US New Conservatism Simon Shen Old Conservatism n

US New Conservatism Simon Shen

Old Conservatism n Founder of Conservatism: • Edmund Burke • Tocqueville n n n Vs French Revolution Experimentalism Vs Rationality / Populism On Human Nature On Class On Tradition (Forward Vs Backward) On Liberty (Absolute Vs Societal)

Old Conservatism in USA n n Conservative Tradition in the American War of Independence Foundation of USA: “Classical Liberalism” = “European Conservatism” • Social Contract • Private Property Rights n Adam Smith Vs Thomas Jefferson • Constitution Vs Bills of Rights

Conservatism in the Economic Front n Keynesian Economics / Welfare State • Known as “Conservatism” in Europe • Known as “Liberalism” in USA • FDR New Deal n Hayek and Conservatism Economics • Vs Communism Social Democracy Welfare State

New Conservatism Since 1960 s n “Liberalism” in the USA after Cold War • New Leftists (mix with Stalinism, Marxism, or Anarchism……) • Anti-Leftist Liberalists (+ The Jewish Influence) n n n The Goldwater Revolution Michael Harrington Assigns the term “New Conservatism” to the “traitors” of Liberalism New Conservatism allies with Old Conservatism

The Tragedy of American Compassion (Marvin Olasky) n n n “Compassion” = Social Darwinism The Poor People Lose their Ability of Self -living and Self-strengthening Welfare Bureau Replaces the Socio. Economic Function of Family (from Class to Caste) The Concept of Compassion Redefined (Moral Guidance) Vs Social Security System = “Compassionate Conservatism”

The Dream and the Nightmare (Myron Magnet) n n The 60 s Legacy to the Underclass JFK: New Culture Movement LBJ: The Grand Society The Excess of Ultra-liberalism / Collapse of the Value System • Hippies, Family, Homosexuality, Abortion, Drug Addiction n Need the God

Give Peace a Chance Lyrics n n Two, one, two, three, four Ev'rybody's talking about Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism This-ism, That-ism, is-m, is-m All we are saying is give peace a chance, All we are saying is give peace a chance Ev'rybody's talking about ministers, Sinister, Banisters And canisters, Bishops, Fishops, Rabbis, and Pop eyes, Bye, bye byes All we are saying is give peace a chance, All we are saying is give peace a chance Let me tell you now Revoluton, evolution, masturbation, Flagellation, regulation, integrations, Meditations, United Nations, Congratulations Ev'rybody's talking about John and Yoko, Timmy Leary, Rosemary, Tommy Smothers, Bobby Dylan, Tommy Copper, Derek Taylor, Norman Mailer, Allen Ginsberg, Hare Krishna

Destructive Generation (Peter Collier) n The “Dark Age” • The 3 Assassinations n From Civil Movement to Radical Movement • Malcolm X and the Black Panthers n n Fifth Columnists and the Red Menace Public Order, with Costs

Theodore Rex (Edmund Morris) n n n Theodore Roosevelt as the “Pre-incarnated Bush” American Exceptionalism Gunboat Policy / Carrot and Stick Preemptive Mahon’s Sea Power Rumsfeld’s Aerial Power Global Military Redeployment From Isolationism to Unilateralism

Essence of New Conservatism (I) Continuity with Old Conservatism n n n Individual Rights, Free Market Further Promote Isaiah Berlin’s Positive Liberty (individual’s ability to acquire resources) Hayek Economy (Reagan Economy) …… Liberty > Equality (Noblemen) Individuality > Totalitarianism

(II) From the “Leftists” n n n FDR’s New Deal Welfare State, to a certain extent Encroachment Vs Isaiah Berlin’s Negative Liberty (individual’s ability to avoid intervention by the social/ political mechanism) Mass Base / Civil Movement Organization “Permanent Revolution” Theory, Rightist Version

New Inventions n Christian Rights Movement • Morality • Ethics … towards the Liberalist Ideal • Moral Absolutism Vs Relativism n International Salvation • Anti-Communism: Activism Vs Isolation / Engagement n The Missionary Approach • Forward Looking (Meliorism)

“Christian Right” n “Christian Fundamentalism” • Islamic and Jewish Fundamentalists Revisited • 1910 -1915: “The Fundamentals” n n n Pro-life: Vs Abortion; Bio-ethics Family Values: Self-help; Vs Homosexual Religion from Private to Public Domain • • • n Education (e. g. “homeschooling”) Politics (e. g. Southern Evangelicalism) International Relations (e. g. PNAC) Moral Values according to the Bible

Francis Fukuyama n n n Francis Fukuyama (1952—) The “Oriental” Descendent The Elitist Background: • Cornell BA; Harvard Ph. D; John Hopkins Professor; RAND Researcher; PNAC Member n n 2 Types of “General Education” Genius Reassessed “Historiography” / “Universalism” • • n IPE + IR + Politics + History + Philosophy + Literature + Science “the words sort of American undergraduate termpaper” Vs “the most important defense of liberal democracy since John Rawl’s ‘A Theory of Justice’”

Hegel’s Dialectical History n A Dialectical Process: • A process through which the contradiction between a dominant truth (thesis) and its opposite (antithesis) are reconciled to produce a higher truth (synthesis) • Synthesis = a new Thesis Vs a new Antithesis until all prior contradictions are resolved and all human needs are satisfied n History culminated in an absolute moment – a moment in which a final, rational form of society and state became victorious” “the End of History”

