” that tried to “imagine the world as it might be,” but also to “live and… More

Beyond Ideology

– James Q. Wilson, "Beyond Ideology," Wall Street Journal, January 21, 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: The essays in “The Neoconservative Persuasion”—all but one never before brought together in a book—are a remarkable introduction to one of the few people who… More

Irving Kristol’s Brute Reason

– Paul Berman, "Irving Kristol's Brute Reason," New York Times Book Review, January 30, 2011.
Excerpt: And, in this new spirit, he plunged into his magnum opus, which, instead of a book, was the constructing of something called “neoconservatism.” This was intended to be a new… More

Irving Kristol’s Neoconservative Persuasion

– Gertrude Himmelfarb, "Irving Kristol's Neoconservative Persuasion," Commentary, February 2011.
Excerpt: Much has been made of the consistency of tone in his writings—bold and speculative but never dogmatic or academic, always personal, witty, ironic. That tone is not only a matter… More

The Neoconservative Persuasion

– Amy Kass, Charles Krauthammer, Irwin Stelzer, Leon Kass, and William Kristol, "The Neoconservative Persuasion" (A panel discussion), February 2, 2011.

The Flexible Temperament

– James Piereson, "The Flexible Temperament," The New Criterion, March 2010. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: Kristol’s intellectual contribution was to bring these fundamental ideas into contemporary debates about politics and public policy through his writings in outlets like the Wall… More

Ideas Rule the World

– Franklin Foer, "Ideas Rule the World," The New Republic, March 17, 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: We are still living in the world of total ideological combat that Irving Kristol created (or re-created, since it was also the world into which he was born) in the course of… More

A Legacy of Temperament

– Roger Kimball, "A Legacy of Temperament," National Review, June 6, 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: An honest man, said the poet William Blake, may change his opinions, but not his principles. Irving Kristol, who died in September 2009 just shy of 90, embarked on intellectual… More

The Enduring Irving Kristol

– Wilfred M. McClay, "The Enduring Irving Kristol," First Things, August/September 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: In any event, one must remember that it was in the shadow of events eerily similar in many ways to those of our own times that neoconservatism took shape, both in Irving… More

The Brooklyn Burkeans

– Jonathan Bronitsky, "The Brooklyn Burkeans," National Affairs, Winter 2014.
Excerpt: By the time Kristol and Himmelfarb moved back home to New York in 1958, they were entrenched in the classical-liberal tradition and, therefore, primed to react negatively to the… More

The Public Interest at 50

– Adam Keiper, National Affairs, Fall 2015.
Excerpt: Before long, of course, The Public Interest would bring together policy, philosophy, morality, social science, and political economy as had never been done before. Kristol, Bell,… More

Multimedia

Other People’s Nerve

– “Other People's Nerve” (as William Ferry), Enquiry, May 1943.
Excerpt: The January-February and March-April issues of  Partisan Review have featured a discussion of the “New Failure of Nerve.”  It has been interesting, provocative… More

Flying off the Broomstick

– "Flying off the Broomstick," Commentary, April 1951. (A review of Witch Hunt: The Revival of Heresy by Carey McWilliams.)
Excerpt: Perhaps the most important premise is that which sets up a fundamental distinction between the sacred and the profane—the East and the West. The former is beyond human… More

“Civil Liberties,” 1952 – A Study in Confusion

– "'Civil Liberties,' 1952 – A Study in Confusion," Commentary, March 1952.
Excerpt: Is it conceivable that the line was incorrectly drawn in the first place? The liberals are loath to weigh the possibility lest it give comfort to the enemy; Senator McCarthy for… More

Ordeal by Mendacity

– “Ordeal by Mendacity,” Twentieth Century, October 1952. (A review of Ordeal by Slander by Owen Lattimore.)

Koestler: One Who Survived

– “Koestler: One Who Survived,” The New Leader, October 6, 1952. (A review of Arrow in the Blue by Arthur Koestler.)

Table Talk

– “Table Talk,” Encounter, October 1955.

Trivia and History

– "Trivia and History," Commentary, December 1956. (A review of The Crucial Decade: America 1945-1955 by Eric F. Goldman.)
Excerpt: Oddly enough, Professor Goldman’s intentions are serious, not to say honorable. He has a thesis: the “crucial decade” witnessed the culmination of a “Half-Century of… More

Class and Sociology: “The Shadow of Marxism”

– "Class and Sociology: 'The Shadow of Marxism'," Commentary, October 1957. (A review of The American Class Structure by Joseph A. Kahl and Social Stratification: A Comparative Analysis of Structure and Process by Bernard Barber.)
Excerpt: Twentieth-Century America is perhaps the most egalitarian society the civilized world has ever seen, yet nowhere has there been so much solemn brooding over “class” as in this… More

A Cool Sociological Eye

– “A Cool Sociological Eye,” Reporter, February 4, 1960.  (A review of Political Man: The Social Basis of Politics by Seymour Martin Lipset.)

