The Conservative Sensibility

By: George F. Will

Narrated by: Peter Ganim

Length: 24 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

The Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist's "astonishing" and "enthralling" New York Times best seller and Notable Book about how the Founders' belief in natural rights created a great American political tradition (Booklist) - "easily one of the best books on American Conservatism ever written" (Jonah Goldberg).

For more than four decades, George F. Will has attempted to discern the principles of the Western political tradition and apply them to America's civic life. Today, the stakes could hardly be higher. Vital questions about the nature of man, of rights, of equality, of majority rule are bubbling just beneath the surface of daily events in America.

The Founders' vision, articulated first in the Declaration of Independence and carried out in the Constitution, gave the new republic a framework for government unique in world history. Their beliefs in natural rights, limited government, religious freedom, and in human virtue and dignity ushered in two centuries of American prosperity. Now, as Will shows, conservatism is under threat - both from progressives and elements inside the Republican Party. America has become an administrative state, while destructive trends have overtaken family life and higher education. Semi-autonomous executive agencies wield essentially unaccountable power. Congress has failed in its duty to exercise its legislative powers. And the executive branch has slipped the Constitution's leash.

In the intellectual battle between the vision of Founding Fathers like James Madison, who advanced the notion of natural rights that pre-exist government, and the progressivism advanced by Woodrow Wilson, the Founders have been losing. It's time to reverse America's political fortunes.

Expansive, intellectually thrilling, and written with the erudite wit that has made Will beloved by millions, The Conservative Sensibility is an extraordinary new book from one of America's most celebrated political writers.

©2019 George F. Will (P)2019 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"The Conservative Sensibility...is an argument about human history, epistemology, culture, religion, politics and constitutionalism, and not another vehicle for soon-dated Trump hagiography or hatred.... Its account of how the presidency has taken over the legislature in the modern era is essential to understanding the extreme danger that a figure like Trump now poses to core constitutional principle." (Andrew Sullivan, New York Times Book Review)

"A thoughtful, elegant reflection on American conservatism and the Founders' political thought." (The Atlantic)

"A remarkable summation of Will's political thought after a half-century in Washington. It's the sort of book that, when read by a young person in high school or college, might change his life." (Matt Continetti, Politico)

Conservativism explained and in practice

George Will does a good job of explaining conservatism in this book. He gets into a substantial amount of analysis and thought on the subject here. George explores what it has meant to be a conservative in the past and what it should mean today.

George goes back to the founders of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence and explains natural rights, how the founders wanted them in the Constitution, and how individual rights would never be inferior to government. In my opinion, the book is a peek into the intellectual architecture that makes up the ideology of conservatism. He talks about majority rule and minority opposition as well and it's context within the Constitution.

I don't want to debate George here... and without getting into in too deep, I can say my only real issue with the book is that there doesn't seem to be any wiggle room on his belief of conservatism. However; if you have read George before then you are not surprised he's binary on the subject.

Can't I believe in natural rights but also believe there's a benefit to having a progressive working government that doesn't interfere with my liberty? What if I believe in capitalism and small government but I also think regulations are sometimes needed for a healthy market? What if I believe in small government but I don't think you should cut funding to programs to the point where government doesn't work right? I just think there's room for some gray in George's world of black and white while still considering yourself a conservative.

I definitely recommend to those who want to know what it means to be a conservative, in the past and moving forward to today. While I didn't agree with George on everything and I thought he needed to be debated here and there, I very much enjoyed the book and it was very educational. George's analysis was a historical look at conservatism as well as a few insightful thoughts on what it means to be conservative today.

If you are looking for George's analysis of today's Republican party compared to conservatism of yesterday, you won't find it in this book in any real form. If you're looking for an eloquent dissection of what a conservative was and should be... look no farther.

Book was well narrated and is a "must have" for political junkies.

Probably would be better read than listened to

I hate giving this book less than a perfect score. I have a lot of respect for George Will, but this work is not a light read. One needs to spend the time necessary to digest much of what the author is trying to say. I find that very difficult when the book is being read to me.

Erudite and thought-provoking

This committed liberal came away with a lot to think about after reading this trenchant apologia of the conservative point of view. We'll never met an aphorism he didn't like and at the end of the day rationalizes the white patriarchy but he does so genially. The American political right doesn't deserve such an eloquent advocate. Will restores rhetoric which has been deprecated to its proper esteem as defined by the power to prove, please, and in the case of this reader, just about almost persuade

Thoughtful amalgam of a life’s work

George will, I’ve not followed for long, seems to be a useful contributor to the story of Conservatism in the United States. His historical analysis seems well tied to a conservative worldview which has been informed by years of tireless contemplation and research. If only he had put aside his animus towards the religious predilections of our forefathers , this book would warrant 5 stars. It seems as though in one breath he chided those who have a religious axe to grind and with the very next, reveals his own implement of woodcutting and grinds away to the tune of enlightenment atheist humanism. His course here would have been better served to build a larger tent by laying out the reasons atheists find a comfortable home within conservatism and alongside their religious brethren. Nevertheless, it will remain on my shelf, digital and otherwise.

I was bored out of my mind.

George has principles and that ought to be a complement of a conservative these days. However, George is also an intellectual and is fond of writing elaborate, dense, and too often unintelligible text. I often disagree with him but I wanted to understand his point of view. I failed or he failed me ,but I couldn't discern much beyond his love of individual rights and a strong desire for "limited government." I came away with the impression that he believes that an exceedingly small Federal government would actually serve the needs of modern America best. He ignores our change in population size, complexity, and technology in the past 200+ years as if it were of no consequence. However, he may have addressed all this and I missed it while he droned on and on and on.

Pedantic

This book was not written to impart information in a efficient manner. The use of language is pompous with the impression that the author’s is to show off. The narrator is filled with a sense of superiority. The exercise makes me sad because the material is important and yet the presentation gets in the way. I’m going directly to the federalists papers and may return to this book.

Founding Fathers wisdom explained

Those of us over 50 were taught civics and American government based the foundation of ‘Federalist vs Republican’ concepts and comprises. Too many of those arguments are no longer presented in our schools or universities. Our society seems to have forgotten the difference between needs and wants. Mr. Will does an excellent job of bribing those issues into today’s politics.

Well researched bloviating.

well researched bloviation. His premise was totally wrong.
A Government of limits is not limited Government.

A lot of information to digest.

George Will packed a lot of information into this book. While it is worth listening to, you need a text copy to follow along because there are points you will want to revisit. It is hard to highlight parts in an audiobook.

This book helps me understand…

…what true conservatism is, vis-a-vis the “progressivism” of the Left; and the contradictory nature of the “social conservatism” (i.e. intolerance) of the Right. The most politically enlightened and enlightening book I have ever read. Mr. Will is a true intellectual of the sort feared by both Maoists and Fascists—pursuing only a consistent TRUTH. Would that my (former) party had as much integrity, and had somehow made this man its candidate. Or that the baseball owners had drafted him as Commissioner.