[Steve Eisenberg]

Despite this lengthy treatise, I still don't know what the heck a neocon is.

Thirty and even twenty years ago it was pretty clear -- the anti-communist Jews, mostly former leftists, who were associated with Commentary Magazine and the Public Interest. The neoconservatives were less conservative than the old "real" conservatives such as at the National Review. Often they were moderate to liberal on economics, and on social issues like abortion, and only conservative on foreign policy. On race, they opposed affirmative action but made of a much bigger show of being for civil rights for blacks than did the old-line conservatives.

Today, there is no systematic difference between neoconservatives and real conservatives. One reason for this is that the neoconservative perspective on race has completely triumphed within conservatism. An example: I have seen posts on FR saying that Condi is too liberal to be President, but none saying that she is disqualified due to race or sex.

Ever since 9/11, the term neoconservative has become meaningless, except that the liberals have latched onto the term as an insult.

A more contemporary term for the old neoconservatives might be "metropolitan conservative." A Jewish ex-liberal myself, I LOVED this:

Confessions of a Metropolitan Conservative

[Mind-numbed Robot]

Thanks for the excellent explanation.

Ever since 9/11, the term neoconservative has become meaningless, except that the liberals have latched onto the term as an insult

That is wha caused my confusion as I haven't seen it used otherwise.

[9999lakes]

That was a great article. It doesn't help the debate tween neo & other conservatives at all, but it does shed real light on........

Well I'm not sure what it sheds light on, but I like it.

[Criminal Number 18F]

Thanks for the link, Steve. Derb's Metro/Provinicial divide is certainly more interesting than the current ****storm over "neocon."

I too thought that there was a strong odour of antisemitism in the article. Weird... you would think that was the deadest of dead issues after the events of the last century. For some people, I guess not.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[Nephi]

Neoconservative godfather Irving Kristol pioneered this practice in his Reflections of a Neoconservative (1983)?yes, he used the term?when he ingeniously argued: "A welfare state, properly conceived, can be an integral part of a conservative society."

Today, there is no systematic difference between neoconservatives and real conservatives.

Oh, yeah, you're an expert on "real" conservatism.