The emergence of neoconservatism in the United States, 1960-1972

This dissertation deals with the development of the ideology and political philosophy of neoconservatism in the U.S. during the 1960s and early 1970s. The study concentrates on five neoconservative intellectuals: Daniel Bell, Irving Howe, Nathan Glazer, Irving Kristol and Norman Podhoretz. By examining their writings, actions and the political-intellectual groups and organizations with which they were associated, the formative process of neoconservatism can be traced. This dissertation explains why and under what socio-political conditions neoconservatism was created.;Neoconservatism emerged from mainstream post-WWII American liberalism and this study describes the causes that motivated some liberals to separate themselves from liberalism and create a new ideology. Because the political shift to neoconservatism occurred during the 1960s--a period of critical political upheaval--the historical factors related to this ideological transformation are also analyzed. During this period, the new radical forces that emerged, principally the new left movement, posed difficult challenges for the liberal mainstream. In response, liberalism fragmented and changed. The formation of neoconservatism was a reaction by some liberals to the threat that the radicals presented to the liberal order. The neoconservatives entered into a deep conflict with the radical movement and, by attempting to defend orthodox liberalism, they ended up articulating a new conservative philosophy. This dissertation shows that postwar liberal philosophy and spirit contained many conservative elements. During the political crisis of the 1960s, these conservative components drove liberals who became neoconservatives to emphasize antiradicalism and combine it with right-wing political principles. Thus a neoconservative ideology was born.