Actually, neoliberalism and neoconservatism are two distinct philosophies, with different spheres of interest, and though arguably many present-day neocons are also neoliberals, and the essayist is arguing (somewhat strainedly) that some of Obama's rhetoric is neoconservative in outlook -- but is not suggesting that he's neoliberal.
I said neoliberalism and neoconservativism are two distinct ideologies as well.
What we disagree on is the idea of the policies of Clinton, Kennedy, and Obama to be more consistent with neoliberal doctrine than what most people identify as simply liberal.
The author does not refer to neoliberalism at all and what the author has done is accuse Obama of adopting the aspects of neoconservatism that appear at first blush to be really neoliberal aspects that overlap neoconservatism.
That is why I brought it into the discussion.
(Michael)
Neoconservatism was originally a novel development within the political left: liberals (former Trotskyites in many cases) who had been disgusted with the Left's coddling of Stalinism and other repressive but 'leftist' regimes, and with a generalized antiwar position in the 60s, advocating instead muscular intervention in world affairs to break the backs of repressive regimes. More recent persons to whom the 'neocon' label has been applied (such as the major advocates and architects of the second Iraq war) seem to have much less sincerely altruistic motivations, and clearly were in no way political liberals/progressives.
This is historically true but not a reality since the late 80's as the mantle of neoconservative was shouldered by the present leaders, like Richard Perle and Robert Kagan as opposed to the original architects like Leo Strauss, and Irving Kystol who begat William, who begat the PNAC.
http://en.wikipedia....Neoconservatism
Neoconservatism (or Neocon) is a right-wing political philosophy that emerged in the United States from the rejection of the social liberalism, moral relativism, and New Left counterculture of the 1960s. In United States, they align themselves with most conservative values, such as free market, limited welfare, and traditional cultural values. Their key distinction is on international affairs: they prefer a proactive approach internationally that would protect the national interests.
The term neoconservative was originally used as a criticism against liberals who had "moved to the right".[1][2] Michael Harrington, a democratic socialist, coined the usage of neoconservative in a 1973 Dissent magazine article concerning welfare policy.[3] According to E. J. Dionne, the nascent neoconservatives were driven by "the notion that liberalism" had failed and "no longer knew what it was talking about."[4]
The first major neoconservative to embrace the term and considered its founder is Irving Kristol, father of William Kristol, who would become the founder of the neoconservative Project for the New American Century, and wrote of his neoconservative views in the 1979 article "Confessions of a True, Self-Confessed 'Neoconservative.'"[1] Kristol's ideas had been influential since the 1950s, when he co-founded and edited Encounter magazine.[5] Another source was Norman Podhoretz, editor of Commentary magazine from 1960 to 1995. By 1982 Podhoretz was calling himself a neoconservative, in a New York Times Magazine article titled "The Neoconservative Anguish over Reagan's Foreign Policy".[6][7] The Reagan Doctrine was considered anti-Communist and in opposition to Soviet Union global influence and considered central to American foreign policy until the end of the Cold War, shortly before Bill Clinton became president of the United States. Neoconservative influence on American foreign policy later became central with the Bush Doctrine.
As opposed to neoliberals, who have never worn the mantle willingly.
http://en.wikipedia....i/Neoliberalism
Originally coined by its critics and opponents, "neoliberalism" is a label referring to the recent reemergence of economic liberalism or classical liberalism among political and economic scholars and policy-makers. The label is usually used by people who oppose liberalism; proponents usually describe themselves simply as "liberals".
Liberalism supports free markets, free trade, and decentralized decision-making. Liberalism of world's countries can be measured on economic freedom indices. Higher economic freedom correlates strongly with higher living standards, self-reported happiness, and peace.
