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An important aspect of contemporary thought is the renaissance of interest in conservatism. Several factors explain this, including the post-WWII disillusionment with Utopian schemes advanced by either the Right or the Left; a psychol'al reaction against experimentation, regimentation & novelty; the evident determination not to return completely to the traditions of econ laissez-faire & the Hobbesian state of nature; &, in intellectual circles, a revival of neo-Platonism. The principal defenders & exponents of the new conservatism, whose basic approach is outlined here, are: Russell Kirk, John Hallowell, T. V. Smith & Y. R. Simon in America, & in England a number of active politicians, including notably Winston Churchill, Quintin Hogg & Aubry Jones. On the Continent the new conservatism is seen primarily in the rise of Christian Democratic parties in Germany, Italy & France, which find their general ethical & moral tenets in the Christian faith. The new conservatism may be described as an attempt to reassert the traditional Western view of man. It roots itself in traditionalism, is not over-confident of man's perfectibility, tends to be hierarchically oriented, & believes in the 'inevitability of gradualness'. IPSA.

The reaction against the New Deal of Roosevelt & Truman, the fear of increased power of the State, the hostility toward ai planned society, the present prosperity of the US--these factors have favored the rebirth of a conservative ideology. Conservative Americans are not, however, senseless & reactionary defenders of laissez faire & of isolationism. Their pessimistic view of human nature, their distrust of abstract solutions, & their respect for past experience push them toward a decentralized & hierarchical state. Can this conservative ideology, which has had considerable success in US intellectual circles & in the Republican group around President Eisenhower, become an effective pol'al force? Circumstances are favorable for such a development, but against it are the egalitarianism & the belief in human achievement that are deeply rooted in the conscience of the American masses. Tr by J. A. Broussard from IPSA.