Neoconservatism

A neoconservative (colloquially, neocon) is a former liberal turned conservative. Neoconservatives believe that democracy can and should be installed around the world, even in Muslim countries such as Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. It is said that neoconservatives were responsible for persuading President George W. Bush to invade Iraq, and they have lobbied for military action against Iran also.

Origin

The root of neoconservatism lie in a group of largely Jewish intellectuals who attended City College of New York in the mid- to late 1930's and early 1940's, a group that included Irving Kristol, Daniel Bell, Irving Howe, Nathan Glazer and Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

Publications

The leading publications of neoconservatives are Commentary and The Weekly Standard. Many Washington, D.C. think tanks, such as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), are now dominated by neoconservatives.

Social Issues

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.

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.

Neoconservatives are small in number but dominate television talk shows, Washington-based think tanks, and advisory positions in Republican Administrations. An example of a neoconservative is William Kristol, founder of the Weekly Standard.