Robert Nisbet’s Quest for Community

Robert Nisbet (1913–1996) was an American sociologist, conservative thinker, and the author of dozens of books over the course of his long career, including The Quest for Community: A Study in the Ethics of Order and Freedom, The Sociological Tradition, and Conservatism: Dream and Reality.

Counted among the great 20th century conservatives, Nisbet’s thought was unique and useful to thinkers across the political spectrum. In its obituary of Nisbet, the New York Times noted that “although he was widely hailed as an intellectual mentor of the American right ... the brand of conservatism he espoused was so rarefied and remote from modern political trends that one of his first major works, The Quest for Community, first published in 1953, became something of a cult classic among counterculture radicals.”

Joining us to discuss is Brad Birzer, Professor of History and Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies at Hillsdale College; Samuel Goldman, Associate Professor of Political Science at George Washington University and Literary Editor of Modern Age; and Luke C. Sheahan, Assistant Professor of Political Science as Duquesne University and Editor of the University Bookman.

The discussion is moderated by John Sailer, a Research Fellow at the National Association of Scholars.