Tag: Neoconservatism

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What Is a “Neo-Conservative”?

– “What Is a ‘Neo-Conservative’?” Newsweek, January 19, 1976.
Excerpt: 1.  Neo-conservatism is not at all hostile to the idea of a welfare state, but it is critical of the Great Society version of this welfare state.  In general, it approves of… More

Human Nature and Social Reform

– “Human Nature and Social Reform,” Wall Street Journal, September 18, 1978.
Excerpt: What it comes down to is that our reformers simply cannot bring themselves to think realistically about human nature.  They believe it to be not only originally good, but also… 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).

Kristol’s Red Persuasion?

– Robert Lekachman, "Kristol's Red Persuasion?" The Nation, October 29, 1983. (A review of Reflections of a Neoconservative: Looking Back, Looking Ahead by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: In sum, at their worst these polemics are diatribes against the world supposedly made by liberals and those to the left of them. At their best, they convey much thoughtful, somber… More

The Political Dilemma of American Jews

– "The Political Dilemma of American Jews," Commentary, July 1984.
Excerpt: In short, while American Jews have for the most part persisted in their loyalty to the politics of American liberalism, that politics has blandly and remorselessly distanced itself… 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

Interview with Tom Bethell

– Interview with Tom Bethell, American Spectator, December 1991.
Excerpt: “The Democratic party is falling apart,” he said. “Which is lucky for us. It’s completely out of sync with the public. What’s happening to the… 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

A Man without Footnotes

– Nathan Glazer, "A Man without Footnotes," 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).

Following Irving

– Norman Podhoretz, "Following Irving," 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).

A Tribute to Irving Kristol

– William E. Simon, "A Tribute to Irving 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

American Conservatism, 1945-1995

– "American Conservatism, 1945-1995," The Public Interest, Fall 1995.
Excerpt: THE Public Interest was born well before the term “neoconservative” was invented, and will—I trust—be alive and active when the term is of only historical interest. That… More

Godfather

– Wilfred M. McClay, "Godfather," Commentary, February 1996. (A review of Neoconservatism: The Autobiography of an Idea by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: Perhaps, then, there is another sense in which Kristol deserves the appellation of “godfather.” Ever since the appearance of Mario Puzo’s book of that title, there has been a… More

The Right Stuff

– “The Right Stuff,” Prospect, October 1996.
Excerpt: I remember the day very well, back in 1956, when I arrived at my office at Encounter-of which I was then co-editor-and found on my desk an unsolicited manuscript by Michael… More

The Family Way

– Jacob Weisberg, "The Family Way," The New Yorker, October 21 & 28, 1996.
Excerpt: Someone imperfectly versed in the idiosyncrasies of American political life might have found Irving Kristol’s seventy-fifth-birthday party a bit peculiar. Gathered to… More

Arguing the World

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

On the Political Stupidity of the Jews

– "On the Political Stupidity of the Jews," Azure, Autumn 1999.
Excerpt: The novelist Saul Bellow is fond of recalling a political incident from his youth. Saul, then an undergraduate at the University of Chicago, was, like so many of us in the 1930s,… More

Arguing the World

– Arguing the World: The New York Intellectuals in Their Own Words, ed. Joseph Dorman (New York: Free Press, 2000). (Transcript of TV interviews from 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

The Neoconservative Persuasion: What It Was, and What It Is

– "The Neoconservative Persuasion: What It Was, and What It Is,"  The Weekly Standard, August 25, 2003.
Excerpt: Viewed in this way, one can say that the historical task and political purpose of neoconservatism would seem to be this: to convert the Republican party, and American conservatism… 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

My “Public Interest”

– "My 'Public Interest'," The Weekly Standard, December 18, 2006.
Excerpt: In 1965, through a series of circumstances that need not be recounted here, the stars became properly aligned so that my wish could become a reality. Dan Bell and I were able to… More

Irving Kristol, Norman Podhoretz, and the Jewish Religion

– Allan Arkush, "Irving Kristol, Norman Podhoretz, and the Jewish Religion," in Reason, Faith, and Politics: Essays in Honor of Werner J. Dannhauser, ed. Arthur M. Melzer and Robert P. Kraynak, (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2008).

The Godfather, R.I.P.

– Myron Magnet, "The Godfather, R.I.P.," City Journal, September 18, 2009.
Excerpt: His own world-historically influential magazine, The Public Interest, bore Irving’s stamp of practicality and realism, indeed of realpolitik. It aimed, through its hard-headed… More

Remembering Irving Kristol

– Peter Wehner, "The Corner," National Review Online, September 18, 2009.
Excerpt: Irving was a great man, a model and courageous public intellectual, and a giant in the conservative movement. He brought to it enormous intelligence and scholarship, great learning… 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

A Life in the Public Interest

– James Q. Wilson, "A Life in the Public Interest" The Wall Street Journal, September 21, 2009.
Excerpt: The view that we know less than we thought we knew about how to change the human condition came, in time, to be called neoconservatism. Many of the writers, myself included,… 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’s Clear Thinking

– Jonah Goldberg, "Irving Kristol's Clear Thinking," Los Angeles Times, September 23, 2009.
Excerpt: Buckley said that the neocons’ greatest contribution to conservatism was “sociology.” The early National Review conservatism was more Aristotelian, Buckley observed, while… More

Was Irving Kristol a Neoconservative?

– Justin Vaïsse, "Was Irving Kristol a Neoconservative?" Foreign Policy, September 23, 2009.
Excerpt: Although a few other neoconservatives followed Kristol’s realist line (Glazer and, to some extent, Jeane Kirkpatrick), for most of the others the idea of retrenching and… 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

A Great Good Man by Charles Krauthammer

– Charles Krauthammer, "A Great Good Man," The Washington Post, September 25, 2009.
Excerpt: My theory of Irving is that this amazing equanimity was rooted in a profound sense of modesty. First about himself. At 20, he got a job as a machinist’s apprentice at the… 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

Irving Kristol, Catholic Social Ethicist?

