Conservatism

Neo-Cons, Christian Cons

and

Cultural Conservatives

NeoCons

• Neoconservatives are a “homegrown” American variant of Conservative thought

• Less influenced by Burke and his heirs

• Emerges in the 1960s in split within liberalism

NeoCons

• The primary distinctive feature of neoconservative thought is the willingness to use US military force to advance US ideological interests in World Politics

• Key issues: defense of Israel, Iraq War I and Iraq War II, workable nuclear use strategy

NeoCons

• Economic Policy:– Stimulate economic growth by cutting taxes,

particularly the tax rate on the wealthiest and on corporations

– Corporations and the wealthy will then invest that tax windfall in ways which will have “trickle-down” benefits for everybody

– Willingness to run budget deficits

NeoCons

• Foreign Policy– US needs to take advantage of its military

superiority– Interpret “national interests” broadly to include

ideological interests

NeoCons

“Finally, for a great power, the ‘national interest’ is not a geographical term, except for fairly prosaic matters like trade and environmental regulation... 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 non-democratic forces, external or internal.”

NeoCons

• The US should then defend democratic regimes and promote the creation of democratic regimes

• “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.”

NeoCons and the Religious Right

“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 inlcude 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.”

The Religious Right

• Another “homegrown” American political movement

• Reaction to perceived excesses of 1960s culture

• Come to prominence in 1980 presidential election

Religous Right

• Basic argument is to engage Christians, particularly evangelical Christians, to become more involved in contemporary political events.

• Use the close interaction between politics and culture as a call to arms to become more involved politically to protect the culture from liberal excess

Cultural Conservatives

• These excesses would include:– sexual promiscuity– general decline in moral standards– excess egalitarianism

Cultural Conservatives

In television we’ve gone from “Father Knows Best”...

to “Desperate Housewives”...

to “Real Housewives of New Jersey”

Cultural Conservatives

• In music, we’ve gone from Ol’ Blue Eyes...

to Lil Wayne

Cultural Conservatives

• From Ella Fitzgerald...

...to Lady Gaga

Cultural Conservatives

• In many areas of American public life, our culture has grown coarser, manners have worsened, language has deteriorated and liberalism is to blame

• Liberty and equality have run amok, such that...

Cultural Conservatives

• Parents and teachers cannot discipline students for fear ofhurting a child’s“self esteem”

• Criminals have “rights” suchthat we must treat humanely those who fail to do the same for us

Cultural Conservatives

• All athletes receive trophies, medals, etc. so as not to leave anyone out

• The language is corrupted by political correctness such that we cannot refer to things as they actually are

Cultural Conservatives

• This decline may be inevitable or irreversible, but we ought not abandon the fight

“The encroachments of liberalism upon traditional ways of thinking and acting have created not just a battle here and a skirmish there but a conflict across the entire culture”

Robert Bork