Whittaker Chambers Most Misunderstood Figure in American Conservative Movement

This week marked the quasquicentennial of the birth of the most misunderstood major figure in the history of the postwar American right.

History casts Whittaker Chambers, by virtue of his forever linkage with Alger Hiss, as the political opposite of the Soviet spy — just as his obesity, questionable dentistry, shoegazing, and unkempt appearance cast him as his social opposite in real time. His brief but important association with National Review buttressed this misperception of Chambers as a right-wing avatar. Much of the gap between perception and reality owed to the conservative projection of fantasy upon Chambers and the left’s demonization of him. He was neither demon nor daydream but a skilled writer, holder of heterodox positions, and a courageous man who called out traitorous perfidy when others shut their mouths.

About the Author

Daniel J. Flynn

Daniel J. Flynn, the author of The Man Who Invented Conservatism: The Unlikely Life of Frank S. Meyer, is an American Spectator senior editor, visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, and YouTuber @RightWingWilderness.

Featured Tags

This week marked the quasquicentennial of the birth of the most misunderstood major figure in the history of the postwar American right.

History casts Whittaker Chambers, by virtue of his forever linkage with Alger Hiss, as the political opposite of the Soviet spy — just as his obesity, questionable dentistry, shoegazing, and unkempt appearance cast him as his social opposite in real time. His brief but important association with National Review buttressed this misperception of Chambers as a right-wing avatar. Much of the gap between perception and reality owed to the conservative projection of fantasy upon Chambers and the left’s demonization of him. He was neither demon nor daydream but a skilled writer, holder of heterodox positions, and a courageous man who called out traitorous perfidy when others shut their mouths.