Neoconservatism
Overview
"Bush neoconservative" is a term of convenience to refer to members of the group usually labeled simply "neoconservatives", or "neocons", in the era of George W. Bush's presidency and most notably after the beginning of the US Invasion of Iraq. The usage of the term "neocon[servative]" has changed substantially since it was first used, so it is necessary to distinguish the Bush-era variety from other uses.
Bush neoconservatives are loosely defined as those who tend to support or favor most of the following:
- the US Invasion of Iraq
- President George W. Bush
- the precedence of presidential authority over constitutional law
- using Christianity as a basis for legislative decision-making
- big government spending for political ends
There may be other characteristics shared in common as well.
Bush neoconservatives generally reject the term "neocon[servative]" and instead self-describe as conservative, despite the fact that they philosophically differ with the traditional conservative views on items such as small government (a basic tenet of conservatism) and the (classically liberal) idea of nation-building.
Brin definitions
Author David Brin says that the Bush neoconservative movement consists of three main components [1]:
- A sub-set of aristocrats seeking (with great success) to use government as a free source of new wealth.
- A sub-set of messianic "Left Behind" Christianity that actively hungers for a final confrontation between Good and Evil, culminating in a stage-drama end of the world predicted in Revelations.
- A movement of doctrine-focused intellectuals – many of whom are neither Christians nor aristocrats – pushing a particularly aggressive version of nationalism with a theoretical, neo-platonic basis and its own fervid sense of non-religious but messianic mission.
Links
Reference
- Neoconservatism: Wikipedia
Essays
- Leo Strauss and the neoconservatives by Shadia B. Drury
- from David Brin:
Articles
- 2006-11-03 Neo Culpa: As Iraq slips further into chaos, the war's neoconservative boosters have turned sharply on the Bush administration, charging that their grand designs have been undermined by White House incompetence.
Notes
From David Brin:
- [2]:
| What appears stunning to me is how few have pointed out the deep commonalities between American neoconservatism, Islamic fundamentalism, and every other prescriptive dogma that wracked and afflicted the Twentieth Century. The one common theme uniting all of these ideology-based systems is a burning contempt for the secular, pragmatic, accountable and tolerant legacy of the Enlightenment. Especially its promotion of skepticism toward the subjective, self important mind games that allow each of us to play tricks upon ourselves. |
- [3]:
For 14 years and more, Rove & allies have bent all efforts toward maintaining a Big Tent coalition, uniting a melange of contradictory groups. With the sole aim of achieving and holding actual political power, they managed to wed together:
... and so on. A great... nay incredible... morass of contradictions! How on Earth did they manage that? There is one simple answer. By getting every last one of these forces to call themselves “conservative.” |
The Roveans do not ACTUALLY GIVE ANYTHING to the teeming masses under their big tent. Only three of the many "conservative" groups in the Red America coalition have received anything more than lip service from the real masters of the movement.
Except for these groups, none of the "conservatives" gathered under Rove's Big Tent are getting a damned thing they wanted.
|