Ancient Greece and American Conservatism: Classical Influence on the Modern Right

US conservatives have used classical Greece for inspiration and rhetorical power, from Plato to Aristotle to Thucydides, to explore competing strands in American conservatism. John Bloxham's work explores the depth of conservatives' engagement with Greece, the flexibility of Greek ideas, and the ways that Greek thought has reinforced and invigorated conservatism.

\n Format: Hardback
\n Length: 296 pages
\n Publication date: 28 March 2018
\n Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
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Conservatives in the United States have frequently sought inspiration and rhetorical influence from classical Greece. In the 1950s, they turned to Plato to defend moral absolutism, in the 1960s, they used Aristotle to develop a conservative social science, and in the 1990s, they relied on Thucydides to justify a more assertive foreign policy. John Bloxham explores this phenomenon by tracing the selective, subversive, and adaptive aspects of conservatives' engagement with classical thought within their broader social and political contexts. From the early years of the Cold War to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Bloxham highlights the depth of conservatives' involvement with Greece, the unique flexibility of Greek ideas, and the diverse and varied ways in which Greek thought has reinforced and invigorated conservatism. This innovative work of reception studies offers a deeper understanding of the American Right and is essential reading for classicists, modern US historians, and political scientists alike.

Conservatives in the United States have frequently sought inspiration and rhetorical influence from classical Greece. In the 1950s, they turned to Plato to defend moral absolutism, in the 1960s, they used Aristotle to develop a conservative social science, and in the 1990s, they relied on Thucydides to justify a more assertive foreign policy. John Bloxham explores this phenomenon by tracing the selective, subversive, and adaptive aspects of conservatives' engagement with classical thought within their broader social and political contexts. From the early years of the Cold War to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Bloxham highlights the depth of conservatives' involvement with Greece, the unique flexibility of Greek ideas, and the diverse and varied ways in which Greek thought has reinforced and invigorated conservatism. This innovative work of reception studies offers a deeper understanding of the American Right and is essential reading for classicists, modern US historians, and political scientists alike.

\n Weight: 504g\n
Dimension: 219 x 149 x 28 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781788311540\n \n