What do you think?
Rate this book
Against the Tide: The best of Roger Scruton's columns, commentaries and criticism
'His moral courage shines through from the start.' - Sunday Telegraph
The definitive edition of the late Sir Roger Scruton's philosophical and political essays and reviews, now collected in one volume.
The philosopher Roger Scruton was the leading conservative thinker of the post-war years. In this book are assembled the very best of his essays and commentaries, arranged thematically. The selection has been made and edited by Mark Dooley, Scruton's literary executor.
Throughout this collection, Scruton proves himself to be at his most scintillating and controversial. He writes with passion and conviction about such varied topics as feminism, racism, fascism, Tony Blair and Donald Trump, as well as subjects like global warming, music and architecture. He takes aim at those who defy conservative common sense in favour of liberal falsehoods.
This book shows Scruton at his most brilliant and demonstrates how his influence will remain strong and enduring.
The definitive edition of the late Sir Roger Scruton's philosophical and political essays and reviews, now collected in one volume.
The philosopher Roger Scruton was the leading conservative thinker of the post-war years. In this book are assembled the very best of his essays and commentaries, arranged thematically. The selection has been made and edited by Mark Dooley, Scruton's literary executor.
Throughout this collection, Scruton proves himself to be at his most scintillating and controversial. He writes with passion and conviction about such varied topics as feminism, racism, fascism, Tony Blair and Donald Trump, as well as subjects like global warming, music and architecture. He takes aim at those who defy conservative common sense in favour of liberal falsehoods.
This book shows Scruton at his most brilliant and demonstrates how his influence will remain strong and enduring.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 20, 2022
86 people are currently reading
350 people want to read
About the author
Roger Scruton
140 books1,352 followersSir Roger Scruton was a writer and philosopher who has published more than forty books in philosophy, aesthetics and politics. He was a fellow of the British Academy and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He taught in both England and America and was a Visiting Professor at Department of Philosophy and Fellow of Blackfriars Hall, Oxford, he was also a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Washington D.C.
In 2015 he published two books, The Disappeared and later in the autumn, Fools Frauds and Firebrands. Fools Frauds and Firebrands is an update of Thinkers of the New Left published, to widespread outrage, in 1986. It includes new chapters covering Lacan, Deleuze and Badiou and some timely thoughts about the historians and social thinkers who led British intellectuals up the garden path during the last decades, including Eric Hobsbawm and Ralph Miliband.
In 2016 he again published two books, Confessions of A Heretic (a collection of essays) and The Ring of Truth, about Wagner’s Ring cycle, which was widely and favourably reviewed. In 2017 he published On Human Nature (Princeton University Press), which was again widely reviewed, and contains a distillation of his philosophy. He also published a response to Brexit, Where We Are (Bloomsbury).
In 2015 he published two books, The Disappeared and later in the autumn, Fools Frauds and Firebrands. Fools Frauds and Firebrands is an update of Thinkers of the New Left published, to widespread outrage, in 1986. It includes new chapters covering Lacan, Deleuze and Badiou and some timely thoughts about the historians and social thinkers who led British intellectuals up the garden path during the last decades, including Eric Hobsbawm and Ralph Miliband.
In 2016 he again published two books, Confessions of A Heretic (a collection of essays) and The Ring of Truth, about Wagner’s Ring cycle, which was widely and favourably reviewed. In 2017 he published On Human Nature (Princeton University Press), which was again widely reviewed, and contains a distillation of his philosophy. He also published a response to Brexit, Where We Are (Bloomsbury).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
March 23, 2023
Scruton, Roger. Against the Tide. Bloomsbury.
This is a collection of Sir Roger Scruton’s best editorials. To note, these are not precise argumentative pieces. They are generally short, witty, and to the point. The prose is magnificent. Imagine if G. K. Chesterton actually had something of substance to say.
Put a Cork in it
Corked wine slows down the pace of life.