Learning to Live with the N.S. & N.

– “Learning to Live with the N.S. & N.,” Encounter, August 1963.  (A review of New Statesmanship by Edward Hyams and The New Statesman by Edward Hyams.)

The Troublesome Intellectuals

– "The Troublesome Intellectuals," The Public Interest, Winter 1966.
Excerpt: The American intellectual has not yet been favored with tax loopholes, nor has he been supplied with his own official depreciation schedule; but in every other respect he is now… More

American Intellectuals and Foreign Policy

– “American Intellectuals and Foreign Policy,” Foreign Affairs, July 1967.
Excerpt: An intellectual may be defined as a man who speaks with general authority about a subject on which he has no particular competence. This definition sounds ironic, but is not. The… More

The New York Intellectuals: An Exchange

– “The New York Intellectuals: An Exchange” (with Irving Howe), Commentary, January 1969.
Excerpt: Behind Mr. Howe’s perspective there lies an unexamined premise: that there is something unnatural in an intellectual being anything but politically radical, a man of the… More

Who Knows New York?—and Other Notes on a Mixed-Up City

– "Who Knows New York?—and Other Notes on a Mixed-Up City" (with Paul Weaver), The Public Interest, Summer 1969.
Excerpt: TOMAS WOLFE once entitled a memorable short story, “Only the Dead Know Brooklyn.” Who knows New York? Not very many among the living, it would seem. New York is not different… More

On the Democratic Idea in America

– New York: Harper, 1972.
1. Urban Civilization and its Discontents 2. The Shaking of the Foundations 3. Pornography, Obscenity, and the Case for Censorship 4. American Historians and the Democratic Idea 5. American… More

About Equality

– "About Equality," Commentary, November 1972.
Excerpt: So this, it appears to me, is what the controversy “about equality” is really about. We have an intelligentsia which so despises the ethos of bourgeois society, and which is so… More

Equality and Justice

– "Equality and Justice" (A reply to letters), Commentary, February 1973.
Excerpt: I still do believe that any society has to be governed by a principle of justice which legitimates particular inequalities, and that our own society is having trouble finding such… More

Professors, Politicians and Public Policy

– Professors, Politicians and Public Policy: A Round Table Held on July 29, 1977 (AEI Forum No. 10), ed. John Charles Daly (Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute, 1977).

Two Cheers for Capitalism

– New York: Basic Books, March 1978.
PART ONE: The Enemy of Being is Having 1. Corporate Capitalism in America 2. Business and the “New Class” 3. Frustrations of Affluence 4. Ideology and Food 5. The… More

Irving Kristol, Standard-Bearer

– Peter Steinfels, "Irving Kristol, Standard-Bearer," a chapter in The Neoconservatives: The Men Who Are Changing America's Politics (New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 1979).

William Baroody, Sr., Recipient of the 1980 Boyer Award

– “William Baroody, Sr., Recipient of the 1980 Boyer Award” (Remarks for a symposium), December 11, 1980.
Excerpt: It is a truth generally acknowledged that, the older one is, the less the likelihood of acquiring good and close friends. I count myself fortunate in having experienced some… More

Reflections of a Neoconservative

– “Reflections of a Neoconservative,” Partisan Review, no. 4, 1984.
Excerpt: Even to raise that question, of course, is to define oneself as some kind of conservative, if only an incipient kind of conservative. Just what “conservative” means,… More

The Changing World of New York Intellectuals

– "The Changing World of New York Intellectuals" (A letter to the editor), New York Times, September 29, 1985.
Excerpt: In his article on New York’s intellectuals, James Atlas quotes me as saying that it was a tradition among New York intellectuals to marry money. Obviously, Mr. Atlas misheard… More

Ideas Shape Every Generation

– “Ideas Shape Every Generation,” in American Business and the Quest for Freedom (Washington, D. C.: Ethics and Public Policy, February 86).

New York Intellectuals

– “New York Intellectuals,” Washington Times, April 7, 1986. (A review of Prodigal Sons: The New York Intellectuals and Their World by Alexander Bloom.)

Why I Left

– "Why I Left," The New Republic, April 11, 1988.
Excerpt: But there is one area in which Washington is an intellectual center, and that is public policy: economic policy, social policy, foreign policy, today even educational policy. This… More

This Is the Place to Be

– “This Is the Place to Be” (Interview with Ken Adelman), Washingtonian, July 1989.

