Anne Norton Defines Neocons

[Larkinchance]

Actually, they didn't botch the war in Iraq. they created a chaotic situation that was an excuse to maintain a occupation. Iraq is now a poor vassel state and their oil is now US property...

[TomerMMHA]

Okay, so neoconservatives are like nazis because both groups said "you know, maybe it's wise to distinguish between friend and enemy on the world stage. Treat people based on whether they want to help you or kill you." But tons of people said that worldwide because it makes sense, duh!

How about comparing George Bernard Shaw to nazis for saying a bit more obvious stuff like "let's kill all the undesirables by using gas". How bout that? Btw, Hitler and Norton both have the same skin color.

[jazzbo66zz]

@TomerMMHA

Strauss was a hack who created a cult that ran the US into the ground in the middle east and converted our democracy into a security state that shreaded the constitution, practiced torture and you are offended by how this author tells that story?! Well isn't that a drag!

[LibertaerUeberAlles]

@TomerMMHA

By now, anyone who's googled video documentaries such as

One Third of the Holocaust

realizes that the "gassings" story was a product of wartime propaganda, similar to the famous '"Six-Million" myth which American Zionists attempted to propagate during the First World War, but didn't have the media apparatus to convince enough people. Soviet propagandist, Ilya Ehrenberg, then resurrected the number in WW2, after which it eventually became western dogma as well.

[wiredAmbition]

Its obvious that this woman tried too hard to find flaws in the 9/11 commission rather than trying to understand it and the global scene at the time.

[015tg]

This woman is a fucking idiot.

Her book on "the Straussians" is simply an abomination.

[gosciu555]

they are a bunch of hitlerians, there is no way around it. They are pragmatists fascists, they go back to Carl Schmitt (a nazi) and Leo Strauss who was brought here by Rockefeller.

[artemis7114]

right on gosciu555. neocons are nothing more than a bunch of arrogant dangerous statists who developed an idea that was waiting to unfold. It's an academic movement anchoring itself in part through leo strauss and idealism. the fall of communism and 9/11 were vehicles to enable their vision. they can all step back now thank god.

[AestheticizeAnalog]

I wonder if any of you have actually read Strauss? Anne Norton's evidence is nothing more than innuendo and gossip. She doesn't have footnotes in her book for god's sake.

[JohananRaatz]

Oh good grief. Carl Schmitt was a Nazi in the same way that Martin Heddeiger was. They joined the Nazi party before they realized it was crazy and went off the deep-end. Afterwards they did not support it. And Leo Strauss was a great political philosopher, perhaps the greatest in the 20th century.

[gosciu555]

Holy shit the crazy has really arrived now. YOU THINK STRAUSS IS A GREAT POLITICAL PHILOSOPHER. Jesus Christ what in the hell is wrong with you?!

"They joined the Nazi party before they realized it was crazy and went off the deep-end"

Lol, they sure made some PR moves to look better but the NAZI's pretty much embraced their philosophy.

[JohananRaatz]

"YOU THINK STRAUSS IS A GREAT POLITICAL PHILOSOPHER. Jesus Christ what in the hell is wrong with you?!"

Of course, I would go further to say that his philosophy has become the paradigmatic of our age. And there's nothing wrong with me. This is just the conclusion I came to after reading his book Natural Right and History.

As for Schmitt and Strauss's Nazi influence; Strauss was Jewish so these claims are ridiculous, and Schmitt's ideas are still important today on both the left and the right.

[JohananRaatz]

Why don't you read Natural Right and History. The first chapter actually starts out by rejecting totalitarian regimes like Nazi Germany, and investigating the reasons for why such regimes could appear.

In case you don't read it, it's a modernized form of Platonic political philosophy. Strauss argues pretty powerfully that the problem is rooted in contract theory, and that the Ancient Greek form of political philosophy that is based on virtue does not have this problem.

[ludachris475]

The Constitution of Ancient Greece was that of the Timocracy.

[JohananRaatz]

Which is useful for defending property rights. Rousseau also advocated an element of this "lest those who have nothing left to lose should trade freedom for bread."

[LibertaerUeberAlles]

@gosciu555

What' interesting though, is that NeoConservatism doesn't actually emanate from anything resembling "Hitler," but instead it is derived from those who Hitler fought: namely, the Marxists. A better video to watch is:

"Ron Paul exposes Neo Conservatives"

[a1mint]

I've been using this video to educate people that don't understand why the Republicans are not a good thing right now, and it's working very well. Anne summarizes it very well. We ought to bullet point her points in case this video disappears.

[gosciu555]

and this

youtube . com / watch?v=TUfC3G-96KE

[SSSLLLAAYYEEERRRR]

Lower taxes does not equal smaller government when spending is increased. Cutting welfare does not equal smaller government when corporate subsidizes and tax breaks, corporate welfare, are increased in the name of a failed trickle-down theory. These equal big government. Reagan's brand was just corporatist instead of egalitarian. The military is the embodiment of the State's monopoly on force. Standing armies were considered the root of tyranny. It is the State's final control over the people.

[SSSLLLAAYYEEERRRR]

Reagan never submitted a balanced budget. And he cut welfare programs so he could spend more on military build up. Spending increased while taxes decreased instilling the norm of deficit spending. Not to mention he embraced the theocratic movement in the right. In reality the size of government just about doubled under Reagan. He is a textbook example of what Norton is talking about. And Bush Jr has a fair share of responsiblity for the crisis this country is in.

[danieleriskay]

Ronald Reagan was not a stereotypical neo-conservative.

[haitianmoor]

everyone need to stop complaining and do something about it!