Nature of the Contradiction n n Fukuyama: Ideological Consciousness (“the real subject underlying the apparent jumble of current events in the history of ideology”) “Thymos” – man’s need for rational recognition • “Megalothymia” – the desire to be recognized as better than others [Master] • “Isothymia” – the human demand to be recognized as equal rather than superior [Slave] n The End of History Begins in 1806 (Battle of Jena) • (1) Capitalism satisfies man’s economic need of ownership and material goods • (2) Democracy abolishes the distinction between master and slave

How Liberalism > Rivals n n n Feudalism – Fell after 1806 Fascism – Fell after WWII Marxism / Neo-Marxism – Fell after 1989 • The Dialectical Theory of Marxism n Religion Fundamentalism / Nationalism / Huntingtonianism – Not Universalism

Why is Liberalism “Imperialistic”? ! “The First Man” n n Anglo-Saxon Liberalism (Hobbes: Leviathan) Vs German Liberalism (Hegel: the Phenomenology of Mind) The First Man in the Natural World • Basic Instinct, Darwinism…… • German: “Megalothymia” [Master] and the Progressive Nature • Anglo-Saxon: “Isothymia” [Slave] and the Protective Nature

“The Last Man” n n The last man emerges at this end point in history, as liberal society grants recognition and thus the satisfaction of the isothymia The last man will inevitably find the life of masterless slavery “boring” Too much equality is dangerous for society, as people will have nowhere to strive for (classless society = complete victory of the ethics of slaves) The end of history has thus caused a thymotic imbalance, in that megalothymia has been oppressed and superseded by isothymia

Deterrence of the Last Man n n It is important to avoid the disintegration of liberalism by ensuring that megalothymia can be expressed Economic: Entrepreneurship Political: Democratic Competition Social: Sportsmanship International: ? ? ?

Two Visible Rivals n The Fundamentalist Model • Rejection to Capitalist Economy • Failure to Revive their Tradition and Glory n The East Asian Model • Capitalist Economy • Social Bonds that are strong enough to withstand the fragmentary forces of liberal democracy • Trust: the Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity (1995)

Fukuyama’s Acknowledged Fallacy of the Theory of End of History n n 10 th Anniversary Article Biotechnical Revolution Changes the Human Nature (i. e. Ideological Consciousness, basis of Fukuyama’s Dialect) • Prozac: Vs Depression • Ritalin: Vs Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD) n Possible for Every “New Man” to Strive for Megalothymia or Isothymia Only • Erase the Foundation of Liberalism • Other Modifications (e. g. Post-gender Era……) n The Posthuman Future (2003)

The Worldview of Fukuyama n n n The Rule of Liberal Democracy Rational Expression of Megalothymia Enemies: • Vs Absolute Egalitarianism • Vs East Asian Model / New Authoritarianism • Vs Revivalism / Fundamentalism • Vs Biotechnical Revolution

Project for the New American Century (1997) n n Chairman: William Kristol (boss: Murdoch) Members: • • • n n Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz Dan Quayle Jeb Bush Steve Forbes Ellen Bork Francis Fukuyama, Charles Krauthammer The 1998 Petition to Clinton September 2000: Rebuilding America’s Defenses: Strategies, Forces and Resources for a New Century

Goals n n n We need to increase defense spending significantly if we are to carry out our global responsibilities today and modernize our armed forces for the future; We need to strengthen our ties to democratic allies and to challenge regimes hostile to our interests and values We need to promote the cause of political and economic freedom abroad We need to accept responsibility for America's unique role in preserving and extending an international order friendly to our security, our prosperity, and our principles. Unilateralism • Vs Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty / Spatial Competition / Vs Tokyo Treaty …… n Kerry’s Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) [Soft Power Vs Hard Power]

The Post-Cold War World Order n n Military Redeployment: New Bases / from Europe to Asia-Pacific Pre-emptivism and “Potential Threats” • Iraq, Iran, Syria …… • KSA n Ineffective International Multilateralism • United Nations • The Old Europe

The Making of New Order n From USA to NSA? • Washington DC as the Rome of New Conservatism? • USA Above Sovereignty of Others • “Democratic Transition Office” n The Greater Middle East Plan • Capitalism • Democracy • “What Went Wrong” • “Individualized Islam” “Secret” behind the (Abandoned) New Iraqi Flag n The Rise of the “New Europe” and the Vilnius Letter • The Seven-colored Revolution n The Final Containment: Russia and China

Ideals and Rationales n n Such leadership requires military strength, diplomatic energy and commitment to moral principle American leadership is good both for America and for the world • • Dahl’s Democratic Peace Theory Kindleberger’s Hegemonic Stability Theory The Chosen Citizen Theory Fukuyama’s the End of History Theory

References n n n Olasky, Marvin. The Tragedy of American Compassion. Washington: Regnery Gateway, 1992. Magnet, Maron. The Dream and the Nightmare. New York: W Morrow, 1993. Morris, Edmund. Theodore Rex. New York: Random House, 2001. Collier, Peter and Horowitz, David. Destructive Generation. New York: Free Press, 1996. Collinicos, Alex. The New Mandarins of American Power: the Bush Administration’s Plans for the World. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2004.

References n n n Fukuyama, Francis. Trust: the Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity. New York: Free Press, 1995. Fukuyama, Francis. The End of History and the Last Man. New York: Free Press, 1992. Chapter 4: The Worldwide Liberal Revolution (P. 39 -54). Fukuyama, Francis. Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution. New York: Picador, 2003. Chapter 6: Why Should We Worry (P. 84 -104).

THE END