The Capitalist Future

– “The Capitalist Future,” Francis Boyer Lecture at the American Enterprise Institute, December 4, 1991.
Excerpt: This cultural nihilism will have, in the short term, only a limited political effect—short of a massive, enduring economic crisis. The reason it will not happen—this is still… More

Countercultures

– "Countercultures," Commentary, December 1994.
Excerpt: Countercultures are dangerous phenomena even as they are inevitable. Their destructive power always far exceeds their constructive power. The delicate task that faces our… More

Toasts and Remarks Delivered at a Dinner in Honor of Irving Kristol on His Seventy-fifth Birthday

– Christopher DeMuth, George Will, Walter Berns, Midge Decter, Charles Krauthammer, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and William Kristol, "Toasts and Remarks Delivered at a Dinner in Honor of Irving Kristol on His Seventy-fifth Birthday," The American Enterprise Institute, January 21, 1995.
Excerpt: If what is called neoconservatism is by now an institution of sorts, it truly is what Emerson said institutions are–the lengthening shadow of a man. And the man is Irving… More

Irving Kristol in London

– Sir Peregrine Worsthorne, "Irving Kristol in London," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

The Australian Connection

– Owen Harries, "The Australian Connection," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

A Letter from Paris

– H. J. Kaplan, "A Letter from Paris," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

The Common Man’s Uncommon Intellectual

– Michael S. Joyce, "The Common Man's Uncommon Intellectual," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

Culture and Kristol

– Robert H. Bork, "Culture and Kristol," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

Reflections of a Neoconservative Disciple

– Mark Gerson, "Reflections of a Neoconservative Disciple," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

Magazines & American Politics

– "Magazines & American Politics" (A symposium of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University), February 27, 1995.

Neoconservatism: The Autobiography of an Idea

– New York: Free Press, 1995.
SECTION I 1. An Autobiographical Memoir   SECTION II: RACE, SEX, AND FAMILY 2. Welfare: The Best of Intentions, the Worst of Results 3. The Tragedy of “Multiculturalism” 4.… More

Booknotes

– "Booknotes" (An interview with Brian Lamb), September 5, 1995.

An Autobiographical Memoir

– “An Autobiographical Memoir” from Neoconservatism: The Autobiography of an Idea, (New York, NY: The Free Press, 1995).
Excerpt: Is there such a thing as a “neo” gene? I ask that question because, looking back over a lifetime of my opinions, I am struck by the fact that they all quality as “neo.” I… More

Arguing the World

– "Arguing the World" (A documentary), written and directed by Joseph Dorman, January 7, 1998.

Kristol Clear

– Bruce Bartlett, "Kristol Clear," National Review Online, June 26, 2002.
Excerpt: This critical foundation, which Kristol put together in the 1970s, all came together with the Reagan campaign in 1980. The people and the policies Kristol had nurtured for a decade… More

Forty Good Years

– "Forty Good Years," The Public Interest, Spring 2005.
Excerpt: Yet The Public Interest, it should be said, transcended any political ideology, or even any political “disposition.” Inevitably, to be sure, my own political identity… More

Our Own Cool Hand Luke

– Charles Krauthammer, "Our Own Cool Hand Luke," The Washington Post, April 29, 2005.
Excerpt: Kristol’s influence and intellect and importance to the political history of our time are well known. The most remarkable and least known thing about him, however, is his… More

Irving Kristol, 1920-2009

– John Podhoretz, "Irving Kristol, 1920-2009," Contentions blog, Commentary, September 18, 2009.
Excerpt: Just an example of Irving’s approach: In 1979, as a first-year student at the University of Chicago, I started a magazine called Midway (later Counterpoint) with my friend Tod… More

Farewell to the Godfather

– Christopher Hitchens, "Farewell to the Godfather," Slate, September 20, 2009.
Excerpt: The neoconservative faction, or should we say movement, is generally secular and often associated with the name of Leo Strauss. Kristol was one of those who never minded saying… More

Three Cheers for Irving by David Brooks

– David Brooks, "Three Cheers for Irving," The New York Times, September 21, 2009.
Excerpt: Kristol championed capitalism and wrote brilliantly about Adam Smith. But like Smith, he could only give two cheers for capitalism, because the system of creative destruction has… More

Irving Kristol: The “Universal Resource”

– Tevi Troy, "Irving Kristol: The 'Universal Resource'," The Corner blog, National Review, September 21, 2009.
Excerpt: Goldwin was not the only White House staffer enamored of Kristol. Then–deputy chief of staff Dick Cheney was a fan as well, and he wrote in a memo to Goldwin, “I greatly… More

