Conservatism. A rediscovery by Yoram Hazony

As well as being a keen reader of fiction, I have a bit of a side hustle with current affairs and politics. Usually I gather my information from magazine articles and news feeds, but when I saw this new book displayed in the library, I decided I felt up to a deeper dive.

I was drawn to this title because in recent years there has been a noticeable shift to the political right in a number of countries, and some hard-won societal changes are at risk of being taken away again. Since the end of the Second World War we saw a global shift towards social liberalism, and most people saw that as a good thing, and embraced a more equal society with greater levels of acceptance of minority groups. However, it turns out that not everyone is prepared to accommodate such rapid change and now some sections of society are looking for a way to not only put the brakes on, but to crash the gears into reverse and slam their collective foot down on the accelerator.

Yoram Hazony would like us all to return to conservatism and, in his opinion, it will be the answer to all our problems. This is a man on a mission, and this 400 page book sets out why we should agree with him. Judging by the tone of his writing, I don't think he leaves much scope for anyone not agreeing with him. There is certainly a lot of detail to his argument, and the man is certainly thorough, but I wouldn't say this was a very rounded look at life today; more a visit to the head teacher to listen in guilty silence to what he has to say to you.

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