"Neocons Are Liberals Who Have Been Mugged by Reality"
>" The terms neo-conservatism and conservatism are often used interchangeably, but the two have very different meanings. It may help to distinguish other forms of political ideology to explain what neo-conservative means. For example, the term “paleo” conservative represents the “Old Right” or traditional conservatives, while “neo” conservative refers to new or modern conservatives.
The latter appears oxymoronic in that conservative means to conserve, or preserve, traditional ways or views. The terms new and traditional simply do not gel. What many find surprising is the fact that the man known as “the godfather of neo-conservatism” was politically left of center, although this fact does help clarify the issue. Using the term neo-conservative is rather like saying liberal-conservative.
The man dubbed the godfather of neo-conservatism, Irving Kristol, was liberal but apparently couldn’t find what he was looking for on the left. He didn’t find it on the right either, so he essentially molded an ideology that combined various philosophies. He wrote more than one book of note on the topic of neo-conservatism and was extremely influential in advancing the neo-conservative movement. "<
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What is Neo-Conservatism?
Neoconservatism is the worldview developed by the journalist Irving Kristol and a small coterie of liberal intellectuals – including a number of university professors and literary figures – who had spent their formative years as Democrats but had grown disenchanted with President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society projects of the 1960s and felt “mugged” by the Democratic Party's leftward drift on defense issues in the 1970s. Initially, neoconservatives placed their hopes in Democratic Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson as a Presidential candidate in 1976. But this centrist liberal -- “soft” on domestic policy, but a hardline opponent of the Soviet Union -- was rejected by his party, which had been taken over by the New Left in 1972. These intellectuals subsequently aligned themselves with Ronald Reagan and the Republicans, who pledged unapologetically to confront Soviet expansionism..."<
Neo-Conservatism - Discover the Networks
Neoconservative
>" A political liberal was just a liberal in the 1930s and 1940s, but the reaction to Stalinism prompted a new type of liberal to surface on the political scene, and those liberals supported the Cold War. The term neoconservative was used to describe this group, and many of them were Jewish and emerging intellectuals that lived in New York City. Most of them considered themselves liberal democrats in the 1960s when the New Left or hippie movement in the US became a voice in the movement for American reform.
The first intellectual to embrace neoconservative principles was Irving Kristol, who is considered the godfather of neoconservatives. He wrote about his beliefs in his 1979 book, Confessions of a True, Self-Confessed Neoconservative.
Kristol's son, William, and Robert Kagan founded the Project for the New American Century in 1997, a think tank based in Washington D.C. which promotes the notion that American leadership is good for the world, and moral, as well. Such leadership, in fact, requires diplomatic energy, military strength and commitment to moral principle.
The other important figure in the early neoconservative movement was Norman Podhoretz, the editor of Commentary Magazine from 1960 to 1965. Podhoretz wrote an article for the New York Times in 1982 titled "The Neoconservative Anguish over Reagan's Foreign Policy." That article left no doubt in anyone's mind; Podhoretz was a staunch member of the neoconservative movement..."<
>" In the beginning, neoconservatives were more concerned with domestic policy than foreign policy thus strongly opposed the counterculture movement of the 1960s, which they blatantly called anti-Americanism. The Vietnam War served as the catalyst that separated the Democratic Party into two factions: the anti-war faction and the war-supporting neoconservatives.
Today, neoconservatives advocate the use of American economic and military power to destroy enemies they perceive as threatening to American liberal democracy as well as liberal democracy in other countries. The change of focus initially occurred when the anti-war faction of the Democratic Party took control in 1972 by nominating George McGovern. The neoconservative faction rallied around Senator Henry Jackson and the "second age" of neoconservatism was born from the revolt. The focus was now on the Cold War.
President Lyndon Johnson's New Left policies pushed the Democratic Party to the left, so the intellectuals in the neoconservative faction became disillusioned with his domestic agenda. Ben Wattenberg's 1970 book, The Real Majority brought out the point that the majority in the party actually supported social conservatism. The book also warned the party that liberal stances on crime and social issues could be disastrous.
During the 1990s the neoconservative faction opposed the foreign policy decisions made by George H. W. Bush as well as Bill Clinton. Both presidents were criticized for lacking a sense of idealism and reducing military expenditures. Neocons berated both administrations for the lack of moral clarity and the lack of conviction to pursue American strategic interests on the world stage, issuing strategy papers meant to influence these presidents (and others), many of which are posted on the website of the Project for the New American Century..."<
Definitions - The Daily Bell