Irving Kristol’s Gone–We’ll Miss His Clear Vision

– Irwin Stelzer, "Irving Kristol's Gone–We'll Miss His Clear Vision," Daily Telegraph, September 22, 2009.
Excerpt: Irving is best known as the godfather of neoconservatism, although his persuasive tools were not those of Tony Soprano or Marlon Brando’s Godfather-figures, but contained in… More

The Practical Liberal by Christopher DeMuth

– Christopher DeMuth, "The Practical Liberal," The American, September 22, 2009.
Excerpt: Irving was, from start to finish, a proponent of vigorous government within its proper sphere. He never passed up a chance to enter a dissent, serious or wisecracking, against… More

Irving Kristol

– "Irving Kristol," The Economist, September 24, 2009.
Excerpt: Conservatism, Kristol-style, acquired a “neo”. He was always, he mused, a neo-something: neoMarxist, neoliberal, neo-Orthodox (because he believed, though he wasn’t sure… More

My Irving Kristol and Ours by Mary Eberstadt

– Mary Eberstadt, "My Irving Kristol and Ours," The Weekly Standard, October 5, 2009.
Excerpt: “More than anyone alive, perhaps, Irving Kristol can take the credit for reversing the direction of American political culture.” These words taken from the Nation a few… More

A Genius of Temperament

– Joseph Epstein, "A Genius of Temperament," The Weekly Standard, October 5, 2009.
Excerpt: As the last of the New York intellectuals depart the planet, it becomes apparent that Irving Kristol, who published less than most of them, had a wider and deeper influence on his… More

For the Record

– Daniel Bell and Nathan Glazer, "For the Record" (Letters to he editor), The Economist, October 8, 2009.
Excerpt: Daniel Bell, Seymour Martin Lipset and I were not part of Kristol’s project to transform American conservatism. I, his co-editor for many years, consistently supported the… More

The Equilibrist

– Wilfred M. McClay, "The Equilibrist," National Review, October 19, 2009.
Excerpt: LUNCH with Irving Kristol was an experience to remember. I had the pleasure only three times, always in the excellent dining room atop the American Enterprise Institute, but I… More

The Interested Man

– Nathan Glazer, "The Interested Man," The New Republic, November 4, 2009.
Excerpt: I think back to these early days because it seems to me that Irving was all of a piece, almost from the beginning. No comment on his passing has failed to mention the young… More

The Problem of Doing Good: Irving Kristol’s Philanthropy

– William Schambra, Rachel Wildavsky, Leslie Lenkowsky, James Piereson, Roger Hertog, Amy Kass, Kim Dennis, Chester E. Finn Jr., Hillel Fradkin, and Adam Meyerson, "The Problem of Doing Good: Irving Kristol’s Philanthropy" (A panel discussion with four additional essays), December 15, 2009.

The Moral Realism of Irving Kristol by Eric Cohen

– Eric Cohen, "The Moral Realism of Irving Kristol," National Affairs, Winter 2010.
Excerpt: Neoconservatism was, as Kristol always described it, merely a “­persuasion” that tried to “imagine the world as it might be,” but also to “live and… More

Beyond Ideology

– James Q. Wilson, "Beyond Ideology," Wall Street Journal, January 21, 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: The essays in “The Neoconservative Persuasion”—all but one never before brought together in a book—are a remarkable introduction to one of the few people who… More

Irving Kristol’s Brute Reason

– Paul Berman, "Irving Kristol's Brute Reason," New York Times Book Review, January 30, 2011.
Excerpt: And, in this new spirit, he plunged into his magnum opus, which, instead of a book, was the constructing of something called “neoconservatism.” This was intended to be a new… More

Irving Kristol’s Neoconservative Persuasion

– Gertrude Himmelfarb, "Irving Kristol's Neoconservative Persuasion," Commentary, February 2011.
Excerpt: Much has been made of the consistency of tone in his writings—bold and speculative but never dogmatic or academic, always personal, witty, ironic. That tone is not only a matter… More

The Neoconservative Persuasion

– Amy Kass, Charles Krauthammer, Irwin Stelzer, Leon Kass, and William Kristol, "The Neoconservative Persuasion" (A panel discussion), February 2, 2011.

