Part 6/15:
The Erosion of Conservative Intellectualism
An insightful analysis highlights how the conservative intellectual class has diminished over recent decades. Figures like William F. Buckley and Irving Kristol once set standards for ideological purity and decorum, excluding overt racists or anti-Semitic critics from mainstream discourse. The departure of this intellectual gatekeeping—partly due to the mainstream conservatism’s rejection of Trump—has led to the rise of a different kind of political punditry.