Politics: April 2026 Archives

John O'Sullivan on O'Sullivan's First Law on National Review Online

Often miscredited to Robert Conquest, O'Sullivan's First Law says, "All organizations that are not actually right-wing will over time become left-wing." His reasoning: "I cite as supporting evidence the ACLU, the Ford Foundation, and the Episcopal Church. The reason is, of course, that people who staff such bodies tend to be the sort who don't like private profit, business, making money, the current organization of society, and, by extension, the Western world. At which point Michels's Iron Law of Oligarchy takes over -- and the rest follows."