By generation, three were virtually exact contemporaries — Strauss (1899-1973), Hayek (1899-1991), Oakeshott (1901-1990). Older by a decade, Schmitt (1888-1985) overlapped with them, They came from different disciplines — economics (Hayek), law (Schmitt), philosophy (Strauss) and history (Oakeshott) — but politics drew their concerns into a common field. There, they were divided by marked contrasts of character and outlook, and by the respective situations they confronted. The interweaving of themes and outcomes, across such differences, is all the more striking.

Spectrum: From Right to Left in the World of Ideas (2005) - Ch. 1 : The Intransigent Right: Michael Oakeshott, Leo Strauss, Carl Schmitt, Friedrich von Hayek