Human Rights
Pace reactionary conservatism, human rights do in fact exist. The problem is trying to delineate something like “universal human rights.” A right not only implies a duty, but it also implies someone against whom a right is claimed. It is not clear how this works on the global scale. I have a duty to my neighbor. It’s not clear what kind of practical duty I can have to a Sherpa in Tibet.
On the Soul
Scruton defends some form of dualism. He is very clear that we should call it the soul, noting that cultural philistines call it “mind.” He interacts with John Searle’s famous Chinese room experiment. Though Searle was correct to rebut some hard forms of physicalism, his lack of belief in any sort of telos makes his dualism irrelevant to human life.
God and the New Atheists
Scruton employs something like Alvin Plantinga’s response to naturalism. Richard Dawkins, the New Atheist, argues, or rather asserts, that religion is like a meme. It replicates itself. Here is where it gets interesting. In terms of evolutionary theory, false “memes,” like false maths, do not survive. Religion, for better or worse, is surviving. It has survived, even thrived, for quite some time.
Education and Sociology
Scruton defends what are called “the irrelevant subjects.” Earlier custodians of the British Empire studied logic, Greek, and Latin and successfully managed the greatest empire in history. What they studied developed the mind and soul, yet was largely irrelevant to “practical matters.” We have reversed the situation today.
He has a hilarious chapter on a mock dialogue between two sociologists from the BBC.
Architecture
The current fad of “function over form” guarantees neither. Modern buildings are ugly, and for that reason non-functional. Most urban planning projects look like bombed out war zones. They are not functional for the main reason that no one wants to live there.
Animal Rights
If you want to promote the well-being of animals, hunt and eat them. Hunting animals guarantees the preservation of their ecosystem.
Bon Mots
As with all of Sir Roger’s writing, we are treated to devastating one liners.
“Sociology takes legitimate relations–Lover/Beloved, Employee/Employer–and turns them into power structures.”
“The pit bull terrier will go most of his life before turning on and killing his owner, much to the delight of everyone else. Unfortunately, it also wants to kill everyone else.”
Conclusion
Because Sir Roger’s prose is so fine, one is tempted to let it wash over himself. That in itself is a worthy endeavor, but one should not miss the cogency of the argument for the beauty of the prose.
This is a collection of Sir Roger Scruton’s best editorials. To note, these are not precise argumentative pieces. They are generally short, witty, and to the point. The prose is magnificent. Imagine if G. K. Chesterton actually had something of substance to say.
Put a Cork in it
Corked wine slows down the pace of life.
Human Rights
Pace reactionary conservatism, human rights do in fact exist. The problem is trying to delineate something like “universal human rights.” A right not only implies a duty, but it also implies someone against whom a right is claimed. It is not clear how this works on the global scale. I have a duty to my neighbor. It’s not clear what kind of practical duty I can have to a Sherpa in Tibet.
On the Soul
Scruton defends some form of dualism. He is very clear that we should call it the soul, noting that cultural philistines call it “mind.” He interacts with John Searle’s famous Chinese room experiment. Though Searle was correct to rebut some hard forms of physicalism, his lack of belief in any sort of telos makes his dualism irrelevant to human life.
God and the New Atheists
Scruton employs something like Alvin Plantinga’s response to naturalism. Richard Dawkins, the New Atheist, argues, or rather asserts, that religion is like a meme. It replicates itself. Here is where it gets interesting. In terms of evolutionary theory, false “memes,” like false maths, do not survive. Religion, for better or worse, is surviving. It has survived, even thrived, for quite some time.
Education and Sociology
Scruton defends what are called “the irrelevant subjects.” Earlier custodians of the British Empire studied logic, Greek, and Latin and successfully managed the greatest empire in history. What they studied developed the mind and soul, yet was largely irrelevant to “practical matters.” We have reversed the situation today.
He has a hilarious chapter on a mock dialogue between two sociologists from the BBC.
Architecture
The current fad of “function over form” guarantees neither. Modern buildings are ugly, and for that reason non-functional. Most urban planning projects look like bombed out war zones. They are not functional for the main reason that no one wants to live there.
