John Jay, Conservative Revolutionary

What does it mean to be a conservative in a time of profound upheaval, when it is no longer clear what can or even should be conserved? Few Americans have more to teach us on that front than John Jay — a man who modeled throughout his remarkable life and work the vocation of a conservative in a time of disruption.Guest Brad Littlejohn joins us to discuss Jay, the founding father whose brand of “conservative, nationalist statesmanship” provides lessons for how to remain calm amid the political storms of today. Brad Littlejohn is a fellow in the Ethics and Public Policy Center’s Evangelicals in Civic Life Program and is founder and president of the Davenant Institute. He previously worked as a senior fellow of the Edmund Burke Foundation as lead author on a multi-year project entitled “Foundations of Liberty: Rediscovering the Anglo-American Conservative Tradition.” This podcast discusses themes from Brad’s essay in the Summer 2022 issue of National Affairs, “A Conservative Revolutionary.”