Customer Reviews

Varieties of Conservatism in America (HOOVER INST PRESS PUBLICATION)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Peter Berkowitz's books, Varieties of Conservatism in America and Varieties of Progressivism in America, are collections of essays by authors seeking to make the point that you need to know more about American politics than that there are conservatives and progressives. Under the big tents of conservatives and of progressives are sub-groups who even reject some others labeled as conservatives or as progressives. Over time, American politics re-balances itself via two major political parties seeking to win majorities by assembling sub-groups and their conflicting goals.

According to the authors, the varieties of conservatism are: (1) classical conservatism (consisting of traditionalist and of social conservatism) (2) libertarianism (3) neoconservatism. Paleoconservatives, such as Patrick Buchanan (editor of The American Conservative magazine), have only a footnote in the chapter on traditionalist conservatism and brief mentions elsewhere.

A major flaw in this book is the editor's failure to include essays by leading supporters of each variety of conservatism. The editor could claim only that each author had some sympathy for the variety of conservatism. Joseph Bottum, an editor of the neoconservative Weekly Standard, wrote the essay on social conservatism.

Jacob Heilbrunn's "The Neoconservative Journey" was the best essay on neoconservatism. Unlike neoconservatives who deny or fail to mention their ties to Trotsky, Heilbrunn explained the origins of neoconservatism in the Soviet Union. Trotsky advocated exporting communist revolutions around the world. In 1920, Lenin learned from the Red Army's failed invasion of Poland that the Polish workers and peasants rallied to defend Poland against communist invaders. Lenin, Stalin, and later leaders of the Soviet Union understood, unlike Trotsky, that workers of the world will not unite to create a communist world run by the Soviet Union.

To casual observers of American politics, neoconservatives are anti-communists because they opposed the détente policies of Presidents Nixon and Carter and they supported President Ronald Reagan's attempts to cause the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The neoconservatives gained political influence by having activists in both the Democratic and Republican parties. Richard Perle, for example, is a registered Democrat who has held positions in Democratic and Republican administrations. However, Heilbrunn did not explain Richard Perle's scandals for leaking national security documents to Israel while serving on the staff of the late Senator Henry Jackson (Democrat-Washington).

Tod Lindberg's "Neoconservatism's Liberal Legacy" includes a review of neoconservatism's anti-capitalist positions while centrally-planned economies were failing.

The neoconservative essayists did not explain why neoconservatives are supporting using America's military power to establish communist governments in the world today. The authors ignored the MEK (or MKO or Rajavi cult), the Marxist terrorists who have murdered American military officers, Rockwell International employees, and large numbers of innocent people in Iran and in Iraq. When American troops entered Iraq in 2003, they attacked Camp Ashraf and killed many of the communists. The neoconservatives in the Department of Defense were able to reverse the policy and have American troops protect Marxist terrorists in Iraq.

Neoconservatives are not Conservatives.