The Flexible Temperament

– James Piereson, "The Flexible Temperament," The New Criterion, March 2010. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: Kristol’s intellectual contribution was to bring these fundamental ideas into contemporary debates about politics and public policy through his writings in outlets like the Wall… More

Ideas Rule the World

– Franklin Foer, "Ideas Rule the World," The New Republic, March 17, 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: We are still living in the world of total ideological combat that Irving Kristol created (or re-created, since it was also the world into which he was born) in the course of… More

A Legacy of Temperament

– Roger Kimball, "A Legacy of Temperament," National Review, June 6, 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: An honest man, said the poet William Blake, may change his opinions, but not his principles. Irving Kristol, who died in September 2009 just shy of 90, embarked on intellectual… More

The Enduring Irving Kristol

– Wilfred M. McClay, "The Enduring Irving Kristol," First Things, August/September 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: In any event, one must remember that it was in the shadow of events eerily similar in many ways to those of our own times that neoconservatism took shape, both in Irving… More

The Brooklyn Burkeans

– Jonathan Bronitsky, "The Brooklyn Burkeans," National Affairs, Winter 2014.
Excerpt: By the time Kristol and Himmelfarb moved back home to New York in 1958, they were entrenched in the classical-liberal tradition and, therefore, primed to react negatively to the… More

The Public Interest at 50

– Adam Keiper, National Affairs, Fall 2015.
Excerpt: Before long, of course, The Public Interest would bring together policy, philosophy, morality, social science, and political economy as had never been done before. Kristol, Bell,… More

Teaching

Other People’s Nerve

– “Other People's Nerve” (as William Ferry), Enquiry, May 1943.
Excerpt: The January-February and March-April issues of  Partisan Review have featured a discussion of the “New Failure of Nerve.”  It has been interesting, provocative… More

Flying off the Broomstick

– "Flying off the Broomstick," Commentary, April 1951. (A review of Witch Hunt: The Revival of Heresy by Carey McWilliams.)
Excerpt: Perhaps the most important premise is that which sets up a fundamental distinction between the sacred and the profane—the East and the West. The former is beyond human… More

“Civil Liberties,” 1952 – A Study in Confusion

– "'Civil Liberties,' 1952 – A Study in Confusion," Commentary, March 1952.
Excerpt: Is it conceivable that the line was incorrectly drawn in the first place? The liberals are loath to weigh the possibility lest it give comfort to the enemy; Senator McCarthy for… More

Ordeal by Mendacity

– “Ordeal by Mendacity,” Twentieth Century, October 1952. (A review of Ordeal by Slander by Owen Lattimore.)

Koestler: One Who Survived

– “Koestler: One Who Survived,” The New Leader, October 6, 1952. (A review of Arrow in the Blue by Arthur Koestler.)

Table Talk

– “Table Talk,” Encounter, October 1955.

Trivia and History

– "Trivia and History," Commentary, December 1956. (A review of The Crucial Decade: America 1945-1955 by Eric F. Goldman.)
Excerpt: Oddly enough, Professor Goldman’s intentions are serious, not to say honorable. He has a thesis: the “crucial decade” witnessed the culmination of a “Half-Century of… More

Class and Sociology: “The Shadow of Marxism”

– "Class and Sociology: 'The Shadow of Marxism'," Commentary, October 1957. (A review of The American Class Structure by Joseph A. Kahl and Social Stratification: A Comparative Analysis of Structure and Process by Bernard Barber.)
Excerpt: Twentieth-Century America is perhaps the most egalitarian society the civilized world has ever seen, yet nowhere has there been so much solemn brooding over “class” as in this… More

A Cool Sociological Eye

– “A Cool Sociological Eye,” Reporter, February 4, 1960.  (A review of Political Man: The Social Basis of Politics by Seymour Martin Lipset.)

Learning to Live with the N.S. & N.

– “Learning to Live with the N.S. & N.,” Encounter, August 1963.  (A review of New Statesmanship by Edward Hyams and The New Statesman by Edward Hyams.)

The Troublesome Intellectuals

– "The Troublesome Intellectuals," The Public Interest, Winter 1966.
Excerpt: The American intellectual has not yet been favored with tax loopholes, nor has he been supplied with his own official depreciation schedule; but in every other respect he is now… More

American Intellectuals and Foreign Policy

– “American Intellectuals and Foreign Policy,” Foreign Affairs, July 1967.
Excerpt: An intellectual may be defined as a man who speaks with general authority about a subject on which he has no particular competence. This definition sounds ironic, but is not. The… More

The New York Intellectuals: An Exchange

– “The New York Intellectuals: An Exchange” (with Irving Howe), Commentary, January 1969.
Excerpt: Behind Mr. Howe’s perspective there lies an unexamined premise: that there is something unnatural in an intellectual being anything but politically radical, a man of the… More

