Conscience of a Conservative

Here is the path-breaking book that rocketed a political philosophy into the forefront of the nation’s consciousness, written in words whose vigor and relevance have not tarnished with age:

I have little interest in streamlining government or in making it more efficient, for I mean to reduce its size. I do not undertake to promote welfare, for I propose to extend freedom. My aim is not to pass laws, but to repeal them. It is not to inaugurate new programs, but to cancel old ones that do violence to the Constitution, or that have failed in their purpose, or that impose on the people an unwarranted financial burden. I will not attempt to discover whether legislation is “needed” before I have first determined whether it is constitutionally permissible. And if I should later be attacked for neglecting my constituents’ “interests,” I shall reply that I was informed their main interest is liberty and that in that cause I am doing the very best I can.

The Conscience of a Conservative is Barry Goldwater’s classic which re-ignited the American conservative movement and made him a political star. The term “Goldwater conservative” became a household word. The book has influenced countless conservatives in the United States, helping to lay the foundation for the Reagan Revolution.