The shipwrecked mind

A study of Reactionism and its influence on political thinkers and ideological movements.

The reactionary, according to Mark Lilla, is anything but a conservative. He is a figure as radical and modern as the revolutionary, and his political engagement is also motivated by well-developed ideas. However, the reactionary is a kind of castaway in an ever-changing present, suffering from nostalgia for an idealized past and the fear that history is heading toward catastrophe.

In The Shipwrecked Mind , Lilla seeks to better understand the ideological dramas of the 20th century. Through an analysis of the ideas of important intellectuals and an examination of the enduring power that grand historical narratives have had in shaping political outcomes since the French Revolution, the author shows us how such narratives are employed in reactionary intellectual production and helps us understand why nostalgia for a lost golden age has become a potent weapon today.