The Neoconservatives: The Origins of a Movement: With a New Foreword, From Dissent to Political Power

by Peter Steinfels

Overview

In 1979, Peter Steinfels identified a new movement and predicted it would be the decade’s most enduring legacy to American politics. In a new Introduction he describes its evolution from a reaction to Sixties' social change into an entrenched political force promoting an assertive, even belligerent, foreign policy.

The Neoconservatives traced the origins and described the beliefs of a movement that had barely been labeled. Four decades later, the neoconservatives have become the “neocons,” advising presidential candidates, manning think tanks, churning out books, op-eds, TV interviews, and policy proposals. They played a key role in pushing the nation into the war in Iraq and continue to argue for an assertive American foreign policy, whether toward Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea, or China, that does not hesitate to act unilaterally with military power.

The Neoconservatives probes the roots of this movement as it describes its early days with portraits of Irving Kristol, Daniel P. Moynihan, Daniel Bell, Nathan Glazer, Samuel Huntington, and others. Peter Steinfels was the first critic to understand and gauge an emerging philosophy that would grow into an enduring force at the forefront of American foreign policy making. The Neoconservatives is an important contribution to our political history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476729701
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	11/19/2013
Series:	Bestselling Political Nonfiction
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Peter Steinfels, former co-director of the Fordham University Center on Religion and Culture, is a university professor at Fordham. He was religion columnist for The New York Times and editor of Commonweal. Steinfels is the author of A People Adrift: The Crisis of the Roman Catholic Church in America (Simon & Schuster, 2003). He lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Foreword to the New Edition: From Dissent to Political Power ix

1 Introduction: The Significance of Neoconservatism 1

2 The Road to Neoconservatism 26

3 What Neoconservatives Believe 52

4 The Neoconservative Style 74

5 Irving Kristol, Standard-Bearer 85

6 Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Professional Politician 113

7 Daniel Bell, Theoretician and Moralist 170

8 Intellectuals, the Heart of the "New Class" 198

9 Equality and Social Policy 225

10 Democracy and Expertise 261

11 Conclusion: The War for the "New Class" 288

Notes 311

Index 335