– George Weigel, "Irving Kristol, Catholic Social Ethicist?" column syndicated by Catholic Press, October 7, 2009.
Excerpt: The Public Interest, which was chiefly responsible for brewing the ideas embodied in the welfare reform of the 1990s, was a journal in defense of subsidiarity and in opposition to… 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 Real Irving Kristol

– Norman Podhoretz, "The Real Irving Kristol," Commentary, November 2009.
Excerpt: The obituaries got most of the facts right: that Irving Kristol’s death at the age of 89 marked the passing of one of the most important public intellectuals of the past 40… 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 Neoconservative Persuasion: A Tribute to Irving Kristol

– Audio, Video and Transcript.  A Hudson Institute panel, February 2, 2011.
As conservatives try once again to re-envision America’s future and how to secure it, the publication of this volume of previously uncollected essays by Irving Kristol, “the godfather… More

Irving Kristol: “The Neoconservative Persuasion”

– (Interview of William Kristol by David Brooks), Book TV, C-SPAN 2, February 11, 2011.
Mr. Kristol, who wrote the foreword to “The Neoconservative Persuasion,” discusses his late father’s essays on the history of the neoconservative movement. While the… More

The Great Persuader by James W. Ceaser

– James W. Ceaser, "The Great Persuader," The Weekly Standard, February 14, 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: Of public intellectuals so conceived, there have been only a handful: George Bancroft, whose famous History of the United States and orations sketched out much of the Jacksonian… More

Three Cheers

– Jeremy Rozansky, "Three Cheers," Counterpoint, Winter 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
“I myself have accepted the term, perhaps, because, having been named Irving, I am relatively indifferent to baptismal caprice.” So said Irving Kristol of having been called a… More

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

The Origins of Neoconservatism

– Harvey Mansfield, "The Origins of Neoconservatism" (An interview with Eli Kozminsky), Harvard Political Review, March 7, 2011.
Excerpt: What did Kristol find so radical, yet conservative, about Strauss? The article in Kristol’s book is a review of Strauss’ Persecution and the Art of Writing, which came out in… 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

Irving Kristol, Edmund Burke, and the Rabbis

– Meir Soloveichik, "Irving Kristol, Edmund Burke, and the Rabbis," Jewish Review of Books, Summer 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: Renowned as a founder of neoconservativism, Irving Kristol was “neo” in other respects as well. “Is there such a thing as a ‘neo’ gene?” he once… 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 Art of Persuasion

– Ross Douthat, "The Art of Persuasion," Claremont Review of Books, Fall 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: At times, the essays in The Neoconservative Persuasion suggest that these critics have a point. Neoconservatism may not be a rigid ideology, but even as a “persuasion”… 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

A Cheerful Conservative

– Peter Wehner, "Contentions" Blog, Commentary, May 12, 2014.
Excerpt: Building on Tom Wilson’s fine post on the creation of the Foundation for Constitutional Government’s new website devoted to the writings of Irving Kristol… More

The Theological Politics of Irving Kristol by Matthew Continetti

– Matthew Continetti, "The Theological Politics of Irving Kristol," National Affairs, Summer, 2014.
Excerpt: The February 13, 1979, issue of Esquire magazine did not feature a typical cover model. He was not an actor, a politician, or a sports star. A professor but not a Ph.D., an editor… 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

What Is a “Neo-Conservative”?

– “What Is a ‘Neo-Conservative’?” Newsweek, January 19, 1976.
Excerpt: 1.  Neo-conservatism is not at all hostile to the idea of a welfare state, but it is critical of the Great Society version of this welfare state.  In general, it approves of… More

Human Nature and Social Reform

– “Human Nature and Social Reform,” Wall Street Journal, September 18, 1978.
Excerpt: What it comes down to is that our reformers simply cannot bring themselves to think realistically about human nature.  They believe it to be not only originally good, but also… 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).

Kristol’s Red Persuasion?

– Robert Lekachman, "Kristol's Red Persuasion?" The Nation, October 29, 1983. (A review of Reflections of a Neoconservative: Looking Back, Looking Ahead by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: In sum, at their worst these polemics are diatribes against the world supposedly made by liberals and those to the left of them. At their best, they convey much thoughtful, somber… More

The Political Dilemma of American Jews

– "The Political Dilemma of American Jews," Commentary, July 1984.
Excerpt: In short, while American Jews have for the most part persisted in their loyalty to the politics of American liberalism, that politics has blandly and remorselessly distanced itself… 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

Interview with Tom Bethell

– Interview with Tom Bethell, American Spectator, December 1991.
Excerpt: “The Democratic party is falling apart,” he said. “Which is lucky for us. It’s completely out of sync with the public. What’s happening to the… 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

A Man without Footnotes

– Nathan Glazer, "A Man without Footnotes," 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).

Following Irving

– Norman Podhoretz, "Following Irving," 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).

