Ideas Have Consequences

by Richard M. Weaver

Book Overview

Originally published in 1948, at the height of post-World War II optimism and confidence in collective security, Ideas Have Consequences uses "words hard as cannonballs" to present an unsparing diagnosis of the ills of the modern age. Widely read and debated at the time of its first publication, the book is now seen asone of the foundational texts of the modern conservative movement.

In its pages, Richard M. Weaver argues that the decline...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 022609006X
• ISBN13: 9780226090061
• Release Date: November 2013
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Recovering the Good

Since its initial publication in 1948, Richard M. Weaver's Ideas Have Consequences has been has been one of the most heralded and misunderstood books among contemporary conservatives. Weaver's insightful critique of the ethos of modern liberalism is often cited by contemporary conservative thinkers as a profound influence on their thinking. The truly odd thing here is that he would have as little to praise about their views as their opponents. Indeed it could be said that his points are just as devastating to the corporate capitalism of the right as the statist collectivism of the left. Like Tolkien, Weaver is a hero to those with whom he would find himself at complete odds. Weaver's analysis of Western society is that the culture suffers from an abandonment of concern for the permanent things - the ideals of truth, beauty, and the good that are eternal and not subject to the whims of public fashion. This is opposed to the modernist idea of "progress" as the ultimate good. Since both liberalism and conservatism as we understand it in our society have roots in modernism, neither would find sympathy here. Instead of calling for a return to "traditional American values", Weaver seeks a reappropiation of the classical values found in the best of the ancient thinkers and that served in the flowering of Christendom. In the modern world, each area of cultural endeavor is separated from that which is its natural end - politics no longer strives for virtue, art for beauty, philosophy for truth. Modern education seeks the practical development for political and economic ends and separates it from its origin in the teaching of eternal things. It is a world whose priorities have been skewed to serve the basest of motivations. Weaver traces the beginnings of the problem to the loss of belief in universals resulting from the rise of nominalist philosophy associated with William of Occam. In this shift from apprehending the eteranal universals to classifying the passing singulars, man subtly shifted his focus from heaven to earth. From this point onward, the development of a completely secularized society was an inevitability as the decay of interest in the permanent things crept into all cultural endeavors. Similarly, a recovery from the modern predicamemt can only result from a reappropriation of concern for that which is eternal. While his analysis of what ails the modern culture is both eloquent and profound, his placing the blame on nominalism is less convincing. In retrospect, the nominalist position is as much an outgrowth of the earlier medieval scholasticism as anything that followed is from nominalism. While it is certainly a step in the wrong direction, nominalism was hardly the first such step. More likely the cause was rooted in the methodology of the West as it tentatively stepped from centuries of cultural darkness. In their use of classical philosophy, the patristic writers had always been judicious in preserving what was good and using it

Incredibly prescient and influential

I read this book as a college freshman, and it was incredibly influential. Numerous times I paused, absorbing his words, shocked at how right he was.Prof. Weaver's critique of modern culture was as relevant then as it is now. His attack on jazz music might startle the modern reader, but just consider that this music influenced early rock and roll, and while I enjoy a lot of popular music, this has ultimately given us some pretty vile music that can and does influence the way kids think. Think "gangta rap" and the sexually explicit stuff on the radio. Prof. Weaver could hear the appeal to basic urges in the rhythms of jazz music.This type of conservatism is unfamiliar to modern political junkies. This is not capitalist, semi-libertarian Reagan conservatism. His attacks on finance capitalism, industry, technology, and comfort as the basic goal of life might almost sound like the mantra of IMF protestors and people with socialist leanings. But make no mistake: Weaver extends an olive branch (probably unintentionally) to the other side of conservatism with his focus on private property as the last surviving link to a metaphysical foundation of ethics. He didn't mean this in a materialist sense, but in the sense of being tied to a home, a family, a community.After reading this, I highly recommend "Steps Toward Restoration: The Consequences of Richard Weaver's Ideas" to get some more perspective on the man, and how some of his ideas changed towards the end of his life. (During the height of the Cold War, his stance on individualism and capitalism softened a bit.)

Things Fall Apart -- It's Scientific!

