Difference between revisions of "Neoconservatism"

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A neoconservative (colloquially, neocon) is former liberal who calls himself a conservative. Neoconservatives favor globalism, downplay religious values, and often disagree with conservatives on key social issues like abortion and homosexuality. Neoconservatives oppose appointing Supreme Court Justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade. Neoconservatives place their highest domestic priority on opposing affirmative action while silently opposing social conservatives on moral issues. On foreign policy, neoconservatives believe that democracy can and should be installed by the United States around the world, even in Muslim countries such as Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.

Neoconservatives are frequently presented by the media as "conservatives" rather than as the "neoconservatives" that they are. 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

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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 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.^[1]

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"^[2] and later left the judiciary to become general counsel of Boeing.^[3] Both were passed over in filling the vacancies with religious conservatives.

Influence

Neoconservatives are small in number but dominate television talk shows, magazines, Washington-based think tanks, and advisory positions in Republican Administrations. 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".^[4] Stephen Schwartz said that "those who are fighting for global democracy should view Leon Trotsky as a worthy forerunner" and would prefer that "neocons" be called "Trotskycons".^[5]

References

1. ↑ http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2003/03/12/news/7602.shtml
2. ↑ http://althouse.blogspot.com/2005/07/arlen-specter-makes-up-term.html
3. ↑ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/10/AR2006051000929.html
4. ↑ http://antiwar.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&expire=&urlID=8208846&fb=Y&partnerID=16
5. ↑ http://www.newoxfordreview.org/article.jsp?did=1205-editorial

Further reading

• 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 Pipe's official website

David Horowitz's FrontPageMag