NEOCONSERVATISM

Is neoconservatism finished? C. Bradley Thompson, co-writing with Yaron Brook, argues that the movement's obituary has been prematurely written, and then offers a sharp case that it has already been undone. The book is titled Neoconservatism: An Obituary for an Idea. It sets out what neoconservatives have privately described as their program for running the United States, a governing blueprint that has rarely been laid out in public. Thompson examines the philosophical foundations beneath the movement and follows the line of influence from the political philosopher Leo Strauss to present-day neoconservative figures in politics and policy.

The central claim is that neoconservatism is a form of anti-Americanism, and Thompson tests it against the principles of the American founding. He writes as an insider. He spent many years within the Straussian and neoconservative intellectual circles he now analyzes, and that firsthand knowledge shapes his account. The book joins a tradition of scholars who break with their own camp to criticize it, aiming for a critique that is informed, pointed, and not partisan. It is written for readers interested in political thought, the intellectual history of American conservatism, and debates that cut across the left and right.