Neoconservatism is a variant of the conservative ideology which holds positions that fall between traditional and individualistic conservatism (Ball and Dagger, 2011b, p. 113). Many of the ideas and beliefs that neoconservatives hold, which continue to evolve today, were developed in the 1970s by “disillusioned liberal intellectuals” as a result of the tumultuous societal conditions that were occurring in the United States at the time (Ball and Dagger, 2011a, p. 170). To elaborate more fully, author Irving Kristol, the man known as the godfather of neoconservatives, says, “Many neoconservatives can be described as disenchanted welfare liberals. Once enthusiastic supporters of President Lyndon Johnson’s ‘Grand Society’ programs in the 1960s, these neoconservatives became disillusioned with these programs and with the general direction of welfare liberalism” (Ball and Dagger, 2011b, p. 113). Besides Irving Kristol, some of the other well known individuals who have helped contribute to the development and direction of neoconservatism over the past few decades include Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Norman Podhoretz, UN Ambassador Jeanne Kirkpatrick, Nathan Glazer, and Dick and Lynne Cheney (Ball and Dagger, 2011b, p. 113). While I personally do not adhere to this ideology, and there are many features I completely disagree with, I will nevertheless stake an affirmative argument for neoconservatism and write as if I am an actual supporter. This is beneficial as it will allow me to empathize with others and put myself in the position of those with whom I disagree. What follows is an argument for a few of the merits of neoconservatism concerning its stance on economic and foreign policy issues.
From an economic standpoint, neoco...
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... economic plan to follow. I also absolutely agree with the neoconservative idea that the U.S. must use its military power and strength to advance our national interests. These, along with all the points made above, are a few of the reasons why I consider myself to be a neoconservative and why I believe that neoconservatism is the best form of conservatism for our modern times.
Works Cited
Ball, Terence, and Richard Dagger. Ideals and Ideologies: A Reader. 8th ed. Boston: Longman, 2011a.
Ball, Terence, and Richard Dagger. Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal. 8th ed. Boston: Longman, 2011b.
Fukuyama, Francis. America at the Crossroads: Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006.
Steinfels, Peter. The Neoconservatives: The Men Who Are Changing America’s Politics. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1979.
The prime example of their success is Ronald Reagan with his mix of conservatism and populism. Rhetoric about morality, freedom and responsibility now resonated in new ways with increasing numbers of white middle-class Americans who were concerned with social changes and the threat to their privileges. Even during the Watts Riots, Reagan landed the 1966 campaign for California Governor. But, conservatives did not ease up on their utter disdain for communism. And it highlights a core aspect of McGirr’s argument: she observes how conservatism pits a white-collar middle class against communism and its sinister plots of
Biles, Roger. A. "A New Deal for the American People" Taking Sides Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in American History. eds. -. Larry Madaras et al.
The New Deal sought out to create a more progressive country through government growth, but resulted in a huge divide between liberals and conservatives. Prior to the New Deal, conservatives had already begun losing power within the government, allowing the Democratic Party to gain control and a favoring by the American people (Postwar 284). With the Great Depression, came social tensions, economic instability, and many other issues that had to be solved for America’s wellbeing. The New Deal created a strong central government, providing the American people aid, interfering with businesses and the economy, allowing the federal government to handle issues they were never entrusted with before. The strong, emerging central government worried conservatives, who supported a weak federal government with little interaction, and resulted in distinct party divisions (285). By allotting the federal government more political control during the early twentieth century, the government now can reign over state governments and affairs. Today many conservatives are still opponents to the strong federal government, finding issues with its involvement in local affairs, whether that be educational involvement through common core or business involvement through labor unions (Diamond 2; Weber 1). While the New Deal formed a divide between
Kernell, Samuel, Jacobson, Gary C., Kousser, Thad, & Vavreck, Lynn. 2014. The Logic of American Politics 6th ed. Los Angeles: CQ Press
...y new ideas, presidents after him felt they had a lot to live up to. Franklin D. Roosevelt “cast a long shadow on successors” with his New Deal program. Conservatives were constantly worried about the loss of their capitalist economy, but it is possible that Roosevelt’s greatest New Deal achievement is the fact he never allowed America to completely abandon democracy or turn to socialism or communism. Many New Deal programs fixed economic problems but did not completely solve social ones surrounding equality and discrimination. New Deal programs took radical steps while moving toward government regulation and intervention causing conservatives to fear concentrated power, but the steps and transformations Roosevelt made while in office preserved conservatives’ need of capitalism and democracy in government, defining the New Deal as both radical and conservative.
In the late1960’s American politics were shifting at a National level with liberalism being less supported as its politics were perceived as flawed, both by people on the left who thought that liberalism was not as effective as more radical political enterprises and by conservatives who believed that liberal politics were ostensibly crippling the American economy.
