22 / CHRONICLESnof thinking from the postwar conservativenmovement,” Gottfried concludes,nhas left a theoretical void thatnmay eventually embarrassnAmerican conservatives. Thenintellectual Right has generallyngrown cold to the study ofnhistory, except as a means ofnassailing the far Left’snrevisionism. Having by nownlargely lost a shared vision ofnthe past, conservatives maynsoon find themselves withoutnany vision except that ofndehistoricized persons who seeknto enrich themselves and thengross national product throughnthe tireless pursuit ofnself-interest.nUnraveling the Remnant by John C. Chalbergn”Whatever the road to power, that isnthe road which will be trod. “nThe Rise of the Counter-nEstabhshment From ConservativenIdeology to Political Power bynSidney Blumenthal, New York:nTimes Books; $19.95.nFor years, or at least for that stretchnof time between the heady days ofnTheodore Roosevelt and the haplessndays of Jimmy Carter, somethingncalled the Eastern establishment benevolentlynruled over America. Fornyears, or at least between the demonndays of Franklin Roosevelt and the dogndays of Jimmy Carter, this behemothn—^^^4^Hl!v^n’^^^^^^^Z-^n^ ~” ‘ jiiiiliiiiiiBt–n’ I ‘ l l ^ ‘ — ~ =n-Edmund Burkenpulled the country’s strings, but nevernits own punches. If Americans wantednonly to be left alone, the liberal establishmentnwas there to plot them intonunnecessary wars. If Americansnwished to explain away any and allngrievances, that same establishmentnwas there to be convenientiy whipped.nIt was only a matter of time beforenthere was something called a conservativencounterestablishment. Enter SidneynBlumenthal. A card-carryingnmember of an embattled, almost endangerednspecies, Blumenthal set out anfew years ago to push what’s left of thenJZ-T^/^Z.n^S^r~’ “‘” •- ^nH|^^^==£=n^^^S^~v • -a^^Kn^^0^^^^^=.n==L^=-z:r-mnr^^^==^^nnnIn pointing to Hegel as a major sourcenof conservative thought, Paul Gottfriednhas supplemented Nisbet’s morenpurely historicist emphasis and pointednto enduring standards by whichnhistorical flux may be evaluated. Bothnbooks offer an expansion of the contemporarynconservative mind.nliberal establishment further leftward.nIn the face of the Reagan revolution henhas tried to counter the counterestablishmentnfrom the pages of three publications.nStarting out with the socialistnIn These Times, he moved upward tonThe (Cautiously Liberal) New Republicnbefore finally establishing himself atnthe Washington Post.nFor years, Blumenthal notes, conservativesnskewered their New Classnenemies, meaning liberals, intellectuals,nbureaucrats, and other equallynunproductive leeches on the body politic.nBut on the night of Ronald Reagan’snfirst inauguration, it would benthe “ideological spoilsmen” of thenright who applauded their newnPresident before they “dispersed intonthe Washington night and showednup at their New Class jobs the nextnmorning.”nWhere did they come from? SidneynBlumenthal has written an entire booknto answer this very question. Barely 25nyears ago conservatism in America wasnhttie more than a “remnant.” Huddlingnaround National Review werenex-Communists, free marketeers, andnBurkean traditionalists whom WilliamnF. Buckley sought to mold into anunified movement. Fusion was thenBuckley goal, but a shaky truce was thenbest that he could manage.nWith the defeat of Barry Goldwater,nconservatives woke up to the realizationnthat ideological assertion couldnnot be automatically converted intonelectoral victories — which explainsnthe emphasis on grass roots politics.nWith the election of Richard Nixon,nconservatives awakened again to a newnJohn Chalberg is professor of historynat Normandale Community College.n