Rationalizing DriftnJeaneJ. Kirkpatrick: Dictatorships andnDouble Standards: Rationalism andnReason In Politics; American EnterprisenInstitute / Simon & Schuster; NewnYork.nby Edward J. LynchnM rs. Kirkpatrick has assembled anremarkable volume that ranges farnbeyond international relations. The subtitle,n”Rationalism and Reason innPolitics,” provides an accurate indicationnof its scope. Although presented as a collectionnof essays, the volume is truly anbook, complete with a tightly argued,nunifying theme. The individual essaysnare well done, with the author reachingnjudicious conclusions meriting consideration;nthe underlying theme is troublesome.nOne can admire the destinationnshe reaches even if one has reservationsnabout the methods she uses to arrive at it.nThe basic thmst of her volimie is hardlynnovel. Michael Oakeshott, a Britishnpolitical philosopher, developed the corenidea nearly 50 years ago. Rationalismnviews the world in terms of abstract principles,nincluding an overarching vision ofnUtopia. These principles serve as thenmain criteria by which all political actionsnare evaluated. Often humorless, rationalistsnare unceasing critics of the statusnquo, always discovering ways in whichnthe most fortuitous developments fallnshort of ideal. Among the politicalnthinkers commonly lumped into the “rationalist”ncategory are Plato, Rousseau,nMarx, and Hitier—the wide variations inntheir “ideals” notwithstanding.nMrs. Kirkpatrick’s notion of politicalnreason begins with her observation ofnthese diverse political ideals. FollowingnAristotle’s criticism of Plato’s Republic,nshe contends that such views make interestingnreading but are disastrous in application.nThey invariably rely upon anDr. Lynch is afrequent contributor to thenChronicles.ncomplete transformation of human character—Plato’snrace of philosopher-kings,nMarx’s “new socialist man,” Hitler’sn”Aryan”—through means that arenradically severed from all existing himianninstitutions and history.nDisciples of history at their best follownthe example of Publius in The Federalist.nEschewing any radical transformation ofnhuman character, builders of reasonednpolicies and reSonable societies acceptnhuman beings as they are and thenndesign measures and institutions that in-nobserving the people and “forces” movingnhither and yon. She has a feel for then”center” of American politics, and shenprovides a catalog of people, eachndevoted to some single principle, whoncan be found on the extremes. Shenprefers the “center.” She recognizes thenimportance of moral education—thenformation of the character of future generations—tonany society that hopes to endure.nFor these times, she believes thatnthe development of practical reason, onnthe basis of a model such as her reading ofn”Here wc have a clue to Mrs. Kirkparriik’s idcologital blinders.”n—New York Times BooJk Reviewncorporate means of balancing those deficiencies.nFor Mrs. Kirkpatrick, ThenFederalist is an essay that recognizes thenfailings of previous demoaacies and attemptsnto add corrective mechanisms sonthat the republic defended by Publiusnwould provide a better example for practicalnhuman conduct than the onendesigned by Plato.nJTor Mrs. Kirkpatrick, the attempt tonaddress theoretical questions throughnpolitics is the cause of many of today’snills. For instance, former-PresidentnCarter’s notion of human-rights policynwas stridently opposed to friendlynregimes in Nicaragua and Iran, ignoringnthe potential of those societies to developnUberal democratic arrangements. ThenMcGovern-Fraser party reformsn”opened” party mechanisms to greaterninvolvement, without adequate attentionnto the consequences of that “involvement”nfor the existing partisan,nelectoral, and governmental arrangements.nThe single-minded pursuit ofn”equality” on the part of the Americannleft, or “liberty” by American libertarians,ntends to work for the destruction ofnthe careful balance of liberty and equalitynthat Mrs. Kirkpatrick believes essentialnto maximize both values. Mrs. Kirkpatricknis a sort of political physicistnnnThe Federalist, offers a better pathntoward the political moderation that shenfavors than any alternative form ofneducation. Unfortunately, Mrs. Kirkpatrick’snconcern for balance andnmoderation have turned her attentionnaway from the ^o