Southern Political Science Association

Germany's New Conservatism: Its History and Dilemma in the Twentieth Century. byKlemens von KlempererReview by: Cortez A. M. EwingThe Journal of Politics, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Feb., 1958), pp. 237-238Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Southern Political Science AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2127413 .

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1958] BOOK REVIEWS 237

case he feels that "the traditional anticolonialism of Americans is to a great degree misplaced in Algeria, for it is not a classic colonial case. The Algerian rebels are not the equivalents of Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin."

Since the author has had the good fortune of meeting and knowing well most of the French leaders and tells some good stories about them, there are touches in this book that make it unique. And finally for the few who seem to appreciate France without falling into the lover's habit of nagging her to death, there is no doubt that Mr. Schoenbrun is convinced that the French are continuing to look for a better way of life for mankind and France, and that the goals are compatible, not in conflict.

MANFRED C. VERNON

University of Alabama

Germany's New Conservatism: Its History and Dilemma In the Twentieth Century. By KLEMENS VON KLEMPERER. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1957. Pp. xxvi, 250.)

This excellent historical study of German conservatism during the Weimar period is a contribution to the expanding bibliography on conservatism in general. The foreword by Sigmund Neumann gives meaningful perspective to the ideological difficulties experi- enced by the Germans between the great wars.

The study has the strength and weaknesses inherent in histori- cal methodology. When pursued with ardor, the philosophical con- cepts are not satisfactorily defined in relation to the general doc- trine of conservatism. They are merely halted in the stream of history and examined in relation to their competitors in the Ger- man political scene. And there are always manifest differences be- tween political philosophy and the sales programs of political parties and political movements. Von Klemperer is both interesting and instructive when, toward the end of his essay, he stops to dis- cuss the political ideas of Moeller van den Bruck, Oswald Spengler, and Ernst Jiinger. It is to be deplored that he did not present similar essays on Max Weber, Friedrich Naumann, Ernst Troeltsch, Friedrich Meinecke, Walther Rathenau, and Thomas Mann.

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238 THE JOURNAL OF POLITICS [Vol. 20

In the opinion of the reviewer, the discussion of German con- servatism in its relation to the rising Nazi movement accomplishes little except to show that the conservative theorists had never thought out their doctrines in relation to standard of living and other social problems of modern politics. To assume that conserva- tives were those who objected to life's being suppressed by reason (pp. 115, 116), or that they were the irrationalists who were in mor- tal opposition to those who relied upon reason for solution of social problems is to define conservatism in very imprecise terms. Burke and Cecil are on much more plausible ground with their slow-haste doctrine. The content of conservative doctrine has always been fertilized by the political successes of liberal experimentalists. Only the reactionaries refuse to accept patent social improvements.

The comprehension of German conservatism is, I am sure, much more difficult than is the understanding of the New Conservatism of the United States. There are so many traditions fighting to main- tain integrity in the market place of ideas-monarchy, feudalism, peasantry, established church, to mention only a few-which have little or no meaning in America. (Incidentally, there is no discus- sion of the conservatism of German ecclesiastical leaders in this study, despite the fact that Church-State relations were an impor- tant political issue during the Weimar period.) In America, the property system, governmental functions, and racial relations pro- vide most of the issues which set conservatives off from liberals and others. This study will, therefore, be of minor importance to an understanding of American conservatism.

CORTEZ A. M. EWING

University of Oklahoma

Perspectives on Administration. By DWIGHT WALDO. (University, Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 1956. Pp. 143. $2.50.)

This volume contains the 1954 lectures sponsored by the Uni- versity of Alabama in connection with the Southern Regional Training Program. It is a worthy addition to an enterprise that has done much to broaden the horizons and deepen the intellectual content of academic public administration in the United States.

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