Jump to content

Claremont Institute

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by User2004 (talk | contribs) at 19:23, 2 July 2005 (Reverted edits by Rangerdude to last version by Willmcw). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Claremont Institute is a neo-conservative think tank based in Claremont, California. The institute was founded in 1979 at the Claremont Colleges. Its leading scholar is Harry V. Jaffa, a professor at Claremont McKenna College and the Claremont Graduate University. Its current Vice President is Thomas Krannawitter, a recent graduate of the college.

The institute publishes a quarterly magazine entitled the Claremont Review of Books and some publications of its own, mostly Jaffa's works. It is known for espousing a legal philosophy called Declarationism whereby the United States Declaration of Independence is treated as a legal document and component of the government's organizing doctrines along side the United States Constitution. Most of the Institute's members are followers of the teachings of Leo Strauss including Jaffa, who was a student of Strauss.

The Institute calls its neo-conservative philosophy "Claremont Conservatism." This philosophy encompasses the Institute's interpretations of historical figures, particularly the American Founding Fathers, Abraham Lincoln, and Winston Churchill.[1] Uncommon for a conservative organization, the Claremont Institute tends to reject the constitutional philosophy of strict constructionism and often publishes material that is critical or derisive of conservative strict constructionists such as Robert Bork, William Rehnquist, and Antonin Scalia.[2] [3] According to some Institute writers, their legal philosophy is closer to that of Clarence Thomas, although outside of the Institute Thomas is widely considered a strict constructionist in the model of Scalia.[4]

The Institute's often adversarial role in the conservative movement has earned them a variety of nicknames, some derisive and others embraced willingly, including Super-Hawks, Jaffanese Americans, Claremonsters, Lincoln Conservatives, and Claremontistas.[5] [6]

Criticisms from the Ludwig von Mises Institute

Members of the neoconfederate Ludwig von Mises Institute - one of Claremont's most frequent sparring partners on the right - frequently dismiss their following as a cult. Referencing the organization's view of the 16th President, philosophy professor Marcus Verhaegh calls Claremont "the prime font of Lincoln-worship in our times." Daniel McCarthy asserts that the Claremont Institute's treatment of Lincoln is particularly cultish, describing its members as having a "genuinely religious zeal directed toward the 16th president." McCarthy cites Institute scholars who frequently use religious imagery such as "Father Abraham" and references to the "scripture" of the Declaration of Independence as evidence of this approach. According to McCarthy, these viewpoints are the source of the Claremont Institute's tension with other conservative organizations despite their common views on such issues as limited government, abortion, and morality:

"On many specific issues Claremontians and other members of the right are in agreement, and the Claremontians often provide some of the most intelligent and effective criticism of our mutual foes on the left. Unfortunately though whatever our common ground there will always be this fundamental, religiously-grounded incompatibility between those of us who want autonomy of one kind or another and those who want to impose their version of natural rights on the rest of us. The problem with Claremontianism is not so much that it is a kind of religion, but that it practices forced conversion."[7]

The Claremont Review of Books has carried critical reviews of books by authors associated with the von Mises Institute, in particular Thomas DiLorenzo's The Real Lincoln and most recently Thomas Woods' Politically Incorrect Guide to American History. The subjects of these reviews, which also includes Robert H. Bork, have responded directly, accusing the Institute of waging character assassination campaigns.

Publications

  • Claremont Review of Books
  • The Proposition
  • Local Liberty

Notable staff and fellows

Other Claremont McKenna College ("CMC") related institutes:

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Claremont_Institute&oldid=18026289"