A Tribute to Irving Kristol

– William E. Simon, "A Tribute to Irving 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

American Conservatism, 1945-1995

– "American Conservatism, 1945-1995," The Public Interest, Fall 1995.
Excerpt: THE Public Interest was born well before the term “neoconservative” was invented, and will—I trust—be alive and active when the term is of only historical interest. That… More

Godfather

– Wilfred M. McClay, "Godfather," Commentary, February 1996. (A review of Neoconservatism: The Autobiography of an Idea by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: Perhaps, then, there is another sense in which Kristol deserves the appellation of “godfather.” Ever since the appearance of Mario Puzo’s book of that title, there has been a… More

The Right Stuff

– “The Right Stuff,” Prospect, October 1996.
Excerpt: I remember the day very well, back in 1956, when I arrived at my office at Encounter-of which I was then co-editor-and found on my desk an unsolicited manuscript by Michael… More

The Family Way

– Jacob Weisberg, "The Family Way," The New Yorker, October 21 & 28, 1996.
Excerpt: Someone imperfectly versed in the idiosyncrasies of American political life might have found Irving Kristol’s seventy-fifth-birthday party a bit peculiar. Gathered to… More

Arguing the World

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

On the Political Stupidity of the Jews

– "On the Political Stupidity of the Jews," Azure, Autumn 1999.
Excerpt: The novelist Saul Bellow is fond of recalling a political incident from his youth. Saul, then an undergraduate at the University of Chicago, was, like so many of us in the 1930s,… More

Arguing the World

– Arguing the World: The New York Intellectuals in Their Own Words, ed. Joseph Dorman (New York: Free Press, 2000). (Transcript of TV interviews from 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

The Neoconservative Persuasion: What It Was, and What It Is

– "The Neoconservative Persuasion: What It Was, and What It Is,"  The Weekly Standard, August 25, 2003.
Excerpt: Viewed in this way, one can say that the historical task and political purpose of neoconservatism would seem to be this: to convert the Republican party, and American conservatism… 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

My “Public Interest”

– "My 'Public Interest'," The Weekly Standard, December 18, 2006.
Excerpt: In 1965, through a series of circumstances that need not be recounted here, the stars became properly aligned so that my wish could become a reality. Dan Bell and I were able to… More

Irving Kristol, Norman Podhoretz, and the Jewish Religion

– Allan Arkush, "Irving Kristol, Norman Podhoretz, and the Jewish Religion," in Reason, Faith, and Politics: Essays in Honor of Werner J. Dannhauser, ed. Arthur M. Melzer and Robert P. Kraynak, (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2008).

The Godfather, R.I.P.

– Myron Magnet, "The Godfather, R.I.P.," City Journal, September 18, 2009.
Excerpt: His own world-historically influential magazine, The Public Interest, bore Irving’s stamp of practicality and realism, indeed of realpolitik. It aimed, through its hard-headed… More

Remembering Irving Kristol

– Peter Wehner, "The Corner," National Review Online, September 18, 2009.
Excerpt: Irving was a great man, a model and courageous public intellectual, and a giant in the conservative movement. He brought to it enormous intelligence and scholarship, great learning… 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

A Life in the Public Interest

– James Q. Wilson, "A Life in the Public Interest" The Wall Street Journal, September 21, 2009.
Excerpt: The view that we know less than we thought we knew about how to change the human condition came, in time, to be called neoconservatism. Many of the writers, myself included,… 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’s Clear Thinking

– Jonah Goldberg, "Irving Kristol's Clear Thinking," Los Angeles Times, September 23, 2009.
Excerpt: Buckley said that the neocons’ greatest contribution to conservatism was “sociology.” The early National Review conservatism was more Aristotelian, Buckley observed, while… More

Was Irving Kristol a Neoconservative?

– Justin Vaïsse, "Was Irving Kristol a Neoconservative?" Foreign Policy, September 23, 2009.
Excerpt: Although a few other neoconservatives followed Kristol’s realist line (Glazer and, to some extent, Jeane Kirkpatrick), for most of the others the idea of retrenching and… 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

A Great Good Man by Charles Krauthammer

– Charles Krauthammer, "A Great Good Man," The Washington Post, September 25, 2009.
Excerpt: My theory of Irving is that this amazing equanimity was rooted in a profound sense of modesty. First about himself. At 20, he got a job as a machinist’s apprentice at the… 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

Irving Kristol, Catholic Social Ethicist?

– George Weigel, "Irving Kristol, Catholic Social Ethicist?" column syndicated by Catholic Press, October 7, 2009.
Excerpt: The Public Interest, which was chiefly responsible for brewing the ideas embodied in the welfare reform of the 1990s, was a journal in defense of subsidiarity and in opposition to… 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 Real Irving Kristol

– Norman Podhoretz, "The Real Irving Kristol," Commentary, November 2009.
Excerpt: The obituaries got most of the facts right: that Irving Kristol’s death at the age of 89 marked the passing of one of the most important public intellectuals of the past 40… 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 Neoconservative Persuasion: A Tribute to Irving Kristol

– Audio, Video and Transcript.  A Hudson Institute panel, February 2, 2011.
As conservatives try once again to re-envision America’s future and how to secure it, the publication of this volume of previously uncollected essays by Irving Kristol, “the godfather… More

Irving Kristol: “The Neoconservative Persuasion”

– (Interview of William Kristol by David Brooks), Book TV, C-SPAN 2, February 11, 2011.
Mr. Kristol, who wrote the foreword to “The Neoconservative Persuasion,” discusses his late father’s essays on the history of the neoconservative movement. While the… More

The Great Persuader by James W. Ceaser

– James W. Ceaser, "The Great Persuader," The Weekly Standard, February 14, 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: Of public intellectuals so conceived, there have been only a handful: George Bancroft, whose famous History of the United States and orations sketched out much of the Jacksonian… More

Three Cheers

– Jeremy Rozansky, "Three Cheers," Counterpoint, Winter 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
“I myself have accepted the term, perhaps, because, having been named Irving, I am relatively indifferent to baptismal caprice.” So said Irving Kristol of having been called a… More

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

The Origins of Neoconservatism

– Harvey Mansfield, "The Origins of Neoconservatism" (An interview with Eli Kozminsky), Harvard Political Review, March 7, 2011.
Excerpt: What did Kristol find so radical, yet conservative, about Strauss? The article in Kristol’s book is a review of Strauss’ Persecution and the Art of Writing, which came out in… 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