Who Knows New York?—and Other Notes on a Mixed-Up City

– "Who Knows New York?—and Other Notes on a Mixed-Up City" (with Paul Weaver), The Public Interest, Summer 1969.
Excerpt: TOMAS WOLFE once entitled a memorable short story, “Only the Dead Know Brooklyn.” Who knows New York? Not very many among the living, it would seem. New York is not different… More

On the Democratic Idea in America

– New York: Harper, 1972.
1. Urban Civilization and its Discontents 2. The Shaking of the Foundations 3. Pornography, Obscenity, and the Case for Censorship 4. American Historians and the Democratic Idea 5. American… More

About Equality

– "About Equality," Commentary, November 1972.
Excerpt: So this, it appears to me, is what the controversy “about equality” is really about. We have an intelligentsia which so despises the ethos of bourgeois society, and which is so… More

Equality and Justice

– "Equality and Justice" (A reply to letters), Commentary, February 1973.
Excerpt: I still do believe that any society has to be governed by a principle of justice which legitimates particular inequalities, and that our own society is having trouble finding such… More

Professors, Politicians and Public Policy

– Professors, Politicians and Public Policy: A Round Table Held on July 29, 1977 (AEI Forum No. 10), ed. John Charles Daly (Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute, 1977).

Two Cheers for Capitalism

– New York: Basic Books, March 1978.
PART ONE: The Enemy of Being is Having 1. Corporate Capitalism in America 2. Business and the “New Class” 3. Frustrations of Affluence 4. Ideology and Food 5. The… More

Irving Kristol, Standard-Bearer

– Peter Steinfels, "Irving Kristol, Standard-Bearer," a chapter in The Neoconservatives: The Men Who Are Changing America's Politics (New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 1979).

William Baroody, Sr., Recipient of the 1980 Boyer Award

– “William Baroody, Sr., Recipient of the 1980 Boyer Award” (Remarks for a symposium), December 11, 1980.
Excerpt: It is a truth generally acknowledged that, the older one is, the less the likelihood of acquiring good and close friends. I count myself fortunate in having experienced some… More

Reflections of a Neoconservative

– “Reflections of a Neoconservative,” Partisan Review, no. 4, 1984.
Excerpt: Even to raise that question, of course, is to define oneself as some kind of conservative, if only an incipient kind of conservative. Just what “conservative” means,… More

The Changing World of New York Intellectuals

– "The Changing World of New York Intellectuals" (A letter to the editor), New York Times, September 29, 1985.
Excerpt: In his article on New York’s intellectuals, James Atlas quotes me as saying that it was a tradition among New York intellectuals to marry money. Obviously, Mr. Atlas misheard… More

Ideas Shape Every Generation

– “Ideas Shape Every Generation,” in American Business and the Quest for Freedom (Washington, D. C.: Ethics and Public Policy, February 86).

New York Intellectuals

– “New York Intellectuals,” Washington Times, April 7, 1986. (A review of Prodigal Sons: The New York Intellectuals and Their World by Alexander Bloom.)

Why I Left

– "Why I Left," The New Republic, April 11, 1988.
Excerpt: But there is one area in which Washington is an intellectual center, and that is public policy: economic policy, social policy, foreign policy, today even educational policy. This… More

This Is the Place to Be

– “This Is the Place to Be” (Interview with Ken Adelman), Washingtonian, July 1989.

The Capitalist Future

– “The Capitalist Future,” Francis Boyer Lecture at the American Enterprise Institute, December 4, 1991.
Excerpt: This cultural nihilism will have, in the short term, only a limited political effect—short of a massive, enduring economic crisis. The reason it will not happen—this is still… More

Countercultures

– "Countercultures," Commentary, December 1994.
Excerpt: Countercultures are dangerous phenomena even as they are inevitable. Their destructive power always far exceeds their constructive power. The delicate task that faces our… More

Toasts and Remarks Delivered at a Dinner in Honor of Irving Kristol on His Seventy-fifth Birthday

– Christopher DeMuth, George Will, Walter Berns, Midge Decter, Charles Krauthammer, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and William Kristol, "Toasts and Remarks Delivered at a Dinner in Honor of Irving Kristol on His Seventy-fifth Birthday," The American Enterprise Institute, January 21, 1995.
Excerpt: If what is called neoconservatism is by now an institution of sorts, it truly is what Emerson said institutions are–the lengthening shadow of a man. And the man is Irving… More

Irving Kristol in London

– Sir Peregrine Worsthorne, "Irving Kristol in London," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

The Australian Connection

– Owen Harries, "The Australian Connection," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

A Letter from Paris

– H. J. Kaplan, "A Letter from Paris," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

The Common Man’s Uncommon Intellectual

– Michael S. Joyce, "The Common Man's Uncommon Intellectual," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

Culture and Kristol

– Robert H. Bork, "Culture and Kristol," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

Reflections of a Neoconservative Disciple

– Mark Gerson, "Reflections of a Neoconservative Disciple," in The Neoconservative Imagination: Essays in Honor of Irving Kristol, ed. Christopher DeMuth and William Kristol, (Washington, DC: AEI Press, 1995).

