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.
The book delves into the pivotal role of Leo Strauss in shaping the conservative revolution in the United States during the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan. It explores how Strauss, a reclusive German Jewish émigré, influenced key figures in the conservative movement, including Irving Kristol, Gertrude Himmelfarb, Chief Justice Clarence Thomas, and Speaker Newt Gingrich. Shadia Drury uncovers the connections between Strauss's ideas and the emergence of modern conservatism, providing a compelling analysis of his lasting impact on American politics.
The book critically examines the contrasting intellectual foundations of American foreign policy, highlighting the left's belief in democracy as a pathway to global peace, rooted in Kantian philosophy. In contrast, the right draws on realist thinkers like Thucydides and Strauss, viewing military power as essential for survival and dominance. The author argues that the right's promotion of democracy serves as a facade for imperial ambitions. Ultimately, the book challenges both perspectives as expressions of Western chauvinism.
Drury challenges the established view of Thomas Aquinas, portraying him as a fervent Dominican rather than a moderate Christian thinker. She highlights his strong support for papal authority, the Inquisition, and the persecution of Jews. Despite her critical stance, Drury aims to reclaim the rationalism and naturalism that Aquinas struggled to align with his beliefs, offering a complex re-evaluation of his legacy in the context of faith and reason.
This book poses a radical challenge to the legend of Socrates bequeathed by Plato and echoed by scholars through the ages: that Socrates was an innocent sage convicted and sentenced to death by the democratic mob, for merely questioning the political and religious ideas of his time. This legend conceals an enigma: How could a sage who was pious and good be so closely associated with the treasonous Alcibiades, who betrayed Athens in the Peloponnesian war? How could Critias and Charmides, who launched a reign of terror in Athens after her defeat, have been among his students and closest associates? The book makes the case for the prosecution, denouncing the religion of Socrates for inciting a radical politics of absolutism and monism that continues to plague Western civilization. It is time to recognize that Socrates was no liberator of the mind, but quite the contrary—he was the architect of a frightful authoritarianism, which continues to manifest itself, not only in Islamic terror, but also in liberal foreign policy. Defending Homer and the tragic poets, the book concludes that the West has imbibed from the wrong Greeks.