Harvey Mansfield on Our Political Parties

Conversations with Bill Kristol

Government, News, Politics, Society & Culture

4.7 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 1 February 2016

⏱️ 75 minutes

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Summary

In his seventh conversation, Mansfield considers our two parties, the ideas behind them, and the qualities that often go with being a Democrat or a Republican. Mansfield argues that the Democrats are the “party of progress”—and that progressivism may be headed for a crisis. Mansfield calls the Republicans the “party of virtue” and suggests that Republicans should not only speak about freedom but also about virtue.

Transcript

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0:00.0	And the Hi, I'm Bill Crystal.
0:15.0	Welcome to Conversations.
0:18.0	I'm very pleased to have us our guest today, Harvey Mansfield,
0:21.0	Professor of Government at Harvard, and we're going to discuss our
0:24.8	parties.
0:27.1	Your first book 50 years ago was on statesmanship and party government, on the origins
0:31.0	of party government, I guess in the thought or the original
0:33.6	defense of party government and the thought of Eben Burke and now you've returned to
0:37.2	parties so what's what's interesting about our parties? Our parties?
0:42.0	Well we have two of them. That's a point to begin with.
0:46.2	The university seemed to think there's only one and it is the case that in America
0:50.9	now there are pockets of party strength for one side or the other
0:54.0	where you can live without having to tolerate the existence of people who
0:59.6	disagree but we do have two parties in the past half century or so.
1:05.0	They've divided electoral success pretty much 50-50.
1:12.0	So I think they're here to stay for the foreseeable future. I want to
1:19.8	study especially the thought that's behind them. I'm interested in what they think, both
1:28.2	sides and also the kinds of people, the temperaments that go with being a Democrat or a Republican.
1:38.4	So the thought...
1:40.8	So that's different from the political scientists?
1:43.5	It is.
1:44.5	See them in justice, interest groups.
	...

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