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

Steinfels' main problem is to establish that the amorphous group known as 'new conservatives' have a definable doctrine. A former editor of Commonweal, he's known many of his subjects as opponents, but unlike other liberal analysts, he takes the neoconservatives very seriously. That they form a group is undeniable; as he emphasizes, their main foci are the journals Commentary & Public Interest, & it's mainly there--with forays into The Atlantic Monthly, Encounter, The Wall Street Journal, The New Leader & Fortune, that they gather: Daniel Bell, Nathan Glazer, Irving Kristol, Robert Nisbet, Daniel Moynihan, et al. That they form a literary coterie is significant because their style, oriented toward High Journalism, defines many of its characteristics: 'Neoconservatism, it might be said, is literary criticism & social science aspiring to the rank of political philosophy.' This group is also characterized by generational homogeneity (most were born in the 20s); by the former leftist orientation of its members; & by the positions of power they occupy in academic & literary circles. But Steinfels is intent on making the more important claim that neoconservatism could become the 'true' conservatism this country has lacked. Accepting the 'liberal consensus' view of American history, he nevertheless argues that the neoconservative emphasis upon the lack of moral values in a secular society & their championing of capitalist rationality form the foundation for a conservative theory built on the achievements of American liberalism. Centering on Kristol, Bell & Moynihan, Steinfels exposes the neoconservatives' weaknesses--lack of self-criticism, pomposity, misrepresentation of their opponents' position, refusal to criticize capitalism, inconsistency--while praising their effort to raise substantive issues for public scrutiny. Elsewhere he examines the history of neoconservatism thru the Cold War & the New Left, the neoconservative critique of the 'new class' of alienated intellectuals, & issues of equality & public policy. Altho he sometimes makes their theories more plausible than they are, he makes a good case for taking the neos seriously. Comprehensive, up-to-date & accessible.--Kirkus (edited)