Irving Kristol, Edmund Burke, and the Rabbis

– Meir Soloveichik, "Irving Kristol, Edmund Burke, and the Rabbis," Jewish Review of Books, Summer 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: Renowned as a founder of neoconservativism, Irving Kristol was “neo” in other respects as well. “Is there such a thing as a ‘neo’ gene?” he once… 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 Art of Persuasion

– Ross Douthat, "The Art of Persuasion," Claremont Review of Books, Fall 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: At times, the essays in The Neoconservative Persuasion suggest that these critics have a point. Neoconservatism may not be a rigid ideology, but even as a “persuasion”… 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

A Cheerful Conservative

– Peter Wehner, "Contentions" Blog, Commentary, May 12, 2014.
Excerpt: Building on Tom Wilson’s fine post on the creation of the Foundation for Constitutional Government’s new website devoted to the writings of Irving Kristol… More

The Theological Politics of Irving Kristol by Matthew Continetti

– Matthew Continetti, "The Theological Politics of Irving Kristol," National Affairs, Summer, 2014.
Excerpt: The February 13, 1979, issue of Esquire magazine did not feature a typical cover model. He was not an actor, a politician, or a sports star. A professor but not a Ph.D., an editor… 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

What Is a “Neo-Conservative”?

– “What Is a ‘Neo-Conservative’?” Newsweek, January 19, 1976.
Excerpt: 1.  Neo-conservatism is not at all hostile to the idea of a welfare state, but it is critical of the Great Society version of this welfare state.  In general, it approves of… More

Human Nature and Social Reform

– “Human Nature and Social Reform,” Wall Street Journal, September 18, 1978.
Excerpt: What it comes down to is that our reformers simply cannot bring themselves to think realistically about human nature.  They believe it to be not only originally good, but also… 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).

Kristol’s Red Persuasion?

– Robert Lekachman, "Kristol's Red Persuasion?" The Nation, October 29, 1983. (A review of Reflections of a Neoconservative: Looking Back, Looking Ahead by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: In sum, at their worst these polemics are diatribes against the world supposedly made by liberals and those to the left of them. At their best, they convey much thoughtful, somber… More

The Political Dilemma of American Jews

– "The Political Dilemma of American Jews," Commentary, July 1984.
Excerpt: In short, while American Jews have for the most part persisted in their loyalty to the politics of American liberalism, that politics has blandly and remorselessly distanced itself… 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

Interview with Tom Bethell

– Interview with Tom Bethell, American Spectator, December 1991.
Excerpt: “The Democratic party is falling apart,” he said. “Which is lucky for us. It’s completely out of sync with the public. What’s happening to the… 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

A Man without Footnotes

– Nathan Glazer, "A Man without Footnotes," 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).

Following Irving

– Norman Podhoretz, "Following Irving," 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).

A Tribute to Irving Kristol

– William E. Simon, "A Tribute to Irving 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

American Conservatism, 1945-1995

– "American Conservatism, 1945-1995," The Public Interest, Fall 1995.
Excerpt: THE Public Interest was born well before the term “neoconservative” was invented, and will—I trust—be alive and active when the term is of only historical interest. That… More

Godfather

– Wilfred M. McClay, "Godfather," Commentary, February 1996. (A review of Neoconservatism: The Autobiography of an Idea by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: Perhaps, then, there is another sense in which Kristol deserves the appellation of “godfather.” Ever since the appearance of Mario Puzo’s book of that title, there has been a… More

The Right Stuff

– “The Right Stuff,” Prospect, October 1996.
Excerpt: I remember the day very well, back in 1956, when I arrived at my office at Encounter-of which I was then co-editor-and found on my desk an unsolicited manuscript by Michael… More

The Family Way

– Jacob Weisberg, "The Family Way," The New Yorker, October 21 & 28, 1996.
Excerpt: Someone imperfectly versed in the idiosyncrasies of American political life might have found Irving Kristol’s seventy-fifth-birthday party a bit peculiar. Gathered to… More

Arguing the World

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

On the Political Stupidity of the Jews

– "On the Political Stupidity of the Jews," Azure, Autumn 1999.
Excerpt: The novelist Saul Bellow is fond of recalling a political incident from his youth. Saul, then an undergraduate at the University of Chicago, was, like so many of us in the 1930s,… More

Arguing the World

– Arguing the World: The New York Intellectuals in Their Own Words, ed. Joseph Dorman (New York: Free Press, 2000). (Transcript of TV interviews from 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

The Neoconservative Persuasion: What It Was, and What It Is

– "The Neoconservative Persuasion: What It Was, and What It Is,"  The Weekly Standard, August 25, 2003.
Excerpt: Viewed in this way, one can say that the historical task and political purpose of neoconservatism would seem to be this: to convert the Republican party, and American conservatism… 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

My “Public Interest”

– "My 'Public Interest'," The Weekly Standard, December 18, 2006.
Excerpt: In 1965, through a series of circumstances that need not be recounted here, the stars became properly aligned so that my wish could become a reality. Dan Bell and I were able to… More

Irving Kristol, Norman Podhoretz, and the Jewish Religion

– Allan Arkush, "Irving Kristol, Norman Podhoretz, and the Jewish Religion," in Reason, Faith, and Politics: Essays in Honor of Werner J. Dannhauser, ed. Arthur M. Melzer and Robert P. Kraynak, (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2008).

The Godfather, R.I.P.

