This issue of Modern Age begins with an
intense focus on the concept of place,
which is a crucial element in any truly conservative
consideration of the moral and cultural
wellbeing of society. Mark Malvasi
reflects upon the enduring enigma of the
American South. Conservatives especially
are bound to come to terms with the equivocal
legacy of the South, which more than any
other region of our country embodies devotion
to a particular land and the distinctive
customs and preoccupations of its people.
The exemplary value of this adherence to
tradition is qualified for many modern observers,
however, by the South’s clinging to
its “peculiar institution” of slavery and the
segregation of the freed slaves and their descendants
for several generations after the
Civil War. Professor Malvasi highlights the
tension between the conservative preference
for local cultures with their distinctive traditions
and mores and the demands of universal
moral imperatives that may seem to transcend
traditional practices and prejudices of particular
communities. This is a vexing issue for
conservatives for whom both the preservation
of stable, traditional societies and the
acknowledgment of the moral absolutes of
natural law are priorities. The South provides
a compelling test case for a consideration of
efforts to resolve this dilemma.

F. Roger Devlin approaches the problem
of the preservation of local tradition in the
face of progressive efforts of reform from a
different angle and on a different continent.
Adalbert Stifter (1805–1868) is hardly known
at all in English-speaking countries, but he is
regarded as a classic of German prose style.
Association with the Biedermeier tendency in
German literature of the earlier nineteenth
century has diminished Stifter’s reputation
because this literary approach is treated as the
antithesis of the romantic idealism of the
“Young Germany” movement, which
explicity opposed the authoritarian regimes
of Austria and Prussia between 1815 and
1848. As Dr. Devlin points out, however, the
dichotomy between the “progressive” Romantics
and the “reactionary” Biedermeier
authors is misconceived from the start. The
latter figures did not oppose the vociferous
political commitments of the Romantics by
supporting the represssive governments established
by the Congress of Vienna; they
simply ignored politics and concentrated on
the perennial themes of human life that operate
beyond the sphere of politics. Stifter’s
novels and stories thus embody the paradox
that what is truly of universal and unchanging
significance may be found in the daily lives of
ordinary men and women.

The essays by Professor Malvasi and Dr.
Devlin thus provide concrete examples for
the issue debated by Adam K. Webb and his
interlocutors in our “Cosmopolis” symposium.
In “Taking Back the Cosmopolis,” Dr.
Webb challenges conservatives to afford less
attention to what is local and particular and to
confront liberals on their own ground. Liberals,
he maintains, have without opposition
occupied the territory of sophisticated cosmopolitanism
and claim exclusively the rôle
of mediating among the competing traditions
of the world’s various local communities,
thrown into dangerous proximity, both physical
and virtual, by technological revolutions
in transportation and communication. In order
to join this battle on equal terms, Dr. Webb
argues, conservatives must make forays out of
their bastions of local tradition by recovering
the thought of cosmopolitan conservatives
who are respectful of the customs of particular
communities, while transcending their
limitations. Professors Tracy Rowland, R.
R. Reno, and Mark Shiffman offer diverse
critiques of Professor Webb’s proposal—all
focused on the crucial point of what constitutes
and makes possible human flourishing.

Another challenge to conservatives, with
similar implications, is offered by Peter
Hodgson. In the first of four articles on the
energy crisis to appear in successive issues of
Modern Age, Professor Hodgson, an eminent
physicist, reminds us that our conservative
principles—our commitment to the preservation
of ordered liberty, cultural tradition,
and natural beauty—must take into account
the practical problems that threaten these
goods. In the course of four articles, he will
offer his assessment of the severity of the crisis
and the effectiveness of several proposed
solutions.

Like the articles that precede it in this
issue, Professor Hodgson’s may well prove
controversial. It is, however, the goal of
Modern Age to provide a forum for sharply
contrasting views—maintained with reasonableness,
clarity, and civility. Conservatism is
not an ideological template with a set of
prescribed answers to every question; it furnishes
instead, in Russell Kirk’s fine phrase, a
politics of prudence, which requires serious and
sober reflection on specific problems as they
arise. Vigorous debate among men and women
who share the conservative vision is undoubtedly
the best means of discovering the most
prudent course of action in each situation.

Our final major essay will, however, not
prove at all controversial: Joseph Amato offers
an appreciation of his mentor Stephen
Tonsor as a scholar and as a key contributor
to the rise of conservatism in the latter half of
the twentieth century. Nothing is more natural
to conservatives than the acknowledgment
of the part played by the example of
responsible, virtuous teachers in the formation
of a new generation. We are pleased to
present this fine tribute to a longstanding
stalwart of conservatism and associate editor
of Modern Age.

Equally uncontroversial will be the selection
of poems in this issue. It is a mingling of
work by well-established figures and emergent
talents. This is a mix that we hope to
maintain. The support of contemporary poetry
of high quality and traditional vision is a
critical aspect of the conservative cultural
mission.

The books reviewed in this issue cover a
wide spectrum: European and American history,
international relations, religion, Southern
literature, and music. The final piece, a
translation of an interview with René Girard
from the Italian journal Foglio adds another
dimension to our offerings. Girard is well
known among postmodern academic theorists
and is a formidable figure on the international
intellectual scene. This interview is
another indication of the affinity of original
and profound thinkers for the conservative
perspective.

We must close on a sad note: while this
issue was in press, we received the news of the
death of Mark Royden Winchell, the author
of the lead review. A later issue of Modern Age
will offer a more substantial commemoration;
let it suffice for now to say that he
combined a graceful style with careful scholarship,
and he is already sorely missed at this
journal. We extend our deepest sympathies
to his family and friends.

— R. V. Young