Germany's New Conservatism : Its History and Dilemma in the Twentieth Century

This is at once a chapter in the history of ideas and, by reason of its focus on the Weimar Republic, a case study. The author first offers a stimulating approach to a definition of that much abused word, conservatism. He then discusses the new conservatism's roots in such men as Burckhardt and Nietzsche, the various elements of the movement itself, and three major expressions of it—Moeller van den Bruck, Spengler, and Ernst Junger. Finally, he considers the complex relationship between neo-conservatism and Nazism. Originally published in 1957. The **Princeton Legacy Library** uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905. FOREWORD PREFACE CONTENTS INTRODUCTION PART I. THE NINETEENTH CENTURY BACKGROUND I. TOWARD A DEFINITION OF CONSERVATISM No Orthodoxy The Logic of Conservatism II. THE GENESIS OF THE DILEMMA Nineteenth Century German Conservatism at a Dead End Nietzsche, Conservative and Nihilist Challenges to Conservatism: The Workers and the Proletarianized Middle Classes III. THE REVIVAL OF GERMAN CONSERVATISM IN THE YOUTH MOVEMENT AND DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR The Youth Movement The Ideas of 1914 PART II. THE NEO-CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT I. THE REVOLUTION OF 1918-1919 AND ITS CONSERVATIVE ASPECTS The "Dreamland of the Armistice Period" The End of the "Dreamland of the Armistice Period": (a) The Failure of the New Socialism The End of the "Dreamland of the Armistice Period": (b) Versailles II. THE FORMATIVE YEARS OF THE REPUBLIC The "Elders" of the Republic The Post-War Youth Movement Eugen Diederichs and the Tat Wilhelm Stapel and the Deutsches Volkstum The June Club Neo-Conservatism at the Crossroads: The "Eldersf " Rejection of the Neo-Conservative Movement III. THE LATER YEARS OF THE REPUBLIC The Crisis and the Neo-Conservatives The Young Conservatives The Conservatives of the Tat Circle The Radical Conservatives IV. NATIONAL BOLSHEVISM AND THE NEO-CONSERVATIVES PART III. THREE MAJOR EXPRESSIONS OF NEO-CONSERVATISM I. THE THIRD REICH OF MOELLER VAN DEN BRUCK II. THE PESSIMISM OF OSWALD SPENGLER III. THE NIHILISM OF THE EARLY ERNST JUNGER PART IV. NEO-CONSERVATISM AND NATIONAL SOCIALISM I. THE FAILURE OF THE FINAL TEST: THE CONVERGING OF THE TWO MOVEMENTS II. THE "GOD THAT FAILED" CONCLUSION POSTSCRIPT, 1968 BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY INDEX This is at once a chapter in the history of ideas and, by reason of its focus on the Weimar Republic, a case study. The author first offers a stimulating approach to a definition of that much abused word, conservatism. He then discusses the new conservatism's roots in such men as Burckhardt and Nietzsche, the various elements of the movement itself, and three major expressions of it--Moeller van den Bruck, Spengler, and Ernst Junger. Finally, he considers the complex relationship between neo-conservatism and NazismOriginally published in 1957. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905