– Myron Magnet, "The Godfather, R.I.P.," City Journal, September 18, 2009.
Excerpt: His own world-historically influential magazine, The Public Interest, bore Irving’s stamp of practicality and realism, indeed of realpolitik. It aimed, through its hard-headed… More

Remembering Irving Kristol

– Peter Wehner, "The Corner," National Review Online, September 18, 2009.
Excerpt: Irving was a great man, a model and courageous public intellectual, and a giant in the conservative movement. He brought to it enormous intelligence and scholarship, great learning… 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

A Life in the Public Interest

– James Q. Wilson, "A Life in the Public Interest" The Wall Street Journal, September 21, 2009.
Excerpt: The view that we know less than we thought we knew about how to change the human condition came, in time, to be called neoconservatism. Many of the writers, myself included,… 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’s Clear Thinking

– Jonah Goldberg, "Irving Kristol's Clear Thinking," Los Angeles Times, September 23, 2009.
Excerpt: Buckley said that the neocons’ greatest contribution to conservatism was “sociology.” The early National Review conservatism was more Aristotelian, Buckley observed, while… More

Was Irving Kristol a Neoconservative?

– Justin Vaïsse, "Was Irving Kristol a Neoconservative?" Foreign Policy, September 23, 2009.
Excerpt: Although a few other neoconservatives followed Kristol’s realist line (Glazer and, to some extent, Jeane Kirkpatrick), for most of the others the idea of retrenching and… 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

A Great Good Man by Charles Krauthammer

– Charles Krauthammer, "A Great Good Man," The Washington Post, September 25, 2009.
Excerpt: My theory of Irving is that this amazing equanimity was rooted in a profound sense of modesty. First about himself. At 20, he got a job as a machinist’s apprentice at the… 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

Irving Kristol, Catholic Social Ethicist?

– George Weigel, "Irving Kristol, Catholic Social Ethicist?" column syndicated by Catholic Press, October 7, 2009.
Excerpt: The Public Interest, which was chiefly responsible for brewing the ideas embodied in the welfare reform of the 1990s, was a journal in defense of subsidiarity and in opposition to… 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 Real Irving Kristol

– Norman Podhoretz, "The Real Irving Kristol," Commentary, November 2009.
Excerpt: The obituaries got most of the facts right: that Irving Kristol’s death at the age of 89 marked the passing of one of the most important public intellectuals of the past 40… 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 Neoconservative Persuasion: A Tribute to Irving Kristol

– Audio, Video and Transcript.  A Hudson Institute panel, February 2, 2011.
As conservatives try once again to re-envision America’s future and how to secure it, the publication of this volume of previously uncollected essays by Irving Kristol, “the godfather… More

Irving Kristol: “The Neoconservative Persuasion”

– (Interview of William Kristol by David Brooks), Book TV, C-SPAN 2, February 11, 2011.
Mr. Kristol, who wrote the foreword to “The Neoconservative Persuasion,” discusses his late father’s essays on the history of the neoconservative movement. While the… More

The Great Persuader by James W. Ceaser

– James W. Ceaser, "The Great Persuader," The Weekly Standard, February 14, 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: Of public intellectuals so conceived, there have been only a handful: George Bancroft, whose famous History of the United States and orations sketched out much of the Jacksonian… More

Three Cheers

– Jeremy Rozansky, "Three Cheers," Counterpoint, Winter 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
“I myself have accepted the term, perhaps, because, having been named Irving, I am relatively indifferent to baptismal caprice.” So said Irving Kristol of having been called a… More

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

The Origins of Neoconservatism

– Harvey Mansfield, "The Origins of Neoconservatism" (An interview with Eli Kozminsky), Harvard Political Review, March 7, 2011.
Excerpt: What did Kristol find so radical, yet conservative, about Strauss? The article in Kristol’s book is a review of Strauss’ Persecution and the Art of Writing, which came out in… 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

Irving Kristol, Edmund Burke, and the Rabbis

– Meir Soloveichik, "Irving Kristol, Edmund Burke, and the Rabbis," Jewish Review of Books, Summer 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: Renowned as a founder of neoconservativism, Irving Kristol was “neo” in other respects as well. “Is there such a thing as a ‘neo’ gene?” he once… 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 Art of Persuasion

– Ross Douthat, "The Art of Persuasion," Claremont Review of Books, Fall 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: At times, the essays in The Neoconservative Persuasion suggest that these critics have a point. Neoconservatism may not be a rigid ideology, but even as a “persuasion”… 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

A Cheerful Conservative

– Peter Wehner, "Contentions" Blog, Commentary, May 12, 2014.
Excerpt: Building on Tom Wilson’s fine post on the creation of the Foundation for Constitutional Government’s new website devoted to the writings of Irving Kristol… More

The Theological Politics of Irving Kristol by Matthew Continetti

– Matthew Continetti, "The Theological Politics of Irving Kristol," National Affairs, Summer, 2014.
Excerpt: The February 13, 1979, issue of Esquire magazine did not feature a typical cover model. He was not an actor, a politician, or a sports star. A professor but not a Ph.D., an editor… 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

What Is a “Neo-Conservative”?

– “What Is a ‘Neo-Conservative’?” Newsweek, January 19, 1976.
Excerpt: 1.  Neo-conservatism is not at all hostile to the idea of a welfare state, but it is critical of the Great Society version of this welfare state.  In general, it approves of… More

Human Nature and Social Reform

– “Human Nature and Social Reform,” Wall Street Journal, September 18, 1978.
Excerpt: What it comes down to is that our reformers simply cannot bring themselves to think realistically about human nature.  They believe it to be not only originally good, but also… 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).

Kristol’s Red Persuasion?

– Robert Lekachman, "Kristol's Red Persuasion?" The Nation, October 29, 1983. (A review of Reflections of a Neoconservative: Looking Back, Looking Ahead by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: In sum, at their worst these polemics are diatribes against the world supposedly made by liberals and those to the left of them. At their best, they convey much thoughtful, somber… More

The Political Dilemma of American Jews

– "The Political Dilemma of American Jews," Commentary, July 1984.
Excerpt: In short, while American Jews have for the most part persisted in their loyalty to the politics of American liberalism, that politics has blandly and remorselessly distanced itself… 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

Interview with Tom Bethell

– Interview with Tom Bethell, American Spectator, December 1991.
Excerpt: “The Democratic party is falling apart,” he said. “Which is lucky for us. It’s completely out of sync with the public. What’s happening to the… 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

A Man without Footnotes

– Nathan Glazer, "A Man without Footnotes," 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).

