204 – Weaving Thru Weaver with Michael Lucchese

Richard Weaver was a twentieth century American scholar and rhetorician whose writings were praised by the likes of Russell Kirk, William F. Buckley, Willmoore Kendall, and Frank Meyer.  But nowadays Weaver is either derided as a racially charged Southern sympathizer or accused of preparing the way for the MAGA movement and authoritarianism.  If he’s discussed at all.

Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is Michael Lucchese, whose latest essay in Law and Liberty defends Weaver’s contributions to the intellectual Right and argues his writings are still instructive for the conservative today.  This episode explores Weaver’s actual views on the South and racism, his battles with the neo-gnostics of his day, his peculiar admiration for libertarians and Abraham Lincoln, and his greatest foe, William of Occam.

Check out Michael’s essay on Weaver, Turning the Clock Back.