Strauss on Churchill

83% of U.S. energy and 60% of electricity came from fossil fuels in 2023.

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“Practically every terrible idea eating away at America’s soul originated with some academician whose philosophy gelled while writing his PhD dissertation.”--Graboyes

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Strauss on Churchill

Churchill died on January 24, 1965. When the philosopher Leo Strauss came into class and was informed of Churchill’s death, he said:

"The death of Churchill is a healthy reminder to students of political science of their limitations, the limitations of their craft.

The tyrant stood at the pinnacle of his power. The contrast between the indomitable and magnanimous statesman and the insane tyrant—this spectacle in its clear simplicity was one of the greatest lessons which men can learn, at any time.

No less enlightening is the lesson conveyed by Churchill’s failure, which is too great to be called tragedy. I mean the fact that Churchill’s heroic action on behalf of human freedom against Hitler only contributed, through no fault of Churchill’s, to increase the threat to freedom which is posed by Stalin or his successors. Churchill did the utmost that a man could do to counter that threat—publicly and most visibly in Greece and in Fulton, Missouri.

Not a whit less important than his deeds and speeches are his writings, above all his Marlborough—the greatest historical work written in our century, an inexhaustible mine of political wisdom and understanding, which should be required reading for every student of political science.

The death of Churchill reminds us of the limitations of our craft, and therewith of our duty. We have no higher duty, and no more pressing duty, than to remind ourselves and our students, of political greatness, human greatness, of the peaks of human excellence. For we are supposed to train ourselves and others in seeing things as they are, and this means above all in seeing their greatness and their misery, their excellence and their vileness, their nobility and their triumphs, and therefore never to mistake mediocrity, however brilliant, for true greatness."

So greatness--even with the highest motives--is not enough. Our very nature in this complex world distorts our noblest aims. Life cannot be directed; the unpredictable is part of our very being. We live, in our marrow, in a struggle we cannot be directed out of. True greatness understands both its promise and its limits.