The Conservative Soul: How We Lost It, How to Get It Back

"As engaging as it is provocative. . . . Sullivan’s book should be read closely by liberals as well as conservatives.” — Jonathan Raban, The New York Review of Books

One of the nation's leading political commentators makes an impassioned call to rescue conservatism from the excesses of the Republican far right, which has tried to make the GOP the first fundamentally religious party in American history.

Today's conservatives support the idea of limited government, but they have increased government's size and power to new heights. They believe in balanced budgets, but they have boosted government spending, debt, and pork to record levels. They believe in national security but launched a reckless, ideological occupation in Iraq that has made us tangibly less safe. They have substituted religion for politics and damaged both.

In this bold and powerful book, Andrew Sullivan makes a provocative, prescient, and heartfelt case for a revived conservatism at peace with the modern world, and dedicated to restraining government and empowering individuals to live rich and fulfilling lives.

what does it mean to be a conservative anymore?

With the Iraq war, the rise of Christian fundamentalism, exploding government spending, soaring debt, insecure borders, and an executive branch with greater and greater power, Republicans and conservatives are debating this question with more and more urgency.

The contradictions keep mounting. Today's conservatives support the idea of limited government, but they have increased government's size, power, and reach to new heights. They believe in balanced budgets, but they have boosted government spending, debt, and pork to record levels. They believe in individual liberty and the rule of law, but they have condoned torture, ignored laws passed by Congress, and been indicted for bribery. They have substituted religion for politics, and damaged both.

In The Conservative Soul, Andrew Sullivan, one of the nation's leading political commentators, makes an impassioned call to rescue conservatism from the excesses of the Republican far right, which risks making the GOP the first fundamentally religious party in American history. Through an incisive look at the rise of Western fundamentalism, Sullivan argues that conservatives cannot in good conscience keep supporting a party that believes in its own God-given mission to change people's souls, instead of protecting their liberties. He carefully charts the arguments of the new conservatism, showing why they cannot work in today's America, why they fail the test of logic and pragmatism, and why they betray the conservative tradition from Edmund Burke to Ronald Reagan.

In this bold and powerful book, Andrew Sullivan criticizes our government for acting too often, too quickly, and too expensively. He champions a political philosophy based on skepticism and reason, rather than certainty and fundamentalism. He defends a Christianity that is sincere but not intolerant, and a politics that respects religion by keeping its distance. And he makes a provocative, heartfelt case for a revived conservatism at peace with the modern world, dedicated to restraining government and empowering individuals to live rich and fulfilling lives.

“Andrew Sullivan has been more honest and open-minded than just about anybody else on the right. . . . His book is important, not only because he is willing to re-examine his own views relentlessly, but also because this is a moment when conservatism is in tumult. . . . The Conservative Soul is imbued with Sullivan’s characteristic passion and clarity. . . . This is Sullivan at his wonderful best.” - David Brooks, The New York Times Book Review

“A kind of bildungsroman of Sullivan in the 9/11 years. . . . His invective is scorching, and one is happy he has turned on his former big-tent mates. . . . There is the reflection of a memoir in this book, a lingering heat and passion that are the detritus of a personal struggle.” - New York magazine

“Intellectually challenging and thoroughly captivating. . . . Sullivan is blessed with an insatiable appetite for ideas and argument. . . . What he has to say about most things is interesting, elegantly expressed, and deeply thought through.” - The Economist

“An adept social commentator, Sullivan skewers errant nonsense. . . . The Conservative Soul will be a success. Sullivan is a lucid, intelligent writer...a genuine pleasure to read.” - Commonweal

“Sullivan’s is at once an obvious yet much-needed siren. . . . The Conservative Soul calmly and rationally attempts to deduce the malady that in barely 15 years has rendered Reagan-era conservatism all but unrecognizable.” - Bryan Burrough, The Washington Post Book World

“The Conservative Soul is as engaging as it is provocative. . . . Brilliantly exposes the contradictions of the Republican Party. . . . Sullivan’s alienated eye allows him to probe fundamentalist Christian theology with impressive clarity. . . . Sullivan’s book should be read closely by liberals as well as conservatives.” - Jonathan Raban, The New York Review of Books