Following Irving

– Norman Podhoretz, "Following Irving," 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).

A Tribute to Irving Kristol

– William E. Simon, "A Tribute to Irving 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

American Conservatism, 1945-1995

– "American Conservatism, 1945-1995," The Public Interest, Fall 1995.
Excerpt: THE Public Interest was born well before the term “neoconservative” was invented, and will—I trust—be alive and active when the term is of only historical interest. That… More

Godfather

– Wilfred M. McClay, "Godfather," Commentary, February 1996. (A review of Neoconservatism: The Autobiography of an Idea by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: Perhaps, then, there is another sense in which Kristol deserves the appellation of “godfather.” Ever since the appearance of Mario Puzo’s book of that title, there has been a… More

The Right Stuff

– “The Right Stuff,” Prospect, October 1996.
Excerpt: I remember the day very well, back in 1956, when I arrived at my office at Encounter-of which I was then co-editor-and found on my desk an unsolicited manuscript by Michael… More

The Family Way

– Jacob Weisberg, "The Family Way," The New Yorker, October 21 & 28, 1996.
Excerpt: Someone imperfectly versed in the idiosyncrasies of American political life might have found Irving Kristol’s seventy-fifth-birthday party a bit peculiar. Gathered to… More

Arguing the World

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

On the Political Stupidity of the Jews

– "On the Political Stupidity of the Jews," Azure, Autumn 1999.
Excerpt: The novelist Saul Bellow is fond of recalling a political incident from his youth. Saul, then an undergraduate at the University of Chicago, was, like so many of us in the 1930s,… More

Arguing the World

– Arguing the World: The New York Intellectuals in Their Own Words, ed. Joseph Dorman (New York: Free Press, 2000). (Transcript of TV interviews from 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

The Neoconservative Persuasion: What It Was, and What It Is

– "The Neoconservative Persuasion: What It Was, and What It Is,"  The Weekly Standard, August 25, 2003.
Excerpt: Viewed in this way, one can say that the historical task and political purpose of neoconservatism would seem to be this: to convert the Republican party, and American conservatism… 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

My “Public Interest”

– "My 'Public Interest'," The Weekly Standard, December 18, 2006.
Excerpt: In 1965, through a series of circumstances that need not be recounted here, the stars became properly aligned so that my wish could become a reality. Dan Bell and I were able to… More

Irving Kristol, Norman Podhoretz, and the Jewish Religion

– Allan Arkush, "Irving Kristol, Norman Podhoretz, and the Jewish Religion," in Reason, Faith, and Politics: Essays in Honor of Werner J. Dannhauser, ed. Arthur M. Melzer and Robert P. Kraynak, (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2008).

The Godfather, R.I.P.

– Myron Magnet, "The Godfather, R.I.P.," City Journal, September 18, 2009.
Excerpt: His own world-historically influential magazine, The Public Interest, bore Irving’s stamp of practicality and realism, indeed of realpolitik. It aimed, through its hard-headed… More

Remembering Irving Kristol

– Peter Wehner, "The Corner," National Review Online, September 18, 2009.
Excerpt: Irving was a great man, a model and courageous public intellectual, and a giant in the conservative movement. He brought to it enormous intelligence and scholarship, great learning… 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

A Life in the Public Interest

– James Q. Wilson, "A Life in the Public Interest" The Wall Street Journal, September 21, 2009.
Excerpt: The view that we know less than we thought we knew about how to change the human condition came, in time, to be called neoconservatism. Many of the writers, myself included,… 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’s Clear Thinking

– Jonah Goldberg, "Irving Kristol's Clear Thinking," Los Angeles Times, September 23, 2009.
Excerpt: Buckley said that the neocons’ greatest contribution to conservatism was “sociology.” The early National Review conservatism was more Aristotelian, Buckley observed, while… More

Was Irving Kristol a Neoconservative?

– Justin Vaïsse, "Was Irving Kristol a Neoconservative?" Foreign Policy, September 23, 2009.
Excerpt: Although a few other neoconservatives followed Kristol’s realist line (Glazer and, to some extent, Jeane Kirkpatrick), for most of the others the idea of retrenching and… 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

A Great Good Man by Charles Krauthammer

– Charles Krauthammer, "A Great Good Man," The Washington Post, September 25, 2009.
Excerpt: My theory of Irving is that this amazing equanimity was rooted in a profound sense of modesty. First about himself. At 20, he got a job as a machinist’s apprentice at the… 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

Irving Kristol, Catholic Social Ethicist?

– George Weigel, "Irving Kristol, Catholic Social Ethicist?" column syndicated by Catholic Press, October 7, 2009.
Excerpt: The Public Interest, which was chiefly responsible for brewing the ideas embodied in the welfare reform of the 1990s, was a journal in defense of subsidiarity and in opposition to… 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 Real Irving Kristol

– Norman Podhoretz, "The Real Irving Kristol," Commentary, November 2009.
Excerpt: The obituaries got most of the facts right: that Irving Kristol’s death at the age of 89 marked the passing of one of the most important public intellectuals of the past 40… 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 Neoconservative Persuasion: A Tribute to Irving Kristol

– Audio, Video and Transcript.  A Hudson Institute panel, February 2, 2011.
As conservatives try once again to re-envision America’s future and how to secure it, the publication of this volume of previously uncollected essays by Irving Kristol, “the godfather… More

Irving Kristol: “The Neoconservative Persuasion”

