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💭 Can conservatism be a culture of love rather than fear? In this episode, Jack Thomson explores the life and thought of Sir Roger Scruton (1944–2020) — philosopher, writer, musician, and one of the most articulate defenders of beauty, belonging, and the sacred in modern life.

Through works such as The Meaning of Conservatism, Beauty, and England: An Elegy, Jack examines how Scruton sought to recover the moral imagination of the West — a world held together not by ideology, but by affection, duty, and shared meaning.

🎧 In this episode:

• Scruton’s defence of tradition and “the good in the familiar”
• His vision of beauty as a moral reality
• The intertwining of home, nation, and sacred order
• How Scruton’s conservatism redefined love, loyalty, and loss in a secular age

This is the fifth instalment in our Heritage Series, tracing the evolution of conservative and traditionalist thought — from Plato and Augustine to de Maistre, Burke, and Scruton — exploring how ideas of order, imagination, and belonging continue to shape civilisation.

📚 Hosted by the History of Ideas Reading Club (University of Buckingham)
🎙️ Produced by Beyond the Text: The Intellectual Historian’s Podcast
🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & all major platforms

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