Wikispooks wikispooks https://wikispooks.com/wiki/Main_Page MediaWiki 1.33.2 first-letter Media Special Talk User User talk Wikispooks Wikispooks talk File File talk MediaWiki MediaWiki talk Template Template talk Help Help talk Category Category talk Property Property talk Form Form talk Concept Concept talk Document Document talk Wikipedia Wikipedia talk Test Test talk Widget Widget talk Campaign Campaign talk Module Module talk Gadget Gadget talk Gadget definition Gadget definition talk James Burnham 0 1194 254752 254749 2022-11-12T21:53:44Z Terje 655 tidy wikitext text/x-wiki {{person |wikipedia=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Burnham |spartacus=http://spartacus-educational.com/James_Burnham.htm |amazon=https://www.amazon.com/James-Burnham/e/B001KMEWPQ/ |image=James Burnham.jpg |cspan=https://www.c-span.org/person/?jamesburnham |wikiquote=https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Burnham |nndb=http://www.nndb.com/people/086/000363991/ |description="The first neoconservative", spooky propagandist philosopher |constitutes=philosopher, author, propagandist, neoconservative |birth_date=22nd November, 1905 |death_date=July 28, 1987 |powerbase=http://www.powerbase.info/index.php/James_Burnham |spouses=Marcia Lightner |alma_mater=Princeton University, Balliol College (Oxford) |birth_place=Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |death_place=Kent, Connecticut, U.S. |employment= }} '''James Burnham''' was a [[spooky]] [[philosopher]] who has been described as "the first neoconservative,"<ref>The reference is stated as a quote from Richard Brookhiser: see ISI Books: James Burnham and the Struggle for the World, [http://www.isi.org/books/bookdetail.aspx?id=cd7f041d-91ba-4f9f-b522-febec33e528a Intercollegiate Studies Institute website].</ref> Giles Scott-Smith in a review of Daniel Kelly’s (2002) ''James Burnham and the Struggle for the World: A Life'', <ref>[http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=10507 Giles Scott-Smith review of Daniel Kelly’s (2002) James Burnham and the Struggle for the World: A Life.] </ref> describes Burnham as “one of the most intriguing conservative intellectuals of the Cold War period”. ==Background== He graduated at the top of his class at [[Princeton University]] before attending [[Balliol College, Oxford|Balliol College]], [[Oxford University]]. In 1934, he married [[Marcia Lightner]].<ref>Burnham, James (November 25, 2014). [https://books.google.com/books?id=V8XXBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT12 Suicide of the West: An Essay on the Meaning and Destiny of Liberalism] Encounter Books. ISBN 9781594037849 – via Google Books.</ref> ==Activities== ===OSS and ''National Review''=== During [[World War II]], Burnham took a leave from NYU to work for the [[Office of Strategic Services]] (OSS). Recommended by [[George F. Kennan]], Burnham was invited to lead the semi-autonomous "Political and Psychological Warfare" division of the [[Office of Policy Coordination]].<ref name=":0">https://web.archive.org/web/20191014070728/https://newcriterion.com/issues/2002/9/the-power-of-james-burnham</ref> == Significance to Conservatism == James Burnham wrote widely and prepared a series of books for the [[Office of Strategic Services]] [[World War II]].<ref>https://www.toqonline.com/archives/v5n2/TOQv5n2Andrews.pdf</ref> <ref>http://www.marxistsfr.org/history/etol/writers/burnham/index.htm</ref> and had an influence on Conservatism<ref>J.P. Zmirak (2003) [http://www.amconmag.com/article/2003/jan/13/00008/ America the Abstraction], The American Conservative, January 13, argues that "the neoconservative attempt to package the American ideal for export betrays our citizens at home and foments chaos abroad". It also states that: "In The Neoconservative Mind, [[Gary Dorrien]] traces the origin of abstractionist Americanism to the work of James Burnham—the great theoretician of “rollback” anti-Communism." This strong tendency towards pure abstraction, towards viewing national questions purely in ideological terms is illustrated when "Burnham made clear in his famous call to arms ''The Struggle for the World'' that he was more devoted to the abstract mission of America than to any of her concrete attributes."</ref> can be traced to a series of books but it is mainly his (1941) ''The Managerial Revolution: What is Happening in the World'', and the (1943) ''The Machiavellians: Defenders of Freedom: A Defense of Political Truth Against Wishful Thinking,''which are cited as having had the greatest influence on the right and which are discussed below. Other works include: (1964) ''Suicide of the West: An Essay on the Meaning & Destiny of Liberalism'', (1949) ''The Coming Defeat of Communism'', (1947) ''The struggle for the world'', (1954) ''The web of subversion; underground networks in the U. S. Government'', (1967) ''The War We Are In: The Last Decade and the Next'', (1959) ''Congress and the American Tradition''. Burnham was best known during his life as an anti-Communist theorist of the Cold War who was involved with the [[Congress for Cultural Freedom]] and a founding editor of ''National Review''.<ref> CIA (2007)[https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/docs/v38i5a10p.htm Cultural cold war: Origins of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, 1949-50]. This (redacted) CIA version of events (perhaps over-) emphasises that at the first Congress for Cultural Freedom conference the CIA "wanted [Melvin] Lasky and Burnham kept out of sight in Berlin for fear their presence would only provide ammunition to Communist critics of the event." And that although "Burnham took charge of the details for the American delegation" the CIA "ordered Lasky and Burnham removed from prominent positions in any ongoing project. Burnham was happy to step aside, agreeing that he made an easy target for Communist critics of the Congress."</ref> ==Resources== *Neocon Europe [http://www.neoconeurope.eu/index.php/James_Burnham James Burnham] {{SMWDocs}} ==References== <references/> imf9hsb3e4u0x6rwyrupukfcidwbs5w