Abstract

Most catastrophes in the 20th century have been the results of attempts to deploy radical alternatives to what in the 19th century was routinely castigated as “modern bourgeois society.” The convenient conclusion often drawn from this state of affairs is to forget about alternatives altogether and try to make the best one can with what there is, which helps explain the resurgence of de facto conservatism among both intellectuals and politicians during the last decade. This, however, is a peculiar type of conservatism that often passes itself off as “Left” and “radical,” much to the chagrin of old line conservatives,…