What’s New with Neos

WHAT’S NEW WITH NEOS

In the late Seventies and early Eighties a number of liberal intellectuals, disillusioned with big government, branched off from liberal orthodoxy. But they branched in two directions—neoconservative and neoliberal. Neoconservatives, of course, are the ones who repudiated Great Society welfarism at home and post-Vietnam impotence abroad. With roots chiefly in New York City, the neoconservative movement was built by Irving Kristol, Norman Podhoretz, and Midge Decter. Others in the neocon front ranks today include Jeane Kirkpatrick (foreign policy), William Bennett (education), Richard Perle (arms control), Michael Novak (religion), James Q. Wilson (crime), and Charles Murray (welfare) —all of them either holding office in the Reagan Administration or influencing it from academia. Neoconservatism exalts economic growth, the market economy, traditional family values, and an assertive, nationalistic foreign policy. Neoconservatives today are assessing whether President Reagan’s performance in office has fallen short of their standards and expectations.

JM

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John McLaughlin

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WHAT’S NEW WITH NEOS

In the late Seventies and early Eighties a number of liberal intellectuals, disillusioned with big government, branched off from liberal orthodoxy. But they branched in two directions—neoconservative and neoliberal. Neoconservatives, of course, are the ones who repudiated Great Society welfarism at home and post-Vietnam impotence abroad. With roots chiefly in New York City, the neoconservative movement was built by Irving Kristol, Norman Podhoretz, and Midge Decter. Others in the neocon front ranks today include Jeane Kirkpatrick (foreign policy), William Bennett (education), Richard Perle (arms control), Michael Novak (religion), James Q. Wilson (crime), and Charles Murray (welfare) —all of them either holding office in the Reagan Administration or influencing it from academia. Neoconservatism exalts economic growth, the market economy, traditional family values, and an assertive, nationalistic foreign policy. Neoconservatives today are assessing whether President Reagan’s performance in office has fallen short of their standards and expectations.