Talk:James Burnham

Movement conservatives?
"His 1964 book Suicide of the West became a classic among movement conservatives" -- Can anybody please explain the meaning of the expression "movement conservatives"? Thanks. -- 201.78.233.162 20:37, 14 June 2006 (UTC)

I think it may be illustrated by the difference between people who engage in some level of activism (specifically conservative as opposed to just  partisan pro-GOP activity)  and those who simply identify as conservatives and vote for those politicians whom they believe to be conservatives.

Burnham's transition from Left to Right needs to be explored further
Within a few months, Burnham had gone from supporting a "Third Camp" revolutionary socialist alternative to both capitalism and Stalinism to unquestioning support of U.S. global dominance and the defeat of any alternative to hardline market economics. This essay needs to have some explanation for this transition if it is to do justice to Burnham's life. Ken Burch 15:27, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

Actually, you've overstated the degree of rapid shift. Burnham didn't really start taking up advocacy of US power until the end of the war when the US had emerged as the leading global power. Orwell criticized Burnham for the way he first expressed admiration for the Third Reich when it seemed they were winning in 1940 and later for the Soviet Union in 1944 when it was clear that this was now the new major power in Europe. Look up some of Orwell's essays critiquing Burnham and you may get a better sense of how his ideas gradually shifted. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.69.137.21 (talk) 01:53, 4 March 2009 (UTC)

Trotskyism template?
Burnham's involvement with the Trotskyist movement lasted only from 1935 to 1940. He is, in the main, not know for that but for his post-war work. I think we should remove the Trotskyism template. --Duncan (talk) 07:38, 25 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Burnham was on the masthead as one of the editors of the Trotsky monthly, the new international. he argued with trotsky over the necessity of dialectical materialism, a socialist sacred cow, then split the movement with shachtman by leaving after the stalin-hitler pact, and the invasion of finland. he had a very important 5 years, not mere involvement. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.135.24.78 (talk) 01:10, 5 January 2009 (UTC)


 * I agree that Burnham's involvement with the Trotskyist movement was fleeting — he was a bigger figure and longer in the conservative movement. He was a very big figure in the Trotskyist movement for a very short time. There should be neither a "Trotskyism" portal nor a "Conservatism" portal for him. -- Tim Davenport --- Early American Marxism website --- Corvallis, OR --- Carrite (talk) 02:41, 14 February 2009 (UTC)

He was the leading Trotskyite theorist from the USA - much bigger than most other members. When his thinking matured, he produced his most memorable work as a conservative, or moving there. It is unusual, but he deserves both portals. 84.69.150.82 (talk) 23:25, 13 November 2009 (UTC)


 * The problem is that the Trotskyism portal is out of control — about 10 inches long. People need to work on making footers instead of sidebar portals. Including Burnham with a "Communism" portal is almost comical, since he went from the Workers Party of the US to the Socialist Party of America to the Socialist Workers Party and gone without ever setting foot in the Communist Party. But the Trotskyism info box is a catastrophe that should be eradicated wherever it crops up until its size is fixed. Carrite (talk) 20:45, 20 July 2011 (UTC)


 * I agree that he was a prominent Trotskyist.--Jack Upland (talk) 02:30, 26 November 2015 (UTC)