Magazines & American Politics

– "Magazines & American Politics" (A symposium of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University), February 27, 1995.

Neoconservatism: The Autobiography of an Idea

– New York: Free Press, 1995.
SECTION I 1. An Autobiographical Memoir   SECTION II: RACE, SEX, AND FAMILY 2. Welfare: The Best of Intentions, the Worst of Results 3. The Tragedy of “Multiculturalism” 4.… More

Booknotes

– "Booknotes" (An interview with Brian Lamb), September 5, 1995.

An Autobiographical Memoir

– “An Autobiographical Memoir” from Neoconservatism: The Autobiography of an Idea, (New York, NY: The Free Press, 1995).
Excerpt: Is there such a thing as a “neo” gene? I ask that question because, looking back over a lifetime of my opinions, I am struck by the fact that they all quality as “neo.” I… More

Arguing the World

– "Arguing the World" (A documentary), written and directed by Joseph Dorman, January 7, 1998.

Kristol Clear

– Bruce Bartlett, "Kristol Clear," National Review Online, June 26, 2002.
Excerpt: This critical foundation, which Kristol put together in the 1970s, all came together with the Reagan campaign in 1980. The people and the policies Kristol had nurtured for a decade… More

Forty Good Years

– "Forty Good Years," The Public Interest, Spring 2005.
Excerpt: Yet The Public Interest, it should be said, transcended any political ideology, or even any political “disposition.” Inevitably, to be sure, my own political identity… More

Our Own Cool Hand Luke

– Charles Krauthammer, "Our Own Cool Hand Luke," The Washington Post, April 29, 2005.
Excerpt: Kristol’s influence and intellect and importance to the political history of our time are well known. The most remarkable and least known thing about him, however, is his… More

Irving Kristol, 1920-2009

– John Podhoretz, "Irving Kristol, 1920-2009," Contentions blog, Commentary, September 18, 2009.
Excerpt: Just an example of Irving’s approach: In 1979, as a first-year student at the University of Chicago, I started a magazine called Midway (later Counterpoint) with my friend Tod… More

Farewell to the Godfather

– Christopher Hitchens, "Farewell to the Godfather," Slate, September 20, 2009.
Excerpt: The neoconservative faction, or should we say movement, is generally secular and often associated with the name of Leo Strauss. Kristol was one of those who never minded saying… More

Three Cheers for Irving by David Brooks

– David Brooks, "Three Cheers for Irving," The New York Times, September 21, 2009.
Excerpt: Kristol championed capitalism and wrote brilliantly about Adam Smith. But like Smith, he could only give two cheers for capitalism, because the system of creative destruction has… More

Irving Kristol: The “Universal Resource”

– Tevi Troy, "Irving Kristol: The 'Universal Resource'," The Corner blog, National Review, September 21, 2009.
Excerpt: Goldwin was not the only White House staffer enamored of Kristol. Then–deputy chief of staff Dick Cheney was a fan as well, and he wrote in a memo to Goldwin, “I greatly… More

Irving Kristol’s Gone–We’ll Miss His Clear Vision

– Irwin Stelzer, "Irving Kristol's Gone–We'll Miss His Clear Vision," Daily Telegraph, September 22, 2009.
Excerpt: Irving is best known as the godfather of neoconservatism, although his persuasive tools were not those of Tony Soprano or Marlon Brando’s Godfather-figures, but contained in… More

The Practical Liberal by Christopher DeMuth

– Christopher DeMuth, "The Practical Liberal," The American, September 22, 2009.
Excerpt: Irving was, from start to finish, a proponent of vigorous government within its proper sphere. He never passed up a chance to enter a dissent, serious or wisecracking, against… More

Irving Kristol

– "Irving Kristol," The Economist, September 24, 2009.
Excerpt: Conservatism, Kristol-style, acquired a “neo”. He was always, he mused, a neo-something: neoMarxist, neoliberal, neo-Orthodox (because he believed, though he wasn’t sure… More