Animal Rights
If you want to promote the well-being of animals, hunt and eat them. Hunting animals guarantees the preservation of their ecosystem.
Bon Mots
As with all of Sir Roger’s writing, we are treated to devastating one liners.
“Sociology takes legitimate relations–Lover/Beloved, Employee/Employer–and turns them into power structures.”
“The pit bull terrier will go most of his life before turning on and killing his owner, much to the delight of everyone else. Unfortunately, it also wants to kill everyone else.”
Conclusion
Because Sir Roger’s prose is so fine, one is tempted to let it wash over himself. That in itself is a worthy endeavor, but one should not miss the cogency of the argument for the beauty of the prose.
January 6, 2023
My extended commentary and review -> https://stetson.substack.com/p/no-aca...
Against the Tide is a ten part collection containing many newspaper columns, essays, and diary entries authored by Roger Scruton. The work spans from the early 70s to the very recent past (Scruton died in early 2020). The collection appears to be fairly representative of the prolific English philosopher's perspective on art, culture, politics, and life (though I am by no means an expert in Scruton's work).
Against the Tide is a lot to take in as the subjects of the various pieces range widely as well as their historical context. Scruton's tone, succinctness, and erudition are remarkably consistent with his ideas becoming a bit more clearer and less self-conscious in his later work. Scruton is also notable because he provides a defense of traditionalism and national sovereignty that is based in aesthetics, duty, and meaning (typically understood through Christianity for Scruton). For American readers like myself, this right-wing perspective is somewhat distinct from most American conservatism, which is instead largely predicated on the liberal tradition of Enlightenment philosophy and embodied in our country's foundational texts. Pouring through Scruton's musing was compelling and edifying in many ways. There were of course places where his arguments were a bit thin or just simply expressions of defiant positions rather than rationalizations, but I think readers of all political perspectives may benefit from exposure to Scruton's thoughts.
There are several pieces that I think are worth highlighting:
"The Conservative Conscience" (1994)
"The Meaning of Margaret Thatcher" (2013)
"The Ideology of Human Right" (1980)
"The End of Education" (1985)
"The Triumph of Nothingness" (1984)
"High Culture is Being Corrupted by a Culture of Fakes" (2012)
*Disclaimer: I received this work as an ARC through Netgalley.
Against the Tide is a ten part collection containing many newspaper columns, essays, and diary entries authored by Roger Scruton. The work spans from the early 70s to the very recent past (Scruton died in early 2020). The collection appears to be fairly representative of the prolific English philosopher's perspective on art, culture, politics, and life (though I am by no means an expert in Scruton's work).
Against the Tide is a lot to take in as the subjects of the various pieces range widely as well as their historical context. Scruton's tone, succinctness, and erudition are remarkably consistent with his ideas becoming a bit more clearer and less self-conscious in his later work. Scruton is also notable because he provides a defense of traditionalism and national sovereignty that is based in aesthetics, duty, and meaning (typically understood through Christianity for Scruton). For American readers like myself, this right-wing perspective is somewhat distinct from most American conservatism, which is instead largely predicated on the liberal tradition of Enlightenment philosophy and embodied in our country's foundational texts. Pouring through Scruton's musing was compelling and edifying in many ways. There were of course places where his arguments were a bit thin or just simply expressions of defiant positions rather than rationalizations, but I think readers of all political perspectives may benefit from exposure to Scruton's thoughts.
There are several pieces that I think are worth highlighting:
"The Conservative Conscience" (1994)
"The Meaning of Margaret Thatcher" (2013)
"The Ideology of Human Right" (1980)
"The End of Education" (1985)
"The Triumph of Nothingness" (1984)
"High Culture is Being Corrupted by a Culture of Fakes" (2012)
*Disclaimer: I received this work as an ARC through Netgalley.
July 12, 2023
Classic Scruton.
August 5, 2023
Calming, often endearing and always intellectually and emotionally stimulating reading, even when I do not agree with the author, whether philosophically or temperamentally.
