The Political Ideas of Leo Strauss, Updated Edition : With a New Introduction By the Author

Now in paperback, this book explores the political thought of Leo Strauss, a philosopher most noted for playing a key role in neoconservative thought in America. Drury explores Strauss's thought and its role in American politics, exposing what she argues are the elitist, nearly authoritarian strains within it and those who follow it. A polemic against Strauss and his followers, the original edition has won Drury little friendship from the neoconservative camp and this revised edition with a new introduction is sure to continue the controversy among political theorists. Was Strauss a traditional conservative, a defender of religion and a critic of moral relativism, or was he an atheist and moral nihilist who believed the purpose of traditional values is to tranquilize the masses and the best way of government was through a secret elite operating outside the law? Drury (philosophy and political science, U. of Regina) is inclined toward the latter, to put it mildly, and indicates serious students of Strauss, including high-ranking members of government know and apply his principles to domestic and foreign policy, resulting in, as her new introduction for this edition says, "secrecy, lies and endless war." She examines Strauss against a number of philosophical and political measures, indicating he borrowed extensively from Nietzsche and Machiavelli to come up with a system of thought certainly different than that accepted by the academe, and definitely different than that expressed by present believers. Annotation : 2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Was Strauss a traditional conservative, a defender of religion and a critic of moral relativism, or was he an atheist and moral nihilist who believed the purpose of traditional values is to tranquilize the masses and the best way of government was through a secret elite operating outside the law? Drury (philosophy and political science, U. of Regina) is inclined toward the latter, to put it mildly, and indicates serious students of Strauss, including high-ranking members of government know and apply his principles to domestic and foreign policy, resulting in, as her new introduction for this edition says, secrecy, lies and endless war. She examines Strauss against a number of philosophical and political measures, indicating he borrowed extensively from Nietzsche and Machiavelli to come up with a system of thought certainly different than that accepted by the academe, and definitely different than that expressed by present believers. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Front Matter....Pages i-lxv Leo Strauss: Teacher and Philosopher....Pages 1-17 Esoteric Philosophy and Ancient Wisdom....Pages 18-36 Philosophy’s Hidden Revolt against God....Pages 37-60 Socrates and the Drama of Western Civilization....Pages 61-89 Classic Natural Right or the Teaching on Tyranny....Pages 90-113 Machiavelli’s Subversion of Esotericism....Pages 114-132 Hobbes and the Character of Modernity....Pages 133-150 The Crisis of Modernity....Pages 151-169 Post-Modernity: Plato or Nietzsche?....Pages 170-181 Esotericism Betrayed....Pages 182-192 The Wise and the Vulgar: A Criticism of Leo Strauss....Pages 193-202 Back Matter....Pages 203-256