The evolution of mainstream political perspectives: 'The New Republic', 'National Review' and American politics, 1964-1984

In this research, the course of ideological change in American politics over twenty years is traced through an examination of the political positions of prominent sources of American liberalism (The New Republic) and conservatism (National Review). The thesis is guided by the premise that American political perspectives evolve over time as they address new political circumstances. To understand, then, what is meant by liberalism or conservatism requires an understanding of how and why they have changed over time. The period covered by this research was one of significant ideological change in the United States. It began with liberalism dominant and ended with conservatism dominant, but the political meaning of both perspectives changed markedly over this period.; The path of conservatism since 1964 has been one of moderation, as the perspective distanced itself from the extreme Right, and moved away from its opposition in principle to the welfare state and containment. Conservatism in the 1970s criticized government extension of the welfare state through large-scale government programs, arguing that there are limits to the effectiveness of social policies.; Liberalism, in contrast, moved to the left in 1968, abandoning containment and pushing for reduced American commitments abroad so that national priorities could be reordered toward domestic problems. In the late-1970s, liberals associated with The New Republic moved back to the center, because New Politics liberalism had been rejected at the polls in 1972, because the persistence of inflation required a different approach to domestic affairs, and because the Soviets had taken advantage of post-Vietnam American foreign policy.; All liberals, however, did not agree with The New Republic's version of liberalism at the end of the 1970s. Another faction, took a decisive turn to the left, arguing that the end of postwar American military and economic dominance had rendered liberalism irrelevant. While liberals coalesced in opposition to Reagan policies in the 1980s, they could not agree on the content of a liberal alternative.