December 23, 2021
Not the ideal introduction to his thoughts, but like a box set of recordings aimed at fans, some greatest hits mixed with studio experiments and tracks that will appeal to the completist. I recommend Mark Dooley's earlier collection of conversations with Roger Scruton as a better choice.
May 7, 2022
"Who remembers Iran? Who remembers, that is, the shameful stampede of Western journalists and intellectuals to the cause of the Iranian revolution? Who remembers the hysterical propaganda campaign waged against the Shah, the lurid press reports of corruption, police oppression, palace decadence, constitutional crisis? Who remembers the thousands of Iranian students in Western universities enthusiastically absorbing the fashionable Marxist nonsense purveyed to them by armchair radicals, so as one day to lead the campaign of riot and mendacity that preceded the Shah’s downfall?"
What a Great Man, What a Great Writer.
What a Great Man, What a Great Writer.
March 25, 2022
What a terrific book, written with humor pathos wit and understanding. These essays and columns leave you thinking and wanting reread them as the true meanings often are apparent only after thought and reflection. He will be missed and the culture he celebrates will be missed even more than it already is.
February 15, 2022
Scruton at His Best…
Looked forward to this book being released and so thankful to get it earlier than anticipated. Mark Dooley has done an excellent job putting together some of Scruton’s best published and unpublished articles. I highlighted numerous passages throughout the work, but his article on High Culture and the Culture of Flakes really deserves being republished again 10 years after it original publication in the Guardian. Highly Recommended…SLT
Looked forward to this book being released and so thankful to get it earlier than anticipated. Mark Dooley has done an excellent job putting together some of Scruton’s best published and unpublished articles. I highlighted numerous passages throughout the work, but his article on High Culture and the Culture of Flakes really deserves being republished again 10 years after it original publication in the Guardian. Highly Recommended…SLT
September 11, 2024
A beautiful collection of essays and brief commentaries on philosophy, religion, culture, politics, and personal memories.
February 22, 2024
Very friendly introduction to the breadth of Scruton's thought. Nicely narrated with accessible, but slightly posh English accent on Audible.
Since the texts are short journalistic pieces many different topics in rather accessible way are presented. Undoubtedly, Scruton can right beautifully with simple metaphors, succinct arguments and often sharp mind.
What is worse, of course, are some opinions. Scruton's praise of Thatcher, Reagan, or hate of EU or vegetarianism is at better times ignorant of complexities sometimes coupled with misunderstanding and at worse times downright irrational and perhaps even spiteful. Sure, Thatcher-Reagan recreated certain confidence of UK and US in the face of Soviet totalitarianism; however, the effect of regressive taxation and financial deregulation are indisputibly horrible. From the rise of talented people who instead of going to science/engineering or Scruton's favorite humanities (including the most useless ones like dead languages or philosophy) go to finance, through fall of real wages, through environmental degradation. Even if we grant Scruton's conservative justification of hierarchies and personal responsibility and thus justify outrageous inequalities, these cannot justify the proliferation of finance as industry or stagnation of the middle classes. The worst is the argument against vegan/vegetarian diet. The answer is the ridiculous: "The animals would live or would even overpopulate without use eating them." Meanwhile industry farming competes in muscling up of chickens so as to breed them and kill them most efficiently. If we did not eat them we would just not kill over-muscled chicken kids.
What is more giving, in terms of opinions, is the criticism of EU regulation or political correctness bordering on witch-hunting which Scruton compares to his experience in communist Czechoslovakia where he illegally led number for flat-seminars (I had the pleasure of meeting a former dissident who housed Scruton.) In addition, as fellow philosopher I appreciate the praise of humanities, classical Greek culture or beauty as one of the highest aspects of life.
All in all, I am happy I got to read this book rather than committing to a topic-specific book and I am happy to read something else by Scruton in the future. But the next book will definitely not be about his views on the environment.
Since the texts are short journalistic pieces many different topics in rather accessible way are presented. Undoubtedly, Scruton can right beautifully with simple metaphors, succinct arguments and often sharp mind.
