Download or read book American Conservative Thought Since World War II written by Melvin J. Thorne and published by Praeger. This book was released on 1990-01-22 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This highly readable work reviews previous definitions of American conservatism and then posits the two fundamental ideas that, held in tandem, form the core of contemporary conservative thought: the belief that human nature is unchanging and unalterable and the belief in the existence of an objective moral order independent of man's knowledge or perception of it. The remaining five chapters examine the influence of the core ideas on such concepts as authority, freedom, government and economics, community, and change and tradition.