The meaning of "neoconservative"

[pozorvlak]

I'm trying to give up esrblog again: though he still manages the occasional interesting piece (like this one about GPS wire protocols, and some of his commentary on the Tom-Tom patent lawsuit), he's increasingly going off the deep end politically, and spending time in his headspace is getting increasingly unpleasant. wormwood_pearl has extracted a promise from me to

Comments

[necaris]

Pretty much what you and neoanjou have said. I used to work for some of them, and their About Us page summed it up quite well in my view: ... purposes are to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism--limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and responsibility, vigilant and effective defense and foreign policies...

Also, best of luck giving up on ESR's blog -- I'm surprised you've stuck with it this long. I enjoy the occasional article but he's so disagreeable politically I've never really been able to really follow it.

[bdunbar]

What does the term mean to all of you?

Much the same as you: interventionist, carrying Democracy forward on bayonets, all that jazz.

By the time I started hearing it used it had already been corrupted to mean 'anyone on the American Right with whom I disagree with' and 'a convenient handle I can paint people with without having to think too much'.

Or at least so I gather from context.

[bronxelf_ag001]

Same as it means to you.

[nomorwar4israel]

Philip Weiss on the Neoconservative agenda:

In terms of their politics, they were almost all Democrats and then as soon as the Democratic party suggested that it wasn't going to have a strong military, Norman Podhoretz and Irving Kristol, the grandfathers of this movement, they went Republican. Why? Because they said, back in the 70's, a strong military is needed to protect Israel.

Download an mp3 of Phil saying the above here:
Antiwar.com/Radio - 07/12/2008
Antiwar.com/Radio - 03/18/2009

Watch the BBC documentary "The War Party", part 1 of 5

Read Phil's blog on the Neocons, AIPAC, Israel/Palestine @ philipweiss.org

[totherme]

For better or for worse, I think my understanding of the term seems to be rooted in my memory of the 2005 BBC documentary The Power of Nightmares. And perhaps to a lesser extent, the character Adrian Veidt.

So for me the central characteristic of the neocon is the belief (or the worldview shaped by a predecessor's belief) that "This town needs an enemy".

It's a while since I saw that documentary though - so I don't know how well I'm representing it :)

[totherme]

Ah - here you go.

Might be interesting to think about how that series of films would be updated after the recent elections.