Strauss’s Escape from Plato’s Cave

Leo Strauss (1899–1973) was among the most profound philosophers of the twentieth century. He, more than any other individual, bears responsibility for reviving political philosophy—which he regarded as the core of philosophy—at a time when many believed it had ended with Nietzsche and Heidegger. Unfortunately, during the last decades of his life and beyond, Strauss’s work was increasingly dismissed and even denounced in the academy as “conservative.” Books and articles accused him of being antidemocratic, despite his affirmation that constitutional, liberal democracy was the best political regime available in our time. One author went so far as to blame him for inspiring his students to start the Iraq War—thirty years after his death!