Suicide of the West

An Essay on the Meaning and Destiny of Liberalism

By: James Burnham

Narrated by: Phillip J. Sawtelle

William F. Buckley, Jr., perhaps best described the importance of this seminal work when he said, "James Burnham has written a book about Liberalism for which the world has been aching. It is worth more to the West than the year’s gross national product, more than all the planes and bombs…."

Through studious research into past civilizations, Burnham diagnoses the 20th century and finds it afflicted with destructive, even "suicidal" tendencies - all of which arise from the “Liberal syndrome” and its inherent applications.

The book explores several important questions, including why Liberalism clashes with Christianity and how Liberalism is a root cause of race riots and the rapid growth in crime. For James Burnham, who died in 1986, this book is certainly one of his greatest legacies.

©1985 1986 by James Burnham (P)1988 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"This somber, brilliantly written book attempts to fix the blame for the suicidal ‘contraction of the West’ over the last fifty years upon Liberalism, chiefly in the United States…It is at the same time a venture into the philosophy of history and an indictment of those responsible for the present disastrous plight of once triumphant Western civilization." ( National Review)

Phenomenal

The author describes the leftist/ liberal ideology in a tangible manner, which bestows upon the reader a clear lens to view contemporary phenomena.

Very important

If you could only read one book this whole year, read this one. 1970’s and Burnham already sees that the train has jumped the shark.

Very interesting, but also a bit out of date

I read this after listening to Burnham's fascinating book 'The Machiavellians', from which I barely got the sense that he is conservative (perhaps a classical liberal). I did not expect a polemic against (modern) liberalism based on the title.

There are some very interesting and original ideas in the book. The book was written in 1964, but the author remarked on the sense of guilt that liberals have. We now see this in new forms, but originally it was based on class and in attitudes towards the Third World. A lot of things that people think are new, are not really new, but have just really spread, while manifesting itself in new ways.

Another very interesting idea is that liberalism is an ideology that reconciles people to the decline of their civilization, by reframing it in a way that can be seen as positive.

Now, some notable issues on which it may be out of date. Some people view this work as racism. But that is being blinded by presentism. Burnham did not say that no change was necessary on racial issues, only that this change should not be sudden and revolutionary, but steady and in a way that allows people to adjust. That was a perfectly legitimate point of view, in fact, the conservative point of view in 1964. In fact, he takes a very empirical stance on racial issues, and attacks both people who exclusively attribute racial differences to one race being worse, as well as people who exclusively attribute them to victimization.

What has aged most poorly is the attitude towards the Cold War. The Kennedy administration is criticized in the book for having been soft on communism. In retrospect, we knew how close we came to a nuclear war over the Cuban Missile Crisis, so I would say it was just soft enough. All the more reason for historians to stick to history, instead of trying to comment on current events.

All in all, an interesting listen, and not just for its historical value. But realize that it is a critique. It focuses almost exclusively on the negative. It does not even pretend to be even-handed, objective or to give liberalism credit for the good things that it has done.

So presciently accurate

Should be a mandatory read for the left and the right. The author is a genius!

amazing

the examples are dated but the themes are timeless
I enjoyed it greatly
I need 15 words