Posted on 05/24/2004 4:42:38 PM PDT by churchillbuff
WHAT EXACTLY IS NEOCONSERVATISM? Journalists, and now even presidential candidates, speak with an enviable confidence on who or what is "neoconservative," and seem to assume the meaning is fully revealed in the name. Those of us who are designated as "neocons" are amused, flattered, or dismissive, depending on the context. It is reasonable to wonder: Is there any "there" there?
Even I, frequently referred to as the "godfather" of all those neocons, have had my moments of wonderment. A few years ago I said (and, alas, wrote) that neoconservatism had had its own distinctive qualities in its early years, but by now had been absorbed into the mainstream of American conservatism. I was wrong, and the reason I was wrong is that, ever since its origin among disillusioned liberal intellectuals in the 1970s, what we call neoconservatism has been one of those intellectual undercurrents that surface only intermittently. It is not a "movement," as the conspiratorial critics would have it. Neoconservatism is what the late historian of Jacksonian America, Marvin Meyers, called a "persuasion," one that manifests itself over time, but erratically, and one whose meaning we clearly glimpse only in retrospect.
Viewed in this way, one can say that the historical task and political purpose of neoconservatism would seem to be this: to convert the Republican party, and American conservatism in general, against their respective wills, into a new kind of conservative politics suitable to governing a modern democracy. That this new conservative politics is distinctly American is beyond doubt. There is nothing like neoconservatism in Europe, and most European conservatives are highly skeptical of its legitimacy. The fact that conservatism in the United States is so much healthier than in Europe, so much more politically effective, surely has something to do with the existence of neoconservatism. But Europeans, who think it absurd to look to the United States for lessons in political innovation, resolutely refuse to consider this possibility.
Neoconservatism is the first variant of American conservatism in the past century that is in the "American grain." It is hopeful, not lugubrious; forward-looking, not nostalgic; and its general tone is cheerful, not grim or dyspeptic. Its 20th-century heroes tend to be TR, FDR, and Ronald Reagan. Such Republican and conservative worthies as Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Dwight Eisenhower, and Barry Goldwater are politely overlooked. Of course, those worthies are in no way overlooked by a large, probably the largest, segment of the Republican party, with the result that most Republican politicians know nothing and could not care less about neoconservatism. Nevertheless, they cannot be blind to the fact that neoconservative policies, reaching out beyond the traditional political and financial base, have helped make the very idea of political conservatism more acceptable to a majority of American voters. Nor has it passed official notice that it is the neoconservative public policies, not the traditional Republican ones, that result in popular Republican presidencies One of these policies, most visible and controversial, is cutting tax rates in order to stimulate steady economic growth. This policy was not invented by neocons, and it was not the particularities of tax cuts that interested them, but rather the steady focus on economic growth. Neocons are familiar with intellectual history and aware that it is only in the last two centuries that democracy has become a respectable option among political thinkers. In earlier times, democracy meant an inherently turbulent political regime, with the "have-nots" and the "haves" engaged in a perpetual and utterly destructive class struggle. It was only the prospect of economic growth in which everyone prospered, if not equally or simultaneously, that gave modern democracies their legitimacy and durability. The cost of this emphasis on economic growth has been an attitude toward public finance that is far less risk averse than is the case among more traditional conservatives. Neocons would prefer not to have large budget deficits, but it is in the nature of democracy--because it seems to be in the nature of human nature--that political demagogy will frequently result in economic recklessness, so that one sometimes must shoulder budgetary deficits as the cost (temporary, one hopes) of pursuing economic growth. It is a basic assumption of neoconservatism that, as a consequence of the spread of affluence among all classes, a property-owning and tax-paying population will, in time, become less vulnerable to egalitarian illusions and demagogic appeals and more sensible about the fundamentals of economic reckoning.
This leads to the issue of the role of the state. Neocons do not like the concentration of services in the welfare state and are happy to study alternative ways of delivering these services. But they are impatient with the Hayekian notion that we are on "the road to serfdom." Neocons do not feel that kind of alarm or anxiety about the growth of the state in the past century, seeing it as natural, indeed inevitable. Because they tend to be more interested in history than economics or sociology, they know that the 19th-century idea, so neatly propounded by Herbert Spencer in his "The Man Versus the State," was a historical eccentricity. People have always preferred strong government to weak government, although they certainly have no liking for anything that smacks of overly intrusive government. Neocons feel at home in today's America to a degree that more traditional conservatives do not. Though they find much to be critical about, they tend to seek intellectual guidance in the democratic wisdom of Tocqueville, rather than in the Tory nostalgia of, say, Russell Kirk.