– (Interview of William Kristol by David Brooks), Book TV, C-SPAN 2, February 11, 2011.
Mr. Kristol, who wrote the foreword to “The Neoconservative Persuasion,” discusses his late father’s essays on the history of the neoconservative movement. While the… More

The Great Persuader by James W. Ceaser

– James W. Ceaser, "The Great Persuader," The Weekly Standard, February 14, 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: Of public intellectuals so conceived, there have been only a handful: George Bancroft, whose famous History of the United States and orations sketched out much of the Jacksonian… More

Three Cheers

– Jeremy Rozansky, "Three Cheers," Counterpoint, Winter 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
“I myself have accepted the term, perhaps, because, having been named Irving, I am relatively indifferent to baptismal caprice.” So said Irving Kristol of having been called a… More

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

The Origins of Neoconservatism

– Harvey Mansfield, "The Origins of Neoconservatism" (An interview with Eli Kozminsky), Harvard Political Review, March 7, 2011.
Excerpt: What did Kristol find so radical, yet conservative, about Strauss? The article in Kristol’s book is a review of Strauss’ Persecution and the Art of Writing, which came out in… 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

Irving Kristol, Edmund Burke, and the Rabbis

– Meir Soloveichik, "Irving Kristol, Edmund Burke, and the Rabbis," Jewish Review of Books, Summer 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: Renowned as a founder of neoconservativism, Irving Kristol was “neo” in other respects as well. “Is there such a thing as a ‘neo’ gene?” he once… 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 Art of Persuasion

– Ross Douthat, "The Art of Persuasion," Claremont Review of Books, Fall 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: At times, the essays in The Neoconservative Persuasion suggest that these critics have a point. Neoconservatism may not be a rigid ideology, but even as a “persuasion”… 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

A Cheerful Conservative

– Peter Wehner, "Contentions" Blog, Commentary, May 12, 2014.
Excerpt: Building on Tom Wilson’s fine post on the creation of the Foundation for Constitutional Government’s new website devoted to the writings of Irving Kristol… More

The Theological Politics of Irving Kristol by Matthew Continetti

– Matthew Continetti, "The Theological Politics of Irving Kristol," National Affairs, Summer, 2014.
Excerpt: The February 13, 1979, issue of Esquire magazine did not feature a typical cover model. He was not an actor, a politician, or a sports star. A professor but not a Ph.D., an editor… 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

What Is a “Neo-Conservative”?

– “What Is a ‘Neo-Conservative’?” Newsweek, January 19, 1976.
Excerpt: 1.  Neo-conservatism is not at all hostile to the idea of a welfare state, but it is critical of the Great Society version of this welfare state.  In general, it approves of… More

Human Nature and Social Reform

– “Human Nature and Social Reform,” Wall Street Journal, September 18, 1978.
Excerpt: What it comes down to is that our reformers simply cannot bring themselves to think realistically about human nature.  They believe it to be not only originally good, but also… 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).

Kristol’s Red Persuasion?

– Robert Lekachman, "Kristol's Red Persuasion?" The Nation, October 29, 1983. (A review of Reflections of a Neoconservative: Looking Back, Looking Ahead by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: In sum, at their worst these polemics are diatribes against the world supposedly made by liberals and those to the left of them. At their best, they convey much thoughtful, somber… More

The Political Dilemma of American Jews

– "The Political Dilemma of American Jews," Commentary, July 1984.
Excerpt: In short, while American Jews have for the most part persisted in their loyalty to the politics of American liberalism, that politics has blandly and remorselessly distanced itself… 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

Interview with Tom Bethell

– Interview with Tom Bethell, American Spectator, December 1991.
Excerpt: “The Democratic party is falling apart,” he said. “Which is lucky for us. It’s completely out of sync with the public. What’s happening to the… 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

A Man without Footnotes

– Nathan Glazer, "A Man without Footnotes," 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).

Following Irving

– Norman Podhoretz, "Following Irving," 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).

A Tribute to Irving Kristol

– William E. Simon, "A Tribute to Irving 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

American Conservatism, 1945-1995

– "American Conservatism, 1945-1995," The Public Interest, Fall 1995.
Excerpt: THE Public Interest was born well before the term “neoconservative” was invented, and will—I trust—be alive and active when the term is of only historical interest. That… More

Godfather

– Wilfred M. McClay, "Godfather," Commentary, February 1996. (A review of Neoconservatism: The Autobiography of an Idea by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: Perhaps, then, there is another sense in which Kristol deserves the appellation of “godfather.” Ever since the appearance of Mario Puzo’s book of that title, there has been a… More

The Right Stuff

– “The Right Stuff,” Prospect, October 1996.
Excerpt: I remember the day very well, back in 1956, when I arrived at my office at Encounter-of which I was then co-editor-and found on my desk an unsolicited manuscript by Michael… More

The Family Way

– Jacob Weisberg, "The Family Way," The New Yorker, October 21 & 28, 1996.
Excerpt: Someone imperfectly versed in the idiosyncrasies of American political life might have found Irving Kristol’s seventy-fifth-birthday party a bit peculiar. Gathered to… More

Arguing the World

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

On the Political Stupidity of the Jews

– "On the Political Stupidity of the Jews," Azure, Autumn 1999.
Excerpt: The novelist Saul Bellow is fond of recalling a political incident from his youth. Saul, then an undergraduate at the University of Chicago, was, like so many of us in the 1930s,… More

Arguing the World

– Arguing the World: The New York Intellectuals in Their Own Words, ed. Joseph Dorman (New York: Free Press, 2000). (Transcript of TV interviews from 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

The Neoconservative Persuasion: What It Was, and What It Is

– "The Neoconservative Persuasion: What It Was, and What It Is,"  The Weekly Standard, August 25, 2003.
Excerpt: Viewed in this way, one can say that the historical task and political purpose of neoconservatism would seem to be this: to convert the Republican party, and American conservatism… 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

My “Public Interest”

– "My 'Public Interest'," The Weekly Standard, December 18, 2006.
Excerpt: In 1965, through a series of circumstances that need not be recounted here, the stars became properly aligned so that my wish could become a reality. Dan Bell and I were able to… More

Irving Kristol, Norman Podhoretz, and the Jewish Religion

– Allan Arkush, "Irving Kristol, Norman Podhoretz, and the Jewish Religion," in Reason, Faith, and Politics: Essays in Honor of Werner J. Dannhauser, ed. Arthur M. Melzer and Robert P. Kraynak, (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2008).

