Neoconservative

A neoconservative (colloquially, neocon) is a former liberal who calls himself a conservative. Neoconservatives have distinctive liberatian positions in domestic policy and favor an active international role for the U.S. in promoting democracy and freedom worldwide. They played a major role in the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. Wattenberg (2008) explains the emergence of the neocon movement from its roots among Cold War thinkers such as Irving Kristol and Norman Podhoretz and from among the ashes of pre-radical liberalism of the early 1960s, to Democratic Senators Scoop Jackson and Pat Moynihan, to diplomat Jeanne Kirkpatrick and President Ronald Reagan. Miuch of the energy of the movement comes from its prominence in "think tanks," (research centers) including the American Enterprise Institute.

neoconservatives generally favor globalism, a bigger government, and "free trade"; neocons downplay religious values and often disagree with religious conservatives on key social issues like abortion and homosexuality. Neoconservatives place their highest domestic priority on opposing affirmative action. On foreign policy, neoconservatives believe that democracy can and should be installed by the United States around the world, especially in the foremrr Soviet Union and in Muslim countries such as Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. They strongly support the ttae of Israel. Most of the prominent neoconservatives have been Jewish, but there have also been prominent Catholics such as Senator Daniel P. Moynihan. Inside the conservative movement they are strongly opposed by paleoconservatives.

In an essay entitled "The Neoconservative Persuasion," neocon founder Irving Kristol argued for a Big Government and said that neoconservatives favor the Roosevelts rather than conservative heroes of Calvin Coolidge and Barry Goldwater.

Neoconservatives were instrumental in persuading Republican Fred Thompson to run for president in 2008, once Rudy Giuliani's candidacy appeared unlikely to succeed. Thompson quickly pulled out of the race after finishing no better than third in the initial state primaries.

Neoconservatives are frequently presented by the media as "conservatives" rather than as the "neoconservatives" that they are.^{[Citation Needed]} Perhaps due to their influence with the media, neoconservatives dominated the administration of President George W. Bush, and are considered to be responsible for initiating the Iraq War. Neoconservatives also favor military action against Iran.

A cynical view of neoconservatives is they lack any chance for power within the Democratic Party or among liberals, who have many experienced, educated influence-seekers. Neoconservatives have an easier time reaching powerful positions by coming over to the Republican Party, much as other former Democrats (e.g. Michael Bloomberg) became Republicans to advance their personal ambition.

Origin

Irving Kristol was dubbed by many as "the Godfather" of Neo-conservatism

Neo-conservatism was developed by a group of intellectuals graduated from the City College of New York in the late 1930's, a group that includes Irving Kristol, Daniel Bell, Seymour Martin Lipset, and Nathan Glazer. Many of this group came to despise the counterculture of the 1960's and what they felt was a growing "anti-Americanism" among many baby boomers. And during the Cold War era, many of them came to realize the evil of the Stalinist regime. Kristol described a neoconservative as a "liberal mugged by reality". The development of neo-conservatism was strongly influenced by the work of German philosopher Leo Strauss and Marxist theorist Leon Trotsky. Irving Kristol himself was once a member of the 4th international.

Religion

The neoconservative movement is atheistic and opposed to religious conservatives on most moral issues (see below). The neoconservative movement rarely, if ever, bases its goals or arguments on religious principles.

Neoconservatives also tend to minimize or overlook the significance of religious beliefs in conflicts and policies, as in advocating the installation of democracy in Muslim countries with little regard for Islamic beliefs and practices.

Neoconservatives hold an idealistic belief in social progress and the universality of human rights, coupled with anti-Communism. They hold the view that there is a universal desire to live in a technologically advanced and prosperous society and liberal democracy is one of the byproducts of such modernization.

Publications

The leading publications of neoconservatives are Commentary, National Review, and The Weekly Standard. Many Washington, D.C. think tanks, such as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), the Project For New American Century (PNAC), Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) and Henry Jackson Society are now dominated by neoconservatives.

Social Issues

Former Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, was a prominent architect of the foreign policy of the George W. Bush administration known as the Bush Doctrine

Neoconservatives often take libertarian positions on social issues, and are unlikely to agree with religious conservatives on issues like abortion, prayer in school and same-sex marriage. Neoconservatives differ from libertarians in that neoconservatives tend to support Big government policies to further their objectives, and to support erosion of American liberty by Patriot act and other measures such as the implementation of federal gun control.

Despite not being socially conservative at all, neoconservatives often describe themselves as "conservative". William Kristol, a leading neoconservative, described himself as the "token conservative" when he taught at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

In anticipation of vacancies on the U.S. Supreme Court, the neoconservatives urged the selection of Michael McConnell, a libertarian-leaning jurist, and J. Michael Luttig, who declared Roe v. Wade to be "super-stare decisis" and later left the judiciary to become general counsel of Boeing. Both were passed over in filling the vacancies with religious conservatives.

Influence

Neoconservatives, thanks to their strong base in think tanks, are well represented in television talk shows, magazines, and advisory positions in Republican Administrations. The national media use them to balance liberal spokesmen. Some prominent neoconservatives are William Kristol, Paul Wolfowitz, Lewis Libby, David Horowitz, Norman Podhoretz, Daniel Pipes, Charles Krauthammer, Richard Perle, Robert Kagan, Christopher Hitchens, Willmoore Kendall, Stephen Schwartz, Elliott Abrams and Carl Gershman. Some critics have argued that the neoconservative concept of "global democratic revolution" was derived from the Trotskyist Fourth International's "vision of permanent revolution". Stephen Schwartz said that "those who are fighting for global democracy should view Leon Trotsky as a worthy forerunner" who fought Stalin and would prefer that "neocons" be called "Trotskycons".

Further reading

• Dorrien, Gary. Imperial Designs: Neoconservatism and the New Pax Americana (2004)

excerpt and text search, an attack from the left

• Friedman, Murray. The Neoconservative Revolution: Jewish Intellectuals and the Shaping of Public Policy. (2006). excerpt and text search
• Gerson, Mark. The Neoconservative Vision: From the Cold War to Culture Wars (1997)
• Halper, Stefan & Clarke, Jonathan, America Alone: The Neo-Conservatives and the Global Order (2004) ISBN 0-521-83834-7
• Kristol, Irving. Neoconservatism: the Autobiography of an Idea, (1995) excerpt and text search, influential memoir by a founder
• Murray, Douglas. Neoconservatism: Why We Need It, (2006)
• Steinfels, Peter. The Neoconservatives: The Men Who Are Changing America's Politics. (1979)
• Stelzer, Irwin. Neo-conservatism (2004)
• Stelzer, Irwin. The NeoCon Reader (2004)
• Wattenberg, Ben J. Fighting Words: A Tale of How Liberals Created Neo-Conservatism (2008) excerpt and text search by a leading neocon
• A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm - a key neoconservative document.
• Neoconservatism's Future: It's still the only game in town, Joshua Muravchik, OpinionJournal.com, October 3, 2007. From Commentary.

External Links

The Henry Jackson Society

Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs

The Neoconservative Persuasion by Irving Kristol

Daniel Pipes's official website

David Horowitz's FrontPageMag