In this passage, the audience truly sees the meaning behind Herbert Kohl's message. His purpose for writing comes back to the fact that people interpret situations differently in every way. Kohl not only wanted to highlight the purpose behind wanting to learn something new but he also wanted readers to be aware that most time it does not come down to the inability of someone who doesn't want to learn but the real reason behind why they don't want to. People have different opinions on topics such as these but Kohl wanted to show that being able to want to stand up for your culture and the meanings behind it are rather important. Behind Kohl's purpose for writing, we see an insight into his past life relating to Wilfredo's. Kohl's reason for
When Governor Reagan announced his candidacy for President, he made a jab at President Carter by stating, “A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his.” If one could bestow a phrase upon the Carter administration, they might say, “where is all went wrong.” President Carter was elected to president in 1976 and his victory was largely attributed to his opponent’s large unpopularity with the American electorate. Although President Ford was unpopular with the American electorate, Carter still barely won by a significantly slim margin. The failures of the Carter administration played a large rule in the ascendancy of the conservative movement. At the conclusion of President Carter’s presidency, the economy was in shambles with astronomical interest rates, the American Embassy in Iran was raided and American hostages were taken, and a pro family movement was also on the rise. The conservative ascendancy was largely attributed to the political and economic failures of the Carter Administration and a cultural movement that pushed for conservative values.
“Times have changed. But the basic premise of the Constitution hasn't changed. It’s still the blueprint for our freedom.” -Ronald Regan
Starting during the 1970s, factions of American conservatives slowly came together to form a new and more radical dissenting conservative movement, the New Right. The New Right was just as radical as its liberal opposite, with agendas to increase government involvement beyond the established conservative view of government’s role. Although New Right politicians made admirable advances to dissemble New Deal economic policies, the movement as a whole counters conservativism and the ideologies that America was founded on. Although the New Right adopts conservative economic ideologies, its social agenda weakened the conservative movement by focusing public attention to social and cultural issues that have no place within the established Old Right platform.
Liberal is defined as "one who is open-minded or not strict in the observance of orthodox, traditional, or established forms or ways." (Webster's dictionary) A conservative is defined as "one who adheres to traditional methods or views." (Webster's dictionary) The definition of these words have changed throughout history. A liberal in older days was not what one would be today; they were considered a person whom sought to use change, while a conservative is one who opposed change. The differences between a liberal and a conservative is a wide gap that focuses upon the fundamental beliefs of those within each group.
Rawls, J. (2011). Political Liberalism Expanded Edition.. New York: Columbia University Press. Section 4: Values About Government and the Social Safety Net. (2012, June 4). Pew Research Center for the People and the Press RSS. Retrieved May 7, 2014, from http://www.people-press.org/2012/06/04/section-4-values-about-government-and-the-social-safety-net/
Martinez, E. & Garcia, A. (1996). What is neoliberalism? Retrieved April 05, 2014, from Corp Watch Organization website: http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=376
Russel Kirk was one of the main contributors to American intellectual conservatism. His work of 1953 is considered to be Kirk’s magnum opus. Author begins his book with the core ideas, which, he believes, appear to be essential for conservatism. What must be mentioned, however, is that Kirk does not provides a list of these six rules, which, according to him, arise to be dogmas of Anglo-American conservatism, but, rather, he proposes six characteristics that belong to a true conservative mind.
Modern liberalism and modern conservatism are both political outlooks that involve acceptance or support of the balance of the degree of social equality and social inequality; while they tend to avoid political changes that would result in extreme deviation of society to either side. Modern liberalism and modern conservatism tend not to be as centrist or middle-of-the-road ideologies as they once could be. Ideology is a set of ideas and beliefs that guide the goals, expectations, and actions of a group (Webster’s Dictionary). Individuals who are conservative or liberal tend to have views that align within a political party, whether it be Republican or democratic, but this is not always the case. There are conservative democrats, such as, Jim Costa and Jim Cooper and there are liberal republicans, such as, Nathaniel Banks and George Washington Julian. Another name for conservative democrats would be blue dog democrats while the nickname for liberal republicans is the Rockefeller republicans. These two ideologies tend to be more of the centrist ideologies. Modern liberals tend to be members of the Democratic Party because they support a wide range of welfare programs and government support of the public sector and tighter corporate regulations (PP Modern Liberalism). U.S. Conservatism evolved from classical liberalism, which makes them similar, yet there is many differences between modern conservatism and modern liberalism. There are principles and tenets that govern each ideology. A tenant is a belief or idea that is held as being true from a group (Webster’s Dictionary). In understanding both ideologies, it is imperative to have an understanding of classical liberalism. Classical liberalism was built on ideas from the seventeenth ...