larly to oppose revolutionary movements and to prop up right-wing regimes.
Even if the governments of the rich countries are not motivated by a need to
protect their corporations operating in the Third World, the effect is often just
that.
Other aspects can be seen as part of neo-colonialism but, whether they refer
to the terms on which development aid is provided, to the role of banks in
funding development or to the impact of multilateral trade agreements such as
those overseen by theWorld Trade Organization, in all cases the weaker
economies are totally dependent on decisions made elsewhere.
Neo-Conservatism
The term neo-conservatism was first coined by Michael Harrington in the
USA to refer to a tendency in that country to reject some of the underlying
assumptions of American liberalism, most notably, perhaps, the optimistic
beliefs that progress is inevitable and that the government can ameliorate
various social problems. It has come to be used of a disparate group of writers
and academics such as Irving Kristol, Norman Podhoretz, Daniel Patrick
Moynihan, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Nathan Glazer and Daniel Bell, although both
Bell and Moynihan have rejected the label. Most of the major figures of
American neo-conservatism are former Democrats and some, such as Moy-
nihan, remained active in Democratic politics. Kirkpatrick, although the
author of an article explaining why she could not become a Republican,
joined President Reagan’s administration as Permanent Representative to the
United Nations.
Neo-conservatism is not so much a coherent theory as a set of reactions to
contemporary politics, and especially reactions to the politics of the USA in the
1960s. While it is difficult to summarize the writings of such a diverse and
prolific group, four themes seem central to neo-conservatism. Firstly, neo-
conservatives support Western values and are hostile to communism. Such a
position is only surprising in the context of a country severely shaken by the
experiences of theVietnam Warand because the neo-conservatives have
been concerned to make a clear intellectual defence of both capitalism and the
policies of the USA.
Secondly, the neo-conservatives have, since the 1960s, expressed sustained
scepticism about the role of government, and especially the federal govern-
ment, in American life. The magazine co-edited by Kristol, first with Bell and
then with Glazer,The Public Interest, prides itself on its unbiased assessment of
public policy questions, and neo-conservatives have been leading advocates of
such policies as deregulation and welfare reform.
Thirdly, neo-conservatism has a strongly traditional approach to matters of
religion and morality and rejects the trends associated with the 1960s youth
Neo-Conservatism