The Right is Organized Because it has Ideas

Some thoughtful people on the left know that, if they're to compete with the right in the years ahead, they must organize themselves in some manner that will create a nucleus around which a more coherent movement can form. But vitriol won't suffice as an organizing principle, and in any event, given the sheer number of left-wing thinkers in universities, cultural institutions, and elsewhere, their inability to articulate ideas, as opposed to policy positions, should serve as a warning that difficulties lie ahead. It's also clear that the very success the left enjoys in academe, the elite media, and the foundation world has, over the years, given many a false sense that their future is secure regardless of any steps the right may take to ensure its own growth.

One of those steps involves the cultivation of youth, and today's New York Times runs a front-page article on the Heritage Foundation's vaunted summer intern program. It's a reasonable article on a well-run, and well-funded, rite of passage that has helped launch no small number of conservative activists and journalists.

In true Times fashion, the reporter, Jason DeParle, approaches the interns and the conservative movement in a way that always reminds me of the stance assumed toward the subjects of his work by a nineteenth century naturalist: a bit of distance, fascination at the exotica before him, and a keen eye for features that, in and of themselves, help define the species under study. In this case, there are two such features: the youth and enthusiasm of the new interns, and the donors whose support make their summers in Washington possible.

But it's the interns themselves who shed the most light on why they're so committed to conservatism. Some are weary of liberalism's hold on institutions, where they endured ridicule for their beliefs:

Ms. Seidenschnur, 21, a senior at Washington and Lee, found herself in a political minority as early as high school as she worked in three Republican clubs.

"I was sick of being ridiculed by my teachers for being a Republican: 'Oh, here comes the Republican,' " she said

This reason is echoed by former Heritage intern and current National Review editor Rich Lowry:

Mr. Lowry theorizes that young conservatives are especially interested in the ideas undergirding their politics, often having come from liberal campuses where they have had to defend themselves. That theory finds support among the current interns, who often talk of being outnumbered by left-leaning peers.

And by another intern, who refuses to be cowed into silence:

"In the face of derogation, many intelligent young conservatives have simply responded by hiding their beliefs or going with the crowd," Ms. Stanaway wrote in an application essay. "I refuse to be one of them."

Some know they need more intellectual firepower for the years ahead:

Among the perks of the summer program is a lunch series in which interns make their way through the conservative canon. "Being raised a Christian, with family values, I want to make sure I have a solid philosophical footing," said Mr. Hurff, 21, the Wake Forest senior.

Most of the young people interviewed by the Times know that they have much to learn; that is, they know there are things they don't know. That's a crucial step towards wisdom, and it's a virtue that young people in every generation should cultivate. Because conservatives respect the broad sweep of Western culture, their youth are encouraged to read from among thousands of writings dating to antiquity, as well as more modern works by self-consciously conservative authors. That's quite a task -- more than anyone can accomplish in a lifetime.

Contrast this approach with that taken by so many on the left, which has cultivated such a sense of disdain for Western knowledge that they've become anti-intellectual in their approach to learning, and Luddite in their view of modern technology and economics. The reading lists available to such folks is necessarily shallow, as it relies on mostly modern works by disgruntled authors who're more concerned with contemporary policy than perennially important ideas. A left-wing equivalent of Heritage's internship program, if it existed, would certainly be more activist-oriented, and its graduates would emerge with a wider network of contacts, but little connection to their intellectual ancestors. That's a heavy price to pay for "relevance," but it's the inevitable cost of holding the intellectual tradition of one's civilization in contempt.