Russell Kirk: The Mystery of Human Existence

Abstract

Russell Kirk was one of the intellectual founders of the American conservative movement in the mid-twentieth century, and his legacy echoes even among those who do not know his name.

Kirk reminded us of the limitations of human rationality. He opposed schemes for collectivizing property and centralizing power, for such rationalist plans failed to account for the limits of human knowledge and goodness. When implemented, they brought misery to millions. Against the rationalist confidence of the central planners, Kirk set tradition, which he saw as a repository of human experience and the tried and true wisdom of the past.

Beginning with his most famous work, The Conservative Mind, Kirk brought Edmund Burke into his proper place in the conservative pantheon. Burke’s reverence for tradition and abhorrence of radical revolution make him an obvious inspiration for conservative intellectuals. Kirk also offered unique insight into Burke’s blend of natural law thinking and historical consciousness, which offers valuable insights for conservative political theory. There are real moral obligations upon us, but the mystery of human existence prevents us from delineating once and for all a perfect system of moral philosophy, or an ideal political system.

And Kirk knew that man lives not by bread alone, but on imagination. Thus, he wrote not only academic works, but columns, popular books such as The American Cause, and even short stories. Truth, whether moral, cultural or political, is apprehended as much by the imagination as by reason. Throughout them he used his talents to leaven the conservative revival with humility and reverence.