Russell Kirk, the sage of Mecosta

Russell Kirk was born in Michigan on October 19th, 1918. He was a revered figure amongst American Conservatives for his scholarly analysis of Conservatism. At a time when left-wing liberals (using the word in its US sense) dominated academe, Russell, together with his friend William Buckley, provided a heavy intellectual counterweight.

After war service, he went to the University of St Andrews and achieved the rare distinction of gaining an earned DLitt degree. It is normally awarded as an honorary degree, but Russell Kirk earned one, the first American to gain one. His thesis was published in 1953 as "The Conservative Mind: from Burke to Santayana," and became an instant classic.

I got to know him when we both taught at Hillsdale College in the mid-1970s. We had the St Andrews connection in common, since I had done a doctorate there, and like him had developed an abiding affection for the place. Russell had written a very engaging book about St Andrews and its history.

At a time in America when liberalism (as they called it) was riding high, Russell outlined in the first chapter of "The Conservative Mind" how he perceived it. It was characterized, he said, by a belief in the perfectibility of man, by hostility towards tradition, by support for rapid change in economic and political systems, and by the secularization of government. Russell, on the other hand, outlined six "canons" of conservatism. They were:

* A belief in a transcendent order, which Kirk described variously as based in tradition, divine revelation, or natural law;

* An affection for the "variety and mystery" of human existence;

* A conviction that society requires orders and classes that emphasize "natural" distinctions;

* A belief that property and freedom are closely linked;

* A faith in custom, convention, and prescription, and

* A recognition that innovation must be tied to existing traditions and customs, which entails a respect for the political value of prudence.

What he was describing was a European strain of Conservatism that had never really taken root in America. To America, founded on the principle of freedom, Conservatism meant preserving the freedoms that the Founding Fathers had established and fought for. Kirk's version of Conservatism seemed to many Americans on the right as more alien, seeking to preserve the values of a culture they had fought against. It seemed elitist and transcendental, rather than libertarian and rooted in the practical world whose challenges Americans had needed to face.

Despite these differences, Kirk was regarded as a sage of the American right, even by those who took issue with his interpretation of Conservatism. At their Mecosta house in Michigan, he and his wife, Annette, were famous for their hospitality, operating a kind of salon, a refuge where right-wing scholars could find a refuge and meet like-minded people.

Kirk has an impish sense of humour. He would tell his guests ghost stories about Mecosta, and was once caught creeping through a secret passage above the guest room to make ghostly noises and bangings above them.