Leo Strauss, The Straussians, and the Study of the American Regime

Responding to volatile criticisms frequently leveled at Leo Strauss and those he influenced, the prominent contributors to this volume demonstrate the profound influence that Strauss and his students have exerted on American liberal democracy and contemporary political thought. By stressing the enduring vitality of classic books and by articulating the theoretical and practical flaws of relativism and historicism, the contributors argue that Strauss and the Straussians have identified fundamental crises of modernity and liberal democracy.

Responding to volatile criticisms frequently leveled at Leo Strauss and those he influenced, the prominent contributors to this volume demonstrate the profound influence that Strauss and his students have exerted on American liberal democracy and contemporary political thought. By stressing the enduring vitality of classic books and by articulating the theoretical and practical flaws of relativism and historicism, the contributors argue that Strauss and the Straussians have identified fundamental crises of modernity and liberal democracy. This book emphasizes the broad range of Strauss's influence, from literary criticism to constitutional thought, and it denies the existence of a monolithic Straussian political orthodoxy. Both critics and supporters of Strauss' thought are included. All political theorists interested in Strauss's extraordinary impact on political thought will want to read this book.

Part 1 On Leo Strauss's American Career
Chapter 2 Leo Strauss at the University of Chicago
Chapter 3 Leo Strauss at St. John's College
Chapter 4 Leo Strauss at the University of Chicago
Chapter 5 Leo Strauss at One Hundred
Part 6 Taking Leo Strauss Seriously
Chapter 7 Leo Strauss, the Straussians and the American Regime
Chapter 8 Strauss on Our Minds
Chapter 9 Leo Strauss: Philosophy and the American Social Science
Chapter 10 Athens and Washington: Leo Strauss and the American Regime
Chapter 11 Strauss's Generalized Agnosticism and American Liberalism
Chapter 12 Locating Leo Strauss in the Liberal-Communitarian Debate
Part 13 The First Generation
Chapter 14 In regards to George Anastaplo
Chapter 15 Walter Berns: The Constitution and American Liberal Democracy
Chapter 16 Allan Bloom: Strauss, Socrates and Liberal Education
Chapter 17 Joseph Cropsey: Modernity and the American Regime
Chapter 18 Refinding the Founding: Martin Diamond, Leo Strauss, and the American Regime
Chapter 19 Paul Eidelberg: The Mixed Regime and the American Regime
Chapter 20 A New Birth of Freedom: Harry V. Jaffa and the Study of America
Chapter 21 Back to the Future: Ralph Lerner's Political Thought
Chapter 22 Roger Masters: Natural Right and Biology
Chapter 23 Herbert Storing: The American Founding and the American Constitution
Part 24 American Political Institutions
Chapter 25 Congress and Straussian Constitutionalism
Chapter 26 Executive Power and the Presidency
Chapter 27 The Supreme Court: Republican Schoolmaster
Chapter 28 Bureaucracy and America: Leo Strauss on Constitutionalism, the State and Tyranny
Part 29 Reflections from Practice
Chapter 30 Leo Strauss and the World of Intelligence
Chapter 31 Thoughts on Strauss and Our Present Discontents
Chapter 32 The Charm of Competence: A Straussian Looks at the Therapeutic State
Chapter 33 A Student of Leo Strauss in the Clinton Administration
Chapter 34 Government and the School of Strauss