Patrick Deneen Speaks at MKA's Hemmeter Lecture Series

Patrick Deneen, professor of Philosophy and Constitutionalism at Notre Dame University, talked to a mix of students, faculty and members of the Montclair community last night about the philosophy of Conservatism in America. Deneen quoted extensively from Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America to point out that the tradition of liberal thinking (as part of America's preoccupation with the philosophy of individualism) had much stronger roots in America than conservatism. Deneen redefined liberalism as a philosophy of constant change. He then made the interesting observation that today's Democrats and Republicans were, in his opinion, both liberal at their core. Both parties desire change but just disagree on the type of changes needed by our nation. Deneen used this observation to explain the title of his lecture,

"It's Hard to be a Conservative in America."