This book is densely written and merits -- maybe requires -- multiple readings. Fortunately, it's also a compelling book, which will make you want to reread it.The idea whose consequences Weaver entails and deplores he identifies as nominalism or relativism -- the absence of belief in any source of truth outside man, the absence of universals, the reduction of all things to formless particulars.You might have thought that such an idea was too abstract to have any impact on your life, but Weaver argues persuasively that nominalism makes impossible the "metaphysical dream" of an organized universe, leading to social chaos, formless art, virtueless individuals suckered by newspapers, movies and radio (today I imagine he would have added television to the list) into believing that life consists only of chasing ever more creature comforts and a universal "spoiled-child psychology".He also prescribes remedies. The ownership of property, he argues, is the sole surviving "metaphysical right" our culture recognizes, and the starting point for anyone wishing to restore other metaphysical ideas. Because language is so closely tied to thought, Weaver argues for some language-oriented educational remedies (more emphasis on poetry in education, and on foreign languages, especially Latin and Greek). He also argues the case for the dying virtue of piety, which he defines as respect for nature, respect for the substance of others, and respect for the substance of the past.There's more than a little of the grouchy conservative in Weaver. For instance, he complains bitterly about jazz, "the clearest of all signs of our age's deep-seated predilection for barbarism." This reminds me, amusingly, of Robert Bork's similar complaints in _Slouching Towards Gomorrah_ -- except that Bork complains that rock and roll is the degenerate music of adolescence, in contrast to the serious and adult-themed music of... you guessed it... jazz.But this is a small flaw. Weaver's diagnosis of the ills of our age is insightful and thought-provoking. I, for one, am certainly willing to take a crack at his proposed remedies.

The Great Stereopticon

The Great Stereopticon is not the latest in digital CD player technology, but the latter is a medium of the former. Prof. Weaver's book, written in the late 1940s, with a Muse of fire, is still current, because the crisis in our civilization continues, and of that he wrote. The 'Great Stereopticon' is the term that Richard Weaver uses to describe the prevading noise generated by our culture, which nearly drowns out the still, small voice of truth, goodness, and virtue. The main point of the book is that ideas, in this case bad ones, can start in motion a train of events, which as they emerge from the world of thought, produce nasty and often unintended consequences. The author traces the decline of the core vision of Western civilization to the progressive divorce of Man and Nature that began with Bacon, and which has continued, as Scientism replaced Science. The momentum of the centuries has given this set of ideas great power and unthought acceptance that is prevasive in our society. The result is the rising tide of barbarism that is engulfing us. Technological progress has done great good, but has not made us better. Without wanting to summarize the author's arguments further, this is one of the seminal works in the Conservative canon, in the Southern Agrarian tradition. The book is not long, and is arranged in stand-alone chapters, which advance Prof. Weaver's argument and form a coherent whole. It is also a quick read, and is done in a superb, flowing style that does the treasurehouse of ideas contained in it justice.

Compelling, Intriguing, Stimulating, and Forceful

I heard quite a lot about this book so I took my time reading it lest I miss even one pearl of wisdom. The book definitely lives up to its reputation. In a nutshell, Weaver takes on the role of doctor - identifying and prescribing a cure for the ailment that had plagued (and still does) the United States, culminating in the barbaric conclusion of World War II.Weaver meticulously describes the ailment, including the chief causes of the crisis: (1) Replacement of transcendent sentiments with utilitarianism & pragmatism; (2) Undermining senses of order and hierarchy (from liberalism/collectivism); (3) Loss of focus and an embrace of fragmentary obsessions; (4) Exercise of raw ego and self-indulgence; (5) Dereliction of media responsibility; (6) Emergence of the spoiled-child phenomena.Despite the rather gloomy prognosis, Weaver does not leave the reader without hope. In the final three chapters, he proposes corrective actions that he believes will get America back on track away from the path of self-destruction: (1) Preserve the sanctity of private property; (2) Use of meaningful language and rhetoric; (3) Embrace notions of piety and true justice.After the elapse of fifty years, Weaver's estimation of the crisis as well as his proposed corrective actions are as relevant and useful today as when they were first written.I highly recommend this book to historians of American conservative thought as well as those who wish to be inspired by one of the best authors that conservatism has been blessed to have.