The Conservative Movement

The Conservative Movement

At the beginning of