My Irving Kristol and Ours by Mary Eberstadt

– Mary Eberstadt, "My Irving Kristol and Ours," The Weekly Standard, October 5, 2009.
Excerpt: “More than anyone alive, perhaps, Irving Kristol can take the credit for reversing the direction of American political culture.” These words taken from the Nation a few… More

A Genius of Temperament

– Joseph Epstein, "A Genius of Temperament," The Weekly Standard, October 5, 2009.
Excerpt: As the last of the New York intellectuals depart the planet, it becomes apparent that Irving Kristol, who published less than most of them, had a wider and deeper influence on his… More

For the Record

– Daniel Bell and Nathan Glazer, "For the Record" (Letters to he editor), The Economist, October 8, 2009.
Excerpt: Daniel Bell, Seymour Martin Lipset and I were not part of Kristol’s project to transform American conservatism. I, his co-editor for many years, consistently supported the… More

The Equilibrist

– Wilfred M. McClay, "The Equilibrist," National Review, October 19, 2009.
Excerpt: LUNCH with Irving Kristol was an experience to remember. I had the pleasure only three times, always in the excellent dining room atop the American Enterprise Institute, but I… More

The Interested Man

– Nathan Glazer, "The Interested Man," The New Republic, November 4, 2009.
Excerpt: I think back to these early days because it seems to me that Irving was all of a piece, almost from the beginning. No comment on his passing has failed to mention the young… More

The Problem of Doing Good: Irving Kristol’s Philanthropy

– William Schambra, Rachel Wildavsky, Leslie Lenkowsky, James Piereson, Roger Hertog, Amy Kass, Kim Dennis, Chester E. Finn Jr., Hillel Fradkin, and Adam Meyerson, "The Problem of Doing Good: Irving Kristol’s Philanthropy" (A panel discussion with four additional essays), December 15, 2009.

The Moral Realism of Irving Kristol by Eric Cohen

– Eric Cohen, "The Moral Realism of Irving Kristol," National Affairs, Winter 2010.
Excerpt: Neoconservatism was, as Kristol always described it, merely a “­persuasion” that tried to “imagine the world as it might be,” but also to “live and… More

Beyond Ideology

– James Q. Wilson, "Beyond Ideology," Wall Street Journal, January 21, 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: The essays in “The Neoconservative Persuasion”—all but one never before brought together in a book—are a remarkable introduction to one of the few people who… More

Irving Kristol’s Brute Reason

– Paul Berman, "Irving Kristol's Brute Reason," New York Times Book Review, January 30, 2011.
Excerpt: And, in this new spirit, he plunged into his magnum opus, which, instead of a book, was the constructing of something called “neoconservatism.” This was intended to be a new… More

Irving Kristol’s Neoconservative Persuasion

– Gertrude Himmelfarb, "Irving Kristol's Neoconservative Persuasion," Commentary, February 2011.
Excerpt: Much has been made of the consistency of tone in his writings—bold and speculative but never dogmatic or academic, always personal, witty, ironic. That tone is not only a matter… More

The Neoconservative Persuasion

– Amy Kass, Charles Krauthammer, Irwin Stelzer, Leon Kass, and William Kristol, "The Neoconservative Persuasion" (A panel discussion), February 2, 2011.

The Flexible Temperament

– James Piereson, "The Flexible Temperament," The New Criterion, March 2010. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: Kristol’s intellectual contribution was to bring these fundamental ideas into contemporary debates about politics and public policy through his writings in outlets like the Wall… More

Ideas Rule the World

– Franklin Foer, "Ideas Rule the World," The New Republic, March 17, 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: We are still living in the world of total ideological combat that Irving Kristol created (or re-created, since it was also the world into which he was born) in the course of… More

A Legacy of Temperament

– Roger Kimball, "A Legacy of Temperament," National Review, June 6, 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: An honest man, said the poet William Blake, may change his opinions, but not his principles. Irving Kristol, who died in September 2009 just shy of 90, embarked on intellectual… More

The Enduring Irving Kristol

– Wilfred M. McClay, "The Enduring Irving Kristol," First Things, August/September 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: In any event, one must remember that it was in the shadow of events eerily similar in many ways to those of our own times that neoconservatism took shape, both in Irving… More

The Brooklyn Burkeans

– Jonathan Bronitsky, "The Brooklyn Burkeans," National Affairs, Winter 2014.
Excerpt: By the time Kristol and Himmelfarb moved back home to New York in 1958, they were entrenched in the classical-liberal tradition and, therefore, primed to react negatively to the… More

The Public Interest at 50

– Adam Keiper, National Affairs, Fall 2015.
Excerpt: Before long, of course, The Public Interest would bring together policy, philosophy, morality, social science, and political economy as had never been done before. Kristol, Bell,… More