[a1mint]

As long as people continue to see politics as a one dimensional line of values of opinions, with value X on the left and value Y on the right, then things will remain polarized and it continues to turn people against each other.

Instead, we should start thinking in more dimensional terms, with having a collection of values. We wouldn't be so darn judgmental.

[expatdk]

We shouldn't judge the neocons? they are dangerous! It's true the neocons are actually a mix of old extreme left and extreme religious right... they have drawn a bridge between the 2 craziest ideologies and have the power!

[a1mint]

Neocons / Conservatives / Republicans absolute irritate the bloody living daylights out of me as well with their shortsighted idiotic pigheaded dumb ass rhetoric. But I still wish politics was less about putting things on a one dimensional line.

I just made it worse again, because I'm angry as hell. How can this improve...

Judge them? We're forced to, because they judge us. It's THEM that start the fight.

[JohananRaatz]

"old extreme left and extreme religious right... they have drawn a bridge between the 2 craziest ideologies and have the power!"

? They are actually moderate social conservative, not extreme social conservatives. As for their influence from the left, that was extreme but I don't see the problem with what that has evolved into. There is nothing wrong with promoting freedom abroad.

[Amuck14]

So long as it looks like our model right? Freedon in America is nothing more than a slogan. You cant give away what you do not have.

[JohananRaatz]

Well yes, Western society based on enlightenment principles.

"Freedon in America is nothing more than a slogan."

That's not true. I mean there is always a tradeoff between freedom and the means to acquire it, but we have more freedoms than most, and I can cite examples even when compared to other Western societies.

"You cant give away what you do not have."

But we can and we did. Imagine what the world would be like had we not done this for Japan and Germany after WW2.

[Amuck14]

At the time of ww2 we were free, we even had a democratic republic at the time. States Rights were a real thing, and we did not live under the draconian laws of the uh hem, patriot act and the social engineering of political correctness,We defended ourselves against Japan, we defended our allies against Germany. We did not invade them to bring them into the neo con version of modernity. Whuch translates into mere market expansion. The goal is nothing short of a one world government.

[JohananRaatz]

"patriot act and the social engineering of political correctness,"

Well we would agree about political correctness, neocons hate PC.

"We did not invade them to bring them into the neo con version of modernity."

Well how we got into the position to do this is not the point, what we did after we were in this position is the point. A different set of circumstances lead to Japan and Germany and later Iraq, but the end results were the same or were supposed to be the same.

[Amuck14]

Neo Cons are first and formost a Pro Israel lobby. How much more PC can you get than that? We invaded them to change out the government, not inline with the founding values of this country. A different set of circumstances? Nice minimization, completely different. Ends justifies the mean in your mind. Yes, your a neo con.

[JohananRaatz]

"Whuch translates into mere market expansion."

Ie. economic freedom, which is a right not everyone has in other countries.

"The goal is nothing short of a one world government."

Well, I've seen things like PNAC and I think the point of these is to provide a counterbalance to institutions such as the UN. If you have group against your best interests trying to achieve world goverment you have to try and counterbalance it somehow.

[Amuck14]

really? you have economic freedom in the usa? What does that look like to you, economic freedom? Cute slogan, means nothing. And where in our founding documents and constitution are we encouraged to spread democracy? Oh wait, were told to stay out of others peoples buisness. Neo Cons are the driving force of a one world government. Their first priority is Israel. To counter balance the U.N. and PNAC, lets restore the Rupublic and kick this 5th column out.

[funkythreadz]

who cares what they're labelled? they're all assholes.

[quenuca]

@funkythreadz

neo-assholes, to be correct.

[KestrelK1]

Where are the Democrats? Why aren't they shouting Anne's insights from the rooftops?

Oh, it's because they're in bed with the neocons.

And remember, when the premise is false all else is false, too. The premise of 9/11 that the Bush admin has pushed onto the world is an abject lie and that's why everything he's done after that has utterly failed.

[getplaning]

The young George Bush once asked his father what a neoconservative was. "Do you want the long answer, or the short answer?", Said GHW Bush. Naturally, George the younger asked for the short answer. "Israel", said GHW Bush.

[ad0304s]

That kind of joke is insightful because a lot of the left-wing isolationists that hate neo-conservatives because they view it as a Jewish movement. David Brooks wrote that the "con" stands for conservative and the "neo" stands for Jew. I think you all should lose the hate and learn to love freedom. :)

[meggatonman]

getplaning said Israel, not Jew. The real insightful thing is how the right-wing thinks an attack on Israel means an attack on Judaism. I love jewish people, most are left-wing here in the UK. If he attacked Saudi Arabia, it doesn't mean he attacks all muslims or arabs.

[SunnieSam]

The left-wing is the opposite of isolationists.

[JohananRaatz]

"The left-wing is the opposite of isolationists."

Really? Then why do they continue to oppose robust internationalism? It seems like they hardly even have a foreign policy of their own but simply want the UN to run it all for them.

[bearmare]

All a neocon is someone who builds a career by courting divergent ideological interests for political gain. Cheney courts evangelists all the time, but he is not an evangelist; he does it to win their support. And Bush favourites elites because they will reward him, and he uses the funds of the State as patronage for them. And they want empire by conquest. In other words, they are no more than wannabe Caesars.

[renaldo999]

excellent definition. this should be broadcast on all the major stations. make it mandatory viewing.

[thereallurker]

Neocons = Dick Cheney, Richard Pearl, Condi Rice, William Kristol, all the people who botched the Iraq war.

[danbblau]

dick cheney is a paleoconservative. Rice is politically left. You obviously know nothing about neoconservatism.