What is worse, of course, are some opinions. Scruton's praise of Thatcher, Reagan, or hate of EU or vegetarianism is at better times ignorant of complexities sometimes coupled with misunderstanding and at worse times downright irrational and perhaps even spiteful. Sure, Thatcher-Reagan recreated certain confidence of UK and US in the face of Soviet totalitarianism; however, the effect of regressive taxation and financial deregulation are indisputibly horrible. From the rise of talented people who instead of going to science/engineering or Scruton's favorite humanities (including the most useless ones like dead languages or philosophy) go to finance, through fall of real wages, through environmental degradation. Even if we grant Scruton's conservative justification of hierarchies and personal responsibility and thus justify outrageous inequalities, these cannot justify the proliferation of finance as industry or stagnation of the middle classes. The worst is the argument against vegan/vegetarian diet. The answer is the ridiculous: "The animals would live or would even overpopulate without use eating them." Meanwhile industry farming competes in muscling up of chickens so as to breed them and kill them most efficiently. If we did not eat them we would just not kill over-muscled chicken kids.
What is more giving, in terms of opinions, is the criticism of EU regulation or political correctness bordering on witch-hunting which Scruton compares to his experience in communist Czechoslovakia where he illegally led number for flat-seminars (I had the pleasure of meeting a former dissident who housed Scruton.) In addition, as fellow philosopher I appreciate the praise of humanities, classical Greek culture or beauty as one of the highest aspects of life.
All in all, I am happy I got to read this book rather than committing to a topic-specific book and I am happy to read something else by Scruton in the future. But the next book will definitely not be about his views on the environment.
January 1, 2025
Took me a bit longer to finish this one than it should have, but since these are a collection of previously published articles, you can get through a lot of them without making a lot of progress on the book overall. However, there is still the same insightful dialogue and clear prose that made me enjoy his other books that I have read. Especially since this is an annotated collection, we really do get his opinions on many topics: from wine corks to foxing to communist tyranny.
I enjoyed many chapters in this one but a few of the top include: McCarthy Was Right on the Red Menace, Altruism and Selfishness, Know Your Place, The Modern Cult of Ugliness, and Male Domination. Now, I don't agree with everything Scruton said in these chapters or in others (like his comments on foreign policy) but I'm still better off for having read them. He has such a clear intelligence that to write him off as a bigot or flunky intellectual like his lessers tried to do, would be a disservice to yourself.
He was probably the best that modern British Conservative philosophy and politics had to offer.
I enjoyed many chapters in this one but a few of the top include: McCarthy Was Right on the Red Menace, Altruism and Selfishness, Know Your Place, The Modern Cult of Ugliness, and Male Domination. Now, I don't agree with everything Scruton said in these chapters or in others (like his comments on foreign policy) but I'm still better off for having read them. He has such a clear intelligence that to write him off as a bigot or flunky intellectual like his lessers tried to do, would be a disservice to yourself.
He was probably the best that modern British Conservative philosophy and politics had to offer.
August 22, 2025
Perhaps not the most representative introduction to Scruton but certainly a wide ranging summary of his newspaper and magazine editorials, with a coda of his experiences of 2019, from the BBBC to cancer and death.
If this were true, as it were beautiful, it would suffice, he muses at one point. Indeed. His elegant prose never ventures into pretentiousness. But as a thinker, his influence does not seem likely to age particularly well. I do not think many of his nominal supporters demonstrate the same level of charity and decency as he does.
If this were true, as it were beautiful, it would suffice, he muses at one point. Indeed. His elegant prose never ventures into pretentiousness. But as a thinker, his influence does not seem likely to age particularly well. I do not think many of his nominal supporters demonstrate the same level of charity and decency as he does.
January 17, 2024
Ugh. What a loss. Sir Roger Scruton was an incredible man and thinker. He was whitty, smart, insightful, profound, and honestly very funny in his own dry way. I periodically read his essay "the tyranny of pop music" first to laugh, then to nod along in perfect agreement. He understood beauty, meaning, and life in a way that few do and few every will.
This collection of essays and published articles was so great.
Pick yourself up a book by Roger Scruton and then thank God for him.
