Paul Seabury, RIP - obituary

National Review, Dec 3, 1990 by Aaron Wildavsky

BEING so stern, Paul Seabury was the most whimsical man I knew. Humor was his protection against caring too much. Friends and conference-goers carried with them the satiric drawings that said the things he did not have time to say. Similarly, his book on the rules of croquet competed with heavy tomes on diplomacy and sharp commentaries on war and oil crises.

Paul was a patriot. He loved America. He made fun of its politicians, but he valued its institutions. For they seemed to him marvelously to include the delicate balance of freedom and order needed to sustain a republic of free people.

A believer in the aristocracy of virtue and talent to which, in their better moments, the Framers of the Constitution subscribed, Paul Seabury thought a meritocratic society worth preserving. No neo-anything, he was the genuine article-a conservative.

For Paul, the best political time was when the Democratic Party supported both a strong national defense and a strong domestic helping hand. His abiding belief that the parts of American society should support the whole was reflected in his scholarly contributions and advisory service to national security and domestic welfare.

Descended from the first Anglican bishop of North America, Samuel Seabury, Paul in his later years rediscovered his Anglo-Catholic roots and became one of the most articulate critics of an Episcopal Church he thought had been conquered by radical chic. Many people still regard his Harper's cover piece, "Trendier than Thou," as the most powerful critique ever written of the radicalizing trends in the church.

Even as he sought to improve its intelligence, Paul Seabury defended his country's institutions. Aside from his felicity with words, what distinguished Paul's scholarly work was its moral basis. Yes, the United States had every right to defend itself Yes, its strength and will were essential to a decent international order. Yes, the military and the intelligence services were honorable professions. No, the imperfections that afflict all things do not make America indefensible.

Because he recognized that violence is the final arbiter of controversies over how men shall live their lives, and of who will rule over whom, Paul Seabury taught his students to deal with matters that would affect their lives. His teaching and writing were based on history. Later in his career, Seabury added policy foresight to academic distinction. He championed reserve-officer training at Berkeley and was part of the Consortium for the Study of Intelligence, which fostered intelligence studies in American universities. He served on the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and thus taught at the highest level of the U.S. Government.

As the field of international relations developed beyond interest in a wise foreign policy, Paul grew less interested in what he perceived as tinkering with non-essentials. The legacy that he has left to his students and friends, of devotion to scholarship and country, leavened by wry commentary on human frailty, will endure. -AARON WILDAVSKY