Irving Kristol

In this lecture, Professor Wisse considers the legacy of Irving Kristol. Founder of the Public Interest and the National Interest, Kristol began his life sympathetic to Communism, before systematically thinking and reading his way into becoming a neoconservative, which he famously described as “being a liberal mugged by reality.” Over time, Kristol also came to believe that religion, plays an essential role in the moral health of democratic society, and developed a complimentary view of rabbinic Judaism in particular