The New Criterion
Quite simply, the best cultural review in the world
- John O’Sullivan Subscribe Now and get unlimiteв access
FeaturesJanuary 2008 Introduction: saving remnants An introduction to our symposium on the future of conservatism in Britain and America.
Precautions are always blamed. When they are successful,
they are declared to be unnecessary.
—Benjamin Jowett It is useless for sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism. —Dean Inge on the League of Nations In a recent essay about the war in Iraq, Victor Davis Hanson noted that the world of Washington was an “echo chamber.” One creditable—or at least listened to—pundit or politician opines in a way the media likes and, presto, a new bit of conventional “wisdom” is born—or at least reinforced. A mere opinion, often ill-informed, frequently at wide variance with the truth, is repeated often enough, and it suddenly acquires the carapace of general currency that, at a distance, can easily be mistaken for fact. As Hanson shows, what has happened with the war in Iraq provides a sterling example of the genre: ... You need to login to view the full text of this article. This article originally appeared in The New Criterion, Volume 26 January 2008, on page 4 Copyright © 2008 The New Criterion | www.newcriterion.com http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cfm/introduction-saving-remnants-3729
rate this article
E-mail to friend
|
add a comment
you must be a new criterion subscriber to post a comment. {subscribe now}