Radicalism On the Cheap

“Above all, no program,” was Disraeli’s classic prescription for conservatism. It would serve as well today for many among us who relentlessly assert their radicalism. Their programmatic sterility is surely a bizarre chapter in our political history. What has long been an honorable position has been converted into merely a defiant posture designed only to dramatize alienation from society. Meanwhile, the very essence of radicalism has been demeaned.

To be a radical in...