TRA RADICALISMO E CONSERVATORISMO. CHRISTOPHER LASCH E LA “NEW OXFORD REVIEW”

Christopher Lasch was an original American thinker of the second half of the Twentieth century. Although it has never been systematically studied, his contribution to the “New Oxford Review”, an American, Christian and critical of capitalism journal, can be seen as one of the most emblematic examples of his intellectual journey. This article examines his writings and books reviews published in that magazine, as well as the correspondence with its editor, Dale Vree. Such a firsthand material has been found by means of an archival research conducted at the University of Rochester, where Lasch taught from 1970 until his death. The aim of the essay is to show how his intellectual development moved from radical positions to ideas of cultural conservative roots, highlightened also by his collaboration with the “New Oxford Review”. Indeed, such positions, furthermore opened to the religious dimension of the limited human experience, have been neglected in the scarce researches concerning his political thought.