Synopsis
In this anthology of essays written by today's leading neocons, Irwin Stelzer attempts to dispell many of the myths, built up by foreign and some domestic media, that have led many Americans to view neoconservatism as a radical and cohesive movement. Rather, Steltzer seeks to prove, neocons are an ecclectic group of intellectuals and politicians who agree on some major policy issues but who pride themselves on their individuality. "Neoconservatism is more of a persuasion than a movement." He also asserts that the domestic and foreign policies advocated by Bush and his supposed neocon band of ideologues may be a sharp break from the post-Cold War foreign policy consensus, but actually have deep roots in American history and are more consistent with Brittish foreign policy than many believe.
Reviews
Neoconservatives have formed the first successful American political movement of the 21st century, and this anthology takes a needed step toward identifying the ideas, most of them at least 20 years old, that can be loosely identified as their platform. Though Stelzer, a former American Enterprise Institute resident scholar, points to a diversity of neocon positions in his introduction, most would probably agree with the contributor who considers democracy "a framework to protect, and be protected by, a moral ethos," a belief shaping many of the views on foreign policy found here. Many of the names are familiar: Kristol, Kirkpatrick, Rice, Thatcher, Will, James Q. Wilson. George L. Kelling's famous "Broken Windows" essay (1982), which re-envisions police forces as a means of preserving social order before crime breaks out, is absorbed into the neocon canon in a prominent example of Stelzer's historical reach. The anthology's more significant achievement, however, may be in its presentation of lesser-known views on domestic policy, such as a relative lack of concern over federal deficits. Whether David Brooks and Tony Blair can genuinely be viewed as belonging here may be open to question. Some contributors defensively downplay the movement's influence, while others dwell repeatedly on fringe accusations of neoconservatism's alleged roots in a pro-Israeli cabal. The prevailing tone throughout, though, is one of cautious optimism.
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