John Derbyshire negatively received the book, accusing Robin of naive utopianism, arguing that Robin "wants to cast down the mighty from their seats of power and exalt the meek and humble. He seems to think that the meek and humble, thus exalted, will conduct themselves with heroic restraint. History offers whole Himalayas of corpses as evidence to the contrary. It is astounding that Robin does not know this". Richard King argues that Robin's conception of conservatism as illegitimate depends upon on the fact that he sees it as opposing his specific conception of what constitutes the social good and that his labelling of conservatives as reactionaries is ultimately self-serving.King, Peter. Reaction: Against the modern world. Andrews UK Limited, 2012.
