Rebels All!: A Short History of the Conservative Mind in Postwar America (Ideas in Action)

188 Pages·2008·0.59 MB·English

by  Kevin Mattson

PRELIMS.qxd 4/23/08 1:51 PM Page i
Rebels All!
PRELIMS.qxd 4/23/08 1:51 PM Page ii
Ideas in Action
Thought and Culture in the United States
since 1945
George Cotkin,Series Editor
Ideas in Action encourages historians to consider large and important
topics pertaining to cultural and intellectual life in the United States
since 1945.Drawing on the secondary literature surrounding a topic,
these books discover and dissect compelling issues related to large
cultural questions as they change over time,and they give authors an
opportunity to interpret,to speculate,and to “think out loud,”while
furthering strong critical debate.Books in the series deal not in
abstractions but anchor ideas firmly in the context of politics,culture,
and society.They are written in a style that is accessible to a wide range
of readers and that captures the author’s personality and point of view.
PRELIMS.qxd 4/23/08 1:51 PM Page iii
Rebels All!
A Short History of
the Conservative Mind
in Postwar America
Kevin Mattson
Rutgers University Press
New Brunswick,New Jersey,and London
PRELIMS.qxd 4/23/08 1:51 PM Page iv
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mattson,Kevin,1966–
Rebels all! :a short history of the conservative mind in postwar
America / Kevin Mattson.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8135-4343-7 (hardcover :alk.paper)
1.Conservatism—United States—History—20th century.
2.Conservatism—United States—History—21st century.
3.United States—Politics and government—1945–1989.
4.United States—Politics and government—1989– I.Title.
JC573.2.U6M354 2008
320.520973—dc22 2007044891
A British Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book is available
from the British Library.
Copyright © 2008 by Kevin Mattson
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by
any means,electronic or mechanical,or by any information storage and
retrieval system,without written permission from the publisher.Please
contact Rutgers University Press,100 Joyce Kilmer Avenue,Piscataway,
NJ 08854-8099.The only exception to this prohibition is “fair use”as
defined by U.S.copyright law.
Visit our Web site:http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu
Manufactured in the United States of America
PRELIMS.qxd 4/23/08 1:51 PM Page v
In the memory of Christopher Lasch, my teacher . . .
From an apostate, still respectful
PRELIMS.qxd 4/23/08 1:51 PM Page vi
PRELIMS.qxd 4/23/08 1:51 PM Page vii
The picture today in American politics is of intelligence
without force or enthusiasm facing force and enthusiasm
without intelligence.
—David Riesman and Nathan Glazer,
“The Intellectuals and Discontented Classes,” 1955
PRELIMS.qxd 4/23/08 1:51 PM Page viii
PRELIMS.qxd 4/23/08 1:51 PM Page ix
Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: The Party of Ideas? 1
1 The First Generation: Apocalyptic Rebels
with a Cause 22
2 The Big Chill That Set Fires 62
3 Postmodern Conservatism, the Politics of
Outrage, and the Mindset of War 97
Conclusion: When Extremism Becomes
a Virtue 133
Notes 143
Index 161
ix
PRELIMS.qxd 4/23/08 1:51 PM Page x