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A review essay on books by (1) Mark Garnett & Philip Lynch (Eds), The Conservatives in Crisis: The Tories after 1997 (Manchester, UK: Manchester U Press, 2003); (2) E. H. H. Green, Ideologies of Conservatism: Conservative Political Ideas in the Twentieth Century (Oxford, UK: Oxford U Press, 2002); (3) Ted Honderich, Conservatism: Burke, Nozick, Bush, Blair? (London: Pluto, 2005); & (4) Bruce Pilbeam, Conservatism in Crisis? Anglo-American Conservative Ideology after the Cold War (London: Palgrave, 2003).

While conservatives tend to doubt the inherent morality of human nature & seek to maintain tradition, & liberals tend to believe in the inherent morality of human nature & seek beneficial change, these positions are reversed when the topic is environmentalism. This unexpected reversal may stem from the liberal tendency to see human beings as a part of nature, from the conservative tendency to see humans as separate from nature, or from a conservative notion that Adam Smith's idea of an "invisible hand" may apply in nature as well as in economics. It is argued that conservatives might favor environmental protection more than they currently do if they were able to recognize that the natural world is just as complex & fragile as the social world. D. Weibel

The Conservatives in crisis provides a timely and important analysis of the Conservative Party's spell in opposition following the 1997 general election. It includes chapters by leading academic experts on the party and commentaries by three senior Conservative politicians: Lord Parkinson, Andrew Lansley MP and Ian Taylor MP. Having been the dominant force in British politics in the twentieth century, the Conservative Party suffered its heaviest general election defeats in 1997 and 2001. This book explores the party's current crisis and assesses the Conservatives' failure to mount a political recovery under the leadership of William Hague. The Conservatives in crisis includes a detailed examination of the reform of the Conservative Party organisation, changes in ideology and policy, the party's electoral fortunes, and Hague's record as party leader. It also offers an innovative historical perspective on previous Conservative recoveries and a comparison with the revival of the US Republican Party. In the conclusion the editors assess the failures of the Hague period and examine the party's performance under Iain Duncan Smith. The Conservatives in crisis will be essential reading for students of contemporary British politics.