Tweet
Barry Goldwater may have lost the 1964 presidential election, but his speech at the Republican National Convention that year reinvigorated conservatism. One line particularly stood out: “I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” That line came from Harry V. Jaffa (1918-2015), a professor at Claremont McKenna College and a giant of the conservative movement who does not get the credit he deserves.
A new book,
The Soul of Politics: Harry V. Jaffa and the Fight for America, seeks to correct that. In the book, Glenn Ellmers, a student of Jaffa’s, explains the scholar’s impact on American conservatism and delves deeply into Jaffa’s political philosophy.