Neo Conservatism's Beginnings

Neo Conservatism was spawned as a polar opposite political ideology to Liberalism. It was formulated by Leo Strauss and Irving Kristol, known as the "Godfather of Neo Conservatism," in the 1950's. Neo Conservative candidates running under the guise of Republicans first began holding offices in 1964 with the election of Barry Goldwater. The name "Neo Conservative" was first coined by Micheal Harrington to describe a group of individuals who "though they were liberals."

Neo Conservative Agenda

"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."

-Irving Kristol

Three Pillars of Neo Conservatism

Low-Tax

Neo conservatives believe in low taxes, which is where they get their Conservative roots. They believe in a pro-growth approach to economics and are less risk-aversive. Neoconservatives 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 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.

Authoritarian Domestic Policy

Neo conservatives believe in a more Authoritarian approach to domestic affairs. Neocons do not feel alarm or anxiety about the growth of the state in the past century, seeing it as natural, indeed inevitable. A perversion of such views can be seen in the terror legislation of the Bush Administration and the creation of The Department of Homeland Security. However, 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.

Expansionary Foreign Policy

Neoconservatives believe that 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 they feel it necessary to defend Israel today, when its survival is threatened. No complicated geopolitical calculations of national interest are necessary.