The Conscience of a Conservative by Barry Goldwater

The Conscience of a Conservative by Barry M. Goldwater
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’ve long wondered what was inside this iconic book of American politics and conservatism. More recently I’ve seen it referenced in our culture long after it was published and even after its author, Senator Barry Goldwater, had passed away. In a recent Netflix documentary, Get Me Roger Stone, about the controversial conservative political operative Roger Stone (who has Richard Nixon tattooed on his back) who was an advisor to President Trump when he was a candidate cites this book as a life changing moment for him after he read it. What recently inspired me to read this was listening to “Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus” by Rick Perlstein which also mentions the book frequently. It was there too I learned it was actually ghost written by Leo Brent Bozell Jr. who was Goldwater’s speech writer and also brother in law to another conservative legend, William F. Buckley Jr.

Although book is only 123 pages long it paints large picture of where conservative politics and beliefs were at in 1960. It covers not only conservatism itself the book also addresses issues of the time such as states’ rights, civil rights, farmers issues, labor, taxes, welfare state and of course the Soviet menace.

He grew to what could be the prototypical Republican conservative which meant fiscally conservative, champion of states’ rights, hard-core anti-communist and champion of the individual rights and liberty. He also had a tough and gruff demeanor which was helped by him being an avid pilot and active in the Air Force reserves rising the rank of Major General. He often bucked the Republican party of the time and was even unafraid to criticize the popular President Eisenhower. He also spoke as he felt which the media of the time were quick to pounce upon his gaffes or radical thought. Ironically it was this same quality his supporters loved.

It’s hard to say what Goldwater would think or feel about the state of politics today. The political landscape has changed a lot since 1960. Although Barry would go on to lose his 1964 Presidential bid in a landslide it has been said by those like the conservative icon and Pulitzer winning writer George Will that Goldwater’s movement didn’t achieve victory until Reagan became President in 1980.

One of the more interesting chapters was “The Perils of Power” in which Barry laments “Our tendency to concentrate power in the hands of a few men deeply concerns me.” This is in contrast to today’s Republican Party who seems to be focused onto holding onto power at all costs regardless of ethics or offense towards the Constitution. It will be interesting to see if “The turn will come when we entrust the conduct our affairs to men who understand that their first duty as public officials is to divest themselves of the power they have been given.” Given the current state of American political landscape it doesn’t appear to have arrived there yet.

The book is an interesting picture into what conservatives used to stand for, at least during the Goldwater and Reagan era. I’d recommend this for political junkies and those wishing to look into the past to see how politics have changed since the 1960’s. I’d certainly be interested to hear what Barry Goldwater would think of today’s politics.

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