Changes

Initially known as a scholar of Victorian and modern British fiction, his influence grew after 1945, reaching its peak in the early 1950s after the publication of his most brilliant work, ''The Liberal Imagination'' (1950), and declining somewhat between 1965 and 1975 when he was seen either as an elder literary statesman or as a kind of dusty intellectual monument. Since his death his legacy has been claimed by both Left and Right, but the intricacy and dualities of his work ensure that he will remain a quietly controversial' figure within American intellectual life.<ref> Rodden (1996)</ref>

Initially known as a scholar of Victorian and modern British fiction, his influence grew after 1945, reaching its peak in the early 1950s after the publication of his most brilliant work, ''The Liberal Imagination'' (1950), and declining somewhat between 1965 and 1975 when he was seen either as an elder literary statesman or as a kind of dusty intellectual monument. Since his death his legacy has been claimed by both Left and Right, but the intricacy and dualities of his work ensure that he will remain a quietly controversial' figure within American intellectual life.<ref> Rodden (1996)</ref>

==No conservatism in America?==

==No conservatism ideas in America?==

Reilling is notorious for a short passage in the preface to the ''Liberal Tradition'' to the effect that intellectually America is totally liberal and there is no place for conservative ideas.  He does allow that idea-free reactionary and conservative impulses do exist and affect politics.  he wrote:

Reilling is notorious for a short passage in the preface to the ''Liberal Tradition'' to the effect that intellectually America is totally liberal and there is no place for conservative ideas.  He does allow that idea-free reactionary and conservative impulses do exist and affect politics.  he wrote:

:"In the United States at this time liberalism is not only the dominant but even the sole intellectual tradition. For it is the plain fact that nowadays there are no conservative or reactionary ideas in general circulation. This does not mean, of course, that there is no impulse to conservatism or to reaction. Such impulses are certainly very strong, perhaps even stronger than most of us know. But the conservative impulse and the reactionary impulse do not, with some isolated and some ecclesiastical exceptions, express themselves in ideas but only in action or in irritable mental gestures which seek to resemble ideas."<ref> online version [http://books.google.com/books?id=XKP0I6LL8KMC&pg=PR15&dq=%22reactionary+ideas+in+general+circulation%22&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0#v=onepage&q=%22reactionary%20ideas%20in%20general%20circulation%22&f=false p xv]</ref>

:"In the United States at this time liberalism is not only the dominant but even the sole intellectual tradition. For it is the plain fact that nowadays there are no conservative or reactionary ideas in general circulation. This does not mean, of course, that there is no impulse to conservatism or to reaction. Such impulses are certainly very strong, perhaps even stronger than most of us know. But the conservative impulse and the reactionary impulse do not, with some isolated and some ecclesiastical exceptions, express themselves in ideas but only in action or in irritable mental gestures which seek to resemble ideas."<ref> online version [http://books.google.com/books?id=XKP0I6LL8KMC&pg=PR15&dq=%22reactionary+ideas+in+general+circulation%22&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0#v=onepage&q=%22reactionary%20ideas%20in%20general%20circulation%22&f=false p xv]</ref>