I have to confess, as I was reading the book, I found myself sympathizing with both men's views. The left strand of our politics is very deeply rooted in our political tradition and speaks for a point of view about our politics that has always been part of it. We've had a left and right as long as we've known ourselves.
Yuval Levin, author of The Great Debate: Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the Birth of Right and Left, talks to EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the ideas of Burke and Paine and their influence on the evolution of political philosophy. Levin outlines the differing approaches of the two thinkers to liberty, authority, and how reform and change should take place. Other topics discussed include Hayek's view of tradition, Cartesian rationalism, the moral high ground in politics, and how the "right and left" division of American politics finds its roots in the debates of these thinkers from the 1700s.