Reading Irving Kristol’s Neo-Conservatism: An Autobiography of an Idea, it is apparent that while Leo Strauss might have been a profoundly insightful man, he may not have been the most prudent.

The irresponsibility of publicly exposing the esoteric-exoteric distinction is demonstrated by Irving Kristol’s insider winks to his insider readers, disclosures that he “knows what Strauss was really up to.” Is there any person on earth motivated enough to learn what esoterism means that would not automatically consider himself an initiate?

A sample of Kristol’s esoteric wisdom:

The main priority of a sensible criminal-justice system — its first priority — is to punish the guilty. It is not to ensure that no innocent person is ever convicted. That is a second priority — important but second. Over these past two decades, our unwise elites — in the law schools, in the courts, in our legislatures — have got these priorities reversed. (Page 362, “The New Populism: Not to Worry”)

Thank God these unwise elites were finally ousted and replaced with Bush’s much wiser elites, who were able to stuff Guantanamo with possible terrorists. Given the sample size, can we doubt there were terrorists among these prisoners? Justice triumphs.

And another:

The three pillars of modern conservatism are religion, nationalism and economic growth. Of these religion is easily the most important because this is the only power that, in the longer term, can shape people’s characters and regulate their motivation. (page 365, “The Coming Conservative Century”)

Where do you even start with that list? Economic growth: alright, whatever. But religion as a pillar — and as a means to regulate motivations — in the U.S.A.? Really? And nationalism, in 1995, five years from the end of the bloody 20th Century — after Nazism, after Fascism, after the Khmer Rouge?

Irving Kristol’s entire life, his writing, the stunted son he produced, the enthusiastic testimonial on the back cover from “Dick Cheney, Former U.S. Defense Secretary” who praises Kristol and calls him “a thoroughly admirable human being” (it takes one to know one), the last decade of national decline, and the continuing failure of the Republican Party to pull itself back down from its presumptuous, delusive, cloudy heights and plant its feet back on this solid, factual, exoteric earth  firmly enough to see its own obvious failures and to correct them — all of this is an object lesson in why the esoteric-exoteric distinction is esoteric knowledge.

Leo Strauss of all people should have known better.