Corey Robin,political science professor at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate middle, looks back at the origins of conservatism in his fresh book The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Sarah Palin. Robin argues the movement grew out of a reaction against the French Revolution, or at its core opposes emancipating lower classes. He also explores how different thinkers like Edmund Burke,Antonin Scalia, John C. Calhoun and Ayn Rand have formed their own brands of conservatism.
Source: thetakeaway.org