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 3)

historyishere

on Aug 15, 2004

Don, I am not surprised from what I've read from you....

Helix: Yes, you did the right thing and considered WHO wrote the article, and not just what was said. The reason I posted it was not just because it was in the Washington Post... but because it was featured on the Project for a New American Century web site... an American think-tank that was started during the Clinton era and had as its members 10 people who are currently in powerful positions within the current Bush Administration.

Deference

on Aug 16, 2004

Conservative: Believes in individual rights, bare bones government, fiscal frugality, right to life, gun rights, states rights, traditional family unit, and conservative social / cultural environment.

NeoCon: Believes in invasive government ( for our own protection, of course, ack! ), gun rights, federal government agenda, corporate protection, right to life, and social / cultural control by representatives, and traditional family unit.

Notice any key differences? Can you think of certain examples that might fit these two definitions? Pat Buchanen might well be a true conservative, but Cheney, Bush Jr. ?

dubz

on Aug 17, 2004

it said i was most likely liberal

Monster Kabasue

on Aug 17, 2004

It said I was a dark and evil Republican with a heart made out of coal, and blood as cold as ice, and then the computer crashed

Gene Nash

on Aug 17, 2004

a dark and evil Republican with a heart made out of coal, and blood as cold as ice,

That may explain why the desert heat doesn't phase me.

historyishere

on Aug 17, 2004

Monster Kabasue: Does Boris Karloff do the narration for your life?

Monster Kabasue

on Aug 17, 2004

No the dark sith Carl Rove!!!

What is scarier than a fiscally conservative liberal?
A Republican with a sense of humor!

historyishere

on Aug 17, 2004

No... not the dark puppetmaster... Evil... EEEEEEEEEEEE-VILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!! :hiss:

historyishere

on Aug 19, 2004

Wow... looking at the referrals for my site, it turns out this article comes up second on the google list, right after the CS Monitor quiz that inspired it. I guess Google refering isn't broken like we thought it was.

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