But it is only to a degree that neocons are comfortable in modern America. The steady decline in our democratic culture, sinking to new levels of vulgarity, does unite neocons with traditional conservatives--though not with those libertarian conservatives who are conservative in economics but unmindful of the culture. The upshot is a quite unexpected alliance between neocons, who include a fair proportion of secular intellectuals, and religious traditionalists. They are united on issues concerning the quality of education, the relations of church and state, the regulation of pornography, and the like, all of which they regard as proper candidates for the government's attention. And since the Republican party now has a substantial base among the religious, this gives neocons a certain influence and even power. Because religious conservatism is so feeble in Europe, the neoconservative potential there is correspondingly weak.
AND THEN, of course, there is foreign policy, the area of American politics where neoconservatism has recently been the focus of media attention. This is surprising since there is no set of neoconservative beliefs concerning foreign policy, only a set of attitudes derived from historical experience. (The favorite neoconservative text on foreign affairs, thanks to professors Leo Strauss of Chicago and Donald Kagan of Yale, is Thucydides on the Peloponnesian War.) These attitudes can be summarized in the following "theses" (as a Marxist would say): First, patriotism is a natural and healthy sentiment and should be encouraged by both private and public institutions. Precisely because we are a nation of immigrants, this is a powerful American sentiment. Second, world government is a terrible idea since it can lead to world tyranny. International institutions that point to an ultimate world government should be regarded with the deepest suspicion. Third, statesmen should, above all, have the ability to distinguish friends from enemies. This is not as easy as it sounds, as the history of the Cold War revealed. The number of intelligent men who could not count the Soviet Union as an enemy, even though this was its own self-definition, was absolutely astonishing.
Finally, for a great power, the "national interest" is not a geographical term, except for fairly prosaic matters like trade and environmental regulation. A smaller nation might appropriately feel that its national interest begins and ends at its borders, so that its foreign policy is almost always in a defensive mode. A larger nation has more extensive interests. And large nations, whose identity is ideological, like the Soviet Union of yesteryear and the United States of today, inevitably have ideological interests in addition to more material concerns. Barring extraordinary events, the United States will always feel obliged to defend, if possible, a democratic nation under attack from nondemocratic forces, external or internal. That is why it was in our national interest to come to the defense of France and Britain in World War II. That is why we feel it necessary to defend Israel today, when its survival is threatened. No complicated geopolitical calculations of national interest are necessary.
Behind all this is a fact: the incredible military superiority of the United States vis-à-vis the nations of the rest of the world, in any imaginable combination. This superiority was planned by no one, and even today there are many Americans who are in denial. To a large extent, it all happened as a result of our bad luck. During the 50 years after World War II, while Europe was at peace and the Soviet Union largely relied on surrogates to do its fighting, the United States was involved in a whole series of wars: the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the Kosovo conflict, the Afghan War, and the Iraq War. The result was that our military spending expanded more or less in line with our economic growth, while Europe's democracies cut back their military spending in favor of social welfare programs. The Soviet Union spent profusely but wastefully, so that its military collapsed along with its economy.
Suddenly, after two decades during which "imperial decline" and "imperial overstretch" were the academic and journalistic watchwords, the United States emerged as uniquely powerful. The "magic" of compound interest over half a century had its effect on our military budget, as did the cumulative scientific and technological research of our armed forces. With power come responsibilities, whether sought or not, whether welcome or not. And it is a fact that if you have the kind of power we now have, either you will find opportunities to use it, or the world will discover them for you.
The older, traditional elements in the Republican party have difficulty coming to terms with this new reality in foreign affairs, just as they cannot reconcile economic conservatism with social and cultural conservatism. But by one of those accidents historians ponder, our current president and his administration turn out to be quite at home in this new political environment, although it is clear they did not anticipate this role any more than their party as a whole did. As a result, neoconservatism began enjoying a second life, at a time when its obituaries were still being published.
"Hey folks, I brought the entertainment."
Is property taxation illegal now? If defaulting on one's owed takes,and penalties laid on,when one does,is "theft",to you,then therein lies your problem.
Does your friend have a mortgage?If so,then he doesn't OWN the property to begin with!
Is he getting unemployment checks?
Has he looked for work,ANY work?
Since YOU care so much about him,why aren't you helping him monetarily?
During the Great Depression,people used to throw parties,to raise rent money/property tax money.Why not DO something like that for him?
Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesh...Conservatives aren't supposed to be a bunch of bleeding hearts,but nobody would know that,by reading some posts here.
