Dr Matthew Raphael Johnson deals with the legal theories of HLA Hart and Louis Hartz, writers of the middle of the 20th century. The debate over the source of law is necessary for a nation that today, has neither law nor order. But is there an American Conservatism? Louis Hartz claims that the complete absence of royalist or “feudal” bonds makes the US A very poor champion of conservatism. It is even hard to picture, outside of a radically statist, Prussian Lutheranism, how Protestantism can itself be anything but liberal. The US was founded as a radical republic, not too far away from Venice or Genoa in their heyday. Hence, conservatism becomes some rehashing of either the utilitarian free market of Adam Smith, or, even more eccentrically, the yeoman distributivism of Jefferson. While both are certainly anti-Marxist, that's about all they have in common. Hartz wins this one. Conservatism might be better recast as “suburban middle-classicism” for it to make more sense. Outside of joining the British commonwealth, the U.S. is cut off from European culture in this medieval respect. Hence, it was born in deism, Puritanism and revolution. Presented by Matt Johnson The Orthodox Nationalist: American Conservatism – TON 071520