The Godfather, R.I.P.

– Myron Magnet, "The Godfather, R.I.P.," City Journal, September 18, 2009.
Excerpt: His own world-historically influential magazine, The Public Interest, bore Irving’s stamp of practicality and realism, indeed of realpolitik. It aimed, through its hard-headed… More

Remembering Irving Kristol

– Peter Wehner, "The Corner," National Review Online, September 18, 2009.
Excerpt: Irving was a great man, a model and courageous public intellectual, and a giant in the conservative movement. He brought to it enormous intelligence and scholarship, great learning… 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

A Life in the Public Interest

– James Q. Wilson, "A Life in the Public Interest" The Wall Street Journal, September 21, 2009.
Excerpt: The view that we know less than we thought we knew about how to change the human condition came, in time, to be called neoconservatism. Many of the writers, myself included,… 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’s Clear Thinking

– Jonah Goldberg, "Irving Kristol's Clear Thinking," Los Angeles Times, September 23, 2009.
Excerpt: Buckley said that the neocons’ greatest contribution to conservatism was “sociology.” The early National Review conservatism was more Aristotelian, Buckley observed, while… More

Was Irving Kristol a Neoconservative?

– Justin Vaïsse, "Was Irving Kristol a Neoconservative?" Foreign Policy, September 23, 2009.
Excerpt: Although a few other neoconservatives followed Kristol’s realist line (Glazer and, to some extent, Jeane Kirkpatrick), for most of the others the idea of retrenching and… 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

A Great Good Man by Charles Krauthammer

– Charles Krauthammer, "A Great Good Man," The Washington Post, September 25, 2009.
Excerpt: My theory of Irving is that this amazing equanimity was rooted in a profound sense of modesty. First about himself. At 20, he got a job as a machinist’s apprentice at the… 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

Irving Kristol, Catholic Social Ethicist?

– George Weigel, "Irving Kristol, Catholic Social Ethicist?" column syndicated by Catholic Press, October 7, 2009.
Excerpt: The Public Interest, which was chiefly responsible for brewing the ideas embodied in the welfare reform of the 1990s, was a journal in defense of subsidiarity and in opposition to… 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 Real Irving Kristol

– Norman Podhoretz, "The Real Irving Kristol," Commentary, November 2009.
Excerpt: The obituaries got most of the facts right: that Irving Kristol’s death at the age of 89 marked the passing of one of the most important public intellectuals of the past 40… 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 Neoconservative Persuasion: A Tribute to Irving Kristol

– Audio, Video and Transcript.  A Hudson Institute panel, February 2, 2011.
As conservatives try once again to re-envision America’s future and how to secure it, the publication of this volume of previously uncollected essays by Irving Kristol, “the godfather… More

Irving Kristol: “The Neoconservative Persuasion”

– (Interview of William Kristol by David Brooks), Book TV, C-SPAN 2, February 11, 2011.
Mr. Kristol, who wrote the foreword to “The Neoconservative Persuasion,” discusses his late father’s essays on the history of the neoconservative movement. While the… More

The Great Persuader by James W. Ceaser

– James W. Ceaser, "The Great Persuader," The Weekly Standard, February 14, 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: Of public intellectuals so conceived, there have been only a handful: George Bancroft, whose famous History of the United States and orations sketched out much of the Jacksonian… More

Three Cheers

– Jeremy Rozansky, "Three Cheers," Counterpoint, Winter 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
“I myself have accepted the term, perhaps, because, having been named Irving, I am relatively indifferent to baptismal caprice.” So said Irving Kristol of having been called a… More

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

The Origins of Neoconservatism

– Harvey Mansfield, "The Origins of Neoconservatism" (An interview with Eli Kozminsky), Harvard Political Review, March 7, 2011.
Excerpt: What did Kristol find so radical, yet conservative, about Strauss? The article in Kristol’s book is a review of Strauss’ Persecution and the Art of Writing, which came out in… 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

Irving Kristol, Edmund Burke, and the Rabbis

– Meir Soloveichik, "Irving Kristol, Edmund Burke, and the Rabbis," Jewish Review of Books, Summer 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: Renowned as a founder of neoconservativism, Irving Kristol was “neo” in other respects as well. “Is there such a thing as a ‘neo’ gene?” he once… 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 Art of Persuasion

– Ross Douthat, "The Art of Persuasion," Claremont Review of Books, Fall 2011. (A review of The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol.)
Excerpt: At times, the essays in The Neoconservative Persuasion suggest that these critics have a point. Neoconservatism may not be a rigid ideology, but even as a “persuasion”… 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

A Cheerful Conservative

– Peter Wehner, "Contentions" Blog, Commentary, May 12, 2014.
Excerpt: Building on Tom Wilson’s fine post on the creation of the Foundation for Constitutional Government’s new website devoted to the writings of Irving Kristol… More

The Theological Politics of Irving Kristol by Matthew Continetti

– Matthew Continetti, "The Theological Politics of Irving Kristol," National Affairs, Summer, 2014.
Excerpt: The February 13, 1979, issue of Esquire magazine did not feature a typical cover model. He was not an actor, a politician, or a sports star. A professor but not a Ph.D., an editor… 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