Are you a Neoconservative?

Published on August 12, 2004 By historyishere In Politics

I was on a political forum recently, and this quiz caught my eye. I know that quite a few little quizzes have been posted to the forums and in a lot of blogs, but given a lot of the discussions I've seen here, it seemed very appropriate.

Are you a Neoconservative?

My results said that I could be categorized as being one of many:

Liberals…

Are wary of American arrogance and hypocrisy
Trace much of today's anti-American hatred to previous US foreign policies.
Believe political solutions are inherently superior to military solutions
Believe the US is morally bound to intervene in humanitarian crises
Oppose American imperialism
Support international law, alliances, and agreements
Encourage US participation in the UN
Believe US economic policies must help lift up the world's poor

Historical liberal: President Woodrow Wilson
Modern liberal: President Jimmy Carter

Which shouldn't really come as a surprise to anyone... especially me.... although I don't agree with everything in the above list.... because the realist category also has a lot I agree with as well.

Realists....

Are guided more by practical considerations than ideological vision
Believe US power is crucial to successful diplomacy - and vice versa
Don't want US policy options unduly limited by world opinion or ethical considerations
Believe strong alliances are important to US interests
Weigh the political costs of foreign action
Believe foreign intervention must be dictated by compelling national interest

Historical realist: President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Modern realist: Secretary of State Colin Powell

But I guess I can't be both, can I? I mean, a liberal realist? Isn't that a contradiction in terms?

Comments (Page 2)

Gene Nash

on Aug 13, 2004

Thank you HistoryIsHere.

to the point where many say it is becoming overused and lacking any coherent definition, especially since many so-called neoconservatives vehemently disagree with one another on major issues.

Well, that part of the definition I can agree with!

Also from that article:

The term was coined by socialist Michael Harrington, who wanted a way to characterize former leftists who had moved significantly to the right -- people he had been deriding as "socialists for Nixon."

Hmmm, Reagan and Teddy Roosevelt, huh? Still don't see it.

Neoconservatives are conservatives who are "new" (neo) to the conservative movement in some way. Usually, this comes as a result from the migration from the left of the political spectrum to the right, over the course of many years.

Well, that one could apply to Reagan in that he was once a Democrat and called himself a bleeding heart liberal. "I bled all over everything," I believe he said once. But he was always anti-communism. Some would say he was Democratic in name only. Hmm.... Still up in the air for me. I don't know enough about Teddy to judge it. It depends on the definition, something even that article can't nail down with any precision. If everybody's making up their own definition of neo-con how can it have any weight?

David Horowitz said,

"Neo-conservatism" is a term almost exclusively used by the enemies of America's liberation of Iraq. There is no "neo-conservative" movement in the United States. When there was one, it was made up of former Democrats who embraced the welfare state but supported Ronald Reagan's Cold War policies against the Soviet bloc.

That sounds about right. "Neo-con" in current usage still looks to me to mainly be a liberal's term of derision for the other side.

I think the poll was seriously flawed in not having a plain vanilla "conservative" category.

Anyway, thanks for the poll link and the answer.

Gene Nash

on Aug 13, 2004

was this Coolidge character any good as a president?

Well, he did come up with my favorite quote of all time.

Press on. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful individuals with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

-- Calvin Coolidge

If nothing else he was very quotable.

Muggaz

on Aug 13, 2004

Thats a cool quote Gene!!!! I might draw reference to that in the future!!! it's very true!!!

*can you un-blacklist me now mate? I wanted to comment on your blog the other day, but I couldn't

)

BAM!!!

kingbee

on Aug 13, 2004

if you want to see what neocon is all about, go back to the site with the test, click on the header illustration to get to the index or home page and then mouse over the little b/w photos til you find paul wolfowitz. click on his pic to read his bio. check out the part about the 1992 defense planning guidance draft he co-authored with libby. (i couldnt quote it cuz its a flash animation)

i was disappointed they didnt include a conservative category altho i think that an even combination of realist and isolationist might come close.

kingbee

on Aug 13, 2004

If nothing else he was very quotable

he didnt waste words, being so taciturn they called him 'silent cal'.

Gene Nash

on Aug 13, 2004

can you un-blacklist me now mate?

Done.

historyishere

on Aug 13, 2004

Odd thing is... I've met people who wear the term neoconservative with honour... and actively call themselves that as well. I agree that the term is a little bit overused today, especially being used against things and people which are inherently not neocon, but I don't think its being used in a derisive way, rather as an easy label and a buzzword.

Gomez4Prez

on Aug 13, 2004

I had a professor at my college who proudly called himself a neoconservative and is apparently aligned with Wolfowitz and Rumsfeld. He said that the neocons were somewhat socially liberal Democrats who bolted the Democratic party in 1972 after McGovern became the nominee and the Democrats became the peace party. So they basically believe in an active interventionist foreign policy and pay little attention to domestic politics, but if questioned would probably be centrist or a little left.

stevendedalus

on Aug 13, 2004

Modern realist: Secretary of State Colin Powell

Except that he's unrealistic in the eyes of his comraderie of conservatives--who are by the way neo only because they abandoned their isolationism.

I'd like to think of myself as a New Dealer, blending liberal with pragmatic.

historyishere

on Aug 13, 2004

Except that he's unrealistic in the eyes of his comraderie of conservatives--who are by the way neo only because they abandoned their isolationism.

A nice little article about Powell from the July 23, 2000 Washington Post

The Problem With Powell

vincible

on Aug 13, 2004

My one gripe about this quiz is that it doesn't have anything specifically about free trade versus protectionisism, which is a pretty major component of anyone's view of how nations should relate to each other.

I'm a realist, as I expected to be.

Muggaz

on Aug 14, 2004

My one gripe about this quiz is that it doesn't have anything specifically about free trade versus protectionisism,

Interesting you should bring that up... Australia is on the verge of signing a free trade agreement with you guys, but out pharmaceutical benefits scheme will be under threat....

BAM!!!

Gene Nash

on Aug 14, 2004

but out pharmaceutical benefits scheme will be under threat....

God forbid the pharms not be allowed their 10,000% markups....

Don Bemont

on Aug 14, 2004

That was my first reaction, too, but a lot can be explained by:

Liberals… Are wary of American arrogance and hypocrisy

Realists....Are guided more by practical considerations than ideological vision

Neoconservatives…Want the US to be the world's unchallenged superpower

Free trade and protectionism are, in truth, decided industry by industry and detail by detail. Liberals are uneasy with hypocrisy in this area. Realists accept it as is, as a matter to work out politically. Neocons would happily throw our weight around to assure that these matters break in our favor.

Don Bemont

on Aug 14, 2004

Well, I scored out as a liberal, but it seemed like a lot of my answers were isolationist, too.

Not an ounce of neocon in me. Every question, the neocon answer screamed out as the one totally unacceptable response.

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