What is a Neoconservative?

A few weeks ago, we talked about political correctness, and several of you zeroed in on one particular part. A lot of you asked for me to answer this question, and sooner rather than later. So today, let's tell the story of the counter-counter-culture, the Neo-conservatives.

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[timothymclean]

Neoconservativism is one of those ideologies which withers without an enemy. If a new threat pops up in the next decade or so, or if an existing quasi-threat becomes prominent enough, neoconservatism will live on. If not, its more moderate supporters will drift to other ideologies, leaving only the most extreme neoconservatives. Once an ideology is reduced to the extremists, it takes a lucky paradigm shift to make them relevant again.

[Phrenotopia]

Interesting how poltical movements can shift from left to right and vice versa. In Denmark, we have a conservative liberalist party called "Venstre", which literally means "Left". However, that name stems from the fact that this party has traditionally been the farmer's party (and still is). In their early years, farmers were labourers, so their leaning was socialist. Nowadays, farmers are business owners, so they lean to the right. However, the name of the party was never changed. :-)

[Arminsaf]

Neo liberal and neo conservative should be antithesis to each other, but instead are strong allies. The terms do not apply very strongly anymore

[jackduncan]

Ronald Reagan was not much of a neocon. The Bushes definitely were.

[gilescorry]

Reagan was NOT a neocon!!! And George H.W. referred to the neocons as "The crazies in the basement." Even though his administration was later captured by the neocons.
How could Reagan have been a neocons when his activism began before the rise of neoconseratism? He was governor, and even ran for president in 1968.
Reagan was brutally attacked by neocons Safire, Krauthemmer and Gingrich, because of his refusal to get the U.S. involved in the conflicts they wanted, and for his support of the Palestinian cause, and for his making peace with the Soviet Union.
The neocons were extending Reagan's policies? Oh, really?
Can you name for me a single conflict that Reagan took a side of that wasn't directly related to the battle against the Communists that threatened to bury the U.S. and were fomenting revolution all over the World, including in our own neighborhood, for that purpose.
Don't confuse Reagan's Anticommunism with anything Neoconservative.
Reagan gave the medal of Freedom to Russell Kirk. Maybe, his communications director was Pat Buchanan. Maybe you should look into their battles with the neocons while you're looking into Reagan's own battles with the.

[AkulaSriRahul]

Israel first warhawks are called neoconservatives

[vlada]

What about Bill's 2 interventions in Yugoslavia?

[bobwilson]

You have some generational misconceptions. First, the bulk of 60s activism was NOT baby boomers mainly. They were too young yet. I was 16 the day the 60s ended and was on the last ever US draft. Second the baby boomers who were the patents of the early millenials were often anti war. It's the boomers born AFTER 1953 that turned their backs on the 60s, and became more pro war, primarily because they weren't subject to the draft. Otherwise, good job. You and Cypher are both doing great work.

[armanmkhitaryan]

0:56 "by any means necessary, including military and covert means" Why cover it up with euphemisms, why not just say "including military aggression, war, and international terrorism"? What's more it wasn't said in the video that American neocons have a long and overwhelming history of actually aiding, funding, arming, training and otherwise supporting dictatorships in Central and Latin Americas as well as the Middle East, Afghanistan, Indonesia and elsewhere.
These are not just anti-communist, market or whatever else ideologies; these are fundamentally warmongering, hawkish and I should also insist anti-democratic ideologies. If you just look at the record of US law and constitution violations of all of the neocon administrations of the 20th century and their offshoots in more recent cabinets it's just bizarre how American society tolerates them.

[billynipper]

I think it doesn't matter what side you pick when they all play for the same team.

[Preedx]

We now have neoconservative party ruling in Poland, and it is very interesting to see what they are doing. They implement a lot of socialist policies but are very nationalistic, authoritarian and pro catholicism.
And everything is ruled by gray eminence - Jarosław Kaczyński, who doesn't hold any official position in the government, but has almost absolute power.

[kellychristus]

With the movement toward ramping up the military expenditure and "theater wars in key strategic regions" being too slow for the Neoconservatives, they mention in "Rebuilding America's Defenses For A New American Century" that a "new pearl harbor" is required to ramp up what they considered a strong military, as well as engaging in multiple "theater wars".

Seems like they've got their desire in some sense.

[Goldenhawk]

Also I think Hillary Clinton intentionally started as a neocon, hell she was even a republican for a while, I think her receptiveness to the millinal voter base may have shifted her ideology (her stance on gay marriage is evidence of that) but time will tell. her willingness to use military intervention bothers me though and makes me think her ideology hasn't changed that much -Omar

[josecarlosmoreno]

a video on Christian Democrats would be nice, here in the US they basically don't exist in power, hard to find, electorate is a different story but they aren't politically active like in Europe, I believe some have rebranded themselves as centrist democrats, they're basically social conservative economic liberals (in the American sense)

[tacitdionysus]

Adam Curtis' 'The Power of Nightmares' (BBC) has an interesting take on the subject. It compares the rise of neocons and the islamist movement (starting with Qutb) and their curious parallels. It suggests that, 'In an age when all the grand ideas have lost credibility, fear of a phantom enemy is all the politicians have left to maintain their power'. This is not to say that there are not real risks at the core of things like terrorism, the 'evil west' or global warming, but that those fears are manipulated and exaggerated as a source of political advantage and manufactured legitimacy. Their position is 'There are terrible things out there, things which you can barely understand, but trust me I'll protect you from them'. In another series 'The Trap' he discusses Berlin's famous paper  'Two Kinds of Freedom'. One kind (negative) is typified by consumerism that keeps people happy and docile, while the other (positive) is about revolution that can sweep away injustice (often with much bloodshed). The neocons (and Blair in the UK) tried the interesting idea of combining the two (e.g. in Iraq) by forcefully introducing 'revolutionary' negative freedom in the belief that a happy society would then naturally take root.

[stevenwiederholt]

"Many many close calls with nuclear armageddon in that period." Name 3

[leondu]

As a neocon myself, I think this video is an objective description of my ideology.

[GM-yulg]

So an explanation of what a Neocon is, without even one mention of the state of Israel!

I wonder why...

[lafregaste]

Every party in the world is a mix of many ideas, "rules" and morals, but all of them serve just a few when they go into action.

[tomfrazier]

The civil rights movement started shortly after the end of Reconstruction. Martin L. King was not a Boomer. The final end of Jim Crow began in the early '50s, and continued through the '60s & '70s.