Rationalism in Politics first published in 1962 has established the lateMichael Oakeshott as the leading conservative political theorist in modernBritain. This ... » 

Rationalism in Politics first published in 1962 has established the lateMichael Oakeshott as the leading conservative political theorist in modernBritain. This expanded collection of essays astutely points out the limits ofreason in rationalist politics. Oakeshott criticizes ideological schemes toreform society according to supposedly scientific or rationalistic principlesthat ignore the wealth and variety of human experience. Rationalism inpolitics says Oakeshott involves a misconception with regard to the natureof human knowledge. History has shown that it produces unexpected oftendisastrous results. Having cut himself off from the traditional knowledge ofhis society and denied the value of any education more extensive than atraining in a technique of analysis the Rationalist succeeds only inundermining the institutions that hold civilized society together. In thisregard rationalism in politics is a corruption of the mind. «