Yep and Zinni, Kerry, 60 minutes, the rest of the fifth column media, chamberlainbuff, and 21st century the space oddity, are leading that parade.
If I spit on my father or my brothers, the last time I would have to worry about is some keyboard pansy like you.
BTW, my whole family has been Republican since the Civil War and not one of them thought the War in Iraq would be a good thing for US.
There are tons of military and political options available in the WOT that wouldn't have become the quagmire that Iraq has become.
Do you know the history of Iraq and it's occupiers?
"THOSE THAT IGNORE HISTORY ARE DOOMED TO REPEAT IT"
Yes, comparing you to Michael Moore is wrong...he simply a gross pig.
This has less than NOTHING at all to do with " blood lust"!
CWOJackson wrote:
Naw, if it were up to my ilk, you're ilk wouldn't have been spitting on soldiers returning from Vietnam.
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Keep up the good work jackson, -- that is real close to uncalled for personal abuse, imo.
"If I spit on my father or my brothers, the last time..."
Should have read:
"If I spit on my father or my brothers, the last thing..."
No wonder he was opposed to taking out the USS Cole attackers.
tpaine wrote: kmnd cdki cdkdm cddug wiya 38js
You asked if he had lost his propery, I answered when that would happen.
This just happened, but the job market in this area isn't the best.
I have donated a large amount of food to them, I do not have the money to help them or I would and out church has raised some money, but it's a small church.
Conservatives ARE supposed to care for their fellow citizens, I guess you forgot that.
It's always easy for one to say that from the comfort behind a beer stained keyboard and sitting in an EZ Chair.
I've never seen THE SWAN;just heard about it. LOL
Viewed in this way, one can say that the historical task and political purpose of neoconservatism would seem to be this: to convert the Republican party, and American conservatism in general, against their respective wills, into a new kind of conservative politics suitable to governing a modern democracy. That this new conservative politics is distinctly American is beyond doubt.
Note the predisposition towards "Democracy," the system Madison and the other Founding Fathers sought to guard against. And yet even in that predisposition, note the absurd contradiction. This poseur seeks to convert those of us who believe in traditional Americanism, as well as the Republican party, against our wills. That sure is Democratic! And the genius who can write such revealing commentary, just assumes of course that he is both doing us and America a favor.
The final sentence quoted further demonstrates the shallowness of Mr. Kristol as a political thinker. First of all, there is nothing Conservative about this "new conservative politics." It is duplicitous to call it that. And duplicity has been the hallmark of various forms of European politics--in each case also pretending to be much further to the right than it actually is--for over a hundred years.
First of all, consider the British Fabian Socialist movement, now running the British Government via the Labour Party under Tony Blair. Blair as his predecessors has always pretended to be far more moderate than he actually is. He like some of Mr. Kristol's admirers in America, also, refuses to protect the basic British stock--the British Nation descended from those who are responsible for English civilization, literature, science and influence--from hordes of uncongenial immigrants, still pouring into an already, long over-crowded island.
Second, consider the Nazi movement under Adolph Hitler. While he called his party "Socialist," as well as "Labour," he pretended to be of the Right. While he called for a "Classless, Casteless Society"--just as the Communists--he was basically engaged in converting the German Center and even some of the actual Right, "against their respective wills." And, he as brother Kristol, acted as though he was doing them a favor. He was saving Germany by revolutionizing its several cultures. We have all seen pictures of that benefit in the bombed out ruins. Herr Hitler was no more of the real Right than is Herr Kristol.
Europe in the days of the EU is full of phony Conservatives who do not seek to preserve, but like Mr. Kristol, seek to foist an ideology on people "against their respective wills," with varying degrees of success. Such forces of "Democracy," have all but destroyed the continuity of European culture and family values. Massachusetts, today, but apes Europe.
Anyone who has ever attended an Academy with serious intellectual pretensions, will have encountered in addition to the serious intellects that may actually be on campus, the numerous poseurs who seek to convince others of their profundity. We know the breed, Mr. Kristol represents, though not all of them are so pathetic as Mr. Kristol.
Sham Conservatism from a sham intellect!
William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site
tpaine writes in a language called gibberish.
It's an atrocious show where "ugly" women are secluded and not allowed to see their own reflection for months while undergoing plastic surgery,etc. When they are finally allowed to see themselves, they don't recognize themselves and from what I read so far not many are pleased. The one episode I saw, I was disgusted and turned it. Not like last night watching Colonial House and wanting to kill the atheist woman for all that whining.
He's still trying to figure out his own last post.
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