I've never seen a term that has been more misused on this board.
Here is a pretty interesting article by Gary North from lewrockwell.com regarding the Neoconservatives and their origins.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north180.html
The "godfather" of neoconservatism is Irving Kristol, who had been a youthful Trotskyite. He defined a neoconservative as "a liberal who was mugged by reality." This definition is clever, memorable, and accurate. It called forth the definition of a neo-liberal by M.I.T. economics professor Lester Thurow: "A liberal who was mugged by reality, but who has declined to press charges."
It was no secret that many of the founders were Jews. (So, by the way, have been its most articulate opponents: Murray Rothbard and Paul Gottfried.)
So, are you a Neo-Con? Here's a nice quiz to help you find out. I'm a Realist, apparently.What becomes apparent in studying the rise of the neoconservative movement is this: (1) it is not a broadly based grass roots movement; rather, it is a movement of institutionally subsidized professors and essayists; (2) its founding members had spent their formative years as Democrats or (in some cases) as Trotskyites; (3) they had gained tenured positions at America's premier universities before they made to journey into the political swamps; (4) they gained access to influence in the Reagan years as conservatives.
http://www.csmonitor.com/specials/ne...eoconQuiz.html
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