This collection of essays and published articles was so great.
Pick yourself up a book by Roger Scruton and then thank God for him.
October 31, 2022
Though I'd seen some of his YouTube clips and had read his primer on Beauty, this posthumous collection of hia best essays and articles was the best introduction to Sir Roger Scruton I have found. A prophet rejected in his hometown, but beloved in Eastern Europe. A philosopher with a sharp wit, droll sense of humour and a contagious love for tradition which doesn't feel quaint or nolstagic.
December 28, 2022
Covering a wide range of subjects with a good mix of sound wisdom at one end of teh scale and curmudgeonly mutterings at the other, it's well worth a listen since you will find plenty to agree with ane plenty to disagree with too, so you won't be bored, although you might get some funny looks if, like me, you are prone to saying answering back to your books while on the tube.
March 13, 2023
A tremendous legacy
I am so thankful to have this curation of Sir Roger’s writings through the years. Ever relevant and delightfully insightful, his ability to describe what underlies so much of our civilization’s movement is put forward in a keen prose style filled that falls delightfully upon the page. I also recommend the audible narration, masterfully performed.
I am so thankful to have this curation of Sir Roger’s writings through the years. Ever relevant and delightfully insightful, his ability to describe what underlies so much of our civilization’s movement is put forward in a keen prose style filled that falls delightfully upon the page. I also recommend the audible narration, masterfully performed.
August 5, 2024
Short and Pithy
This work provides a good introduction to Roger Scruton. Hopefully, it will interest one enough to read to his books. His works on philosophy, love, beauty are all well reading. His novel Notes on Underground is a magnificent statement of his love for the Czechs who would not bow to tyranny.
This work provides a good introduction to Roger Scruton. Hopefully, it will interest one enough to read to his books. His works on philosophy, love, beauty are all well reading. His novel Notes on Underground is a magnificent statement of his love for the Czechs who would not bow to tyranny.
September 21, 2024
Um livro de crónicas e ensaios curtos de Roger Scruton, onde se percebe o seu compromisso inabalável com os valores conservadores e o seu cepticismo em relação ao progresso. Quer se concordo ou não com as suas opiniões, trata-se de um livro divertido e repleto de provocações que convidam à reflexão. Recomendo.
May 12, 2023
After reading 90% of this, I had to put it down.
I know that many appreciate Mr. Scruton's "wit", but I found him so boorish and self-centered that I finally determined I was simply wasting my time.
Can't recommend it.
I know that many appreciate Mr. Scruton's "wit", but I found him so boorish and self-centered that I finally determined I was simply wasting my time.
Can't recommend it.
August 6, 2022
This is my new recommendation for anyone wanting an introduction to Sir Roger, the man, the mind, his life and his work. We miss him dearly.
September 22, 2022
A fine intellect regardless of your politics
Roger Scruton's range is worth the time of anyone interested in ideas and beauty. His death is a loss to us all.
Roger Scruton's range is worth the time of anyone interested in ideas and beauty. His death is a loss to us all.
June 13, 2023
Great collection of short pieces on various topics. Didn't agree with everything regarding his love for classical liberalism, but I can appreciate the eloquence, passion, and thought Scruton put into everything he wrote.
Read
June 17, 2023Wonderful writing, prescient insights and interesting opinions. A must 'read again' book...
November 27, 2023
Exceptional.
November 1, 2024
Definitely an independent thinker and a true conservative. Some excellent, timeless articles written with clarity and wit.
November 13, 2024
Sometimes silly, sometimes remarkable
March 25, 2025
4.5 *
4 stars for the content
5 stars for the impeccably effortless prose.
4 stars for the content
5 stars for the impeccably effortless prose.
October 25, 2025
Contemporary philosophy worth reading. He contributed much to popularizing, thus keeping alive, questions that ought to animate the thinking mind.
November 12, 2025
Collected writing where he mainly says what conservatism is not by way of demeaning communists, socialists, and liberals without same weight given to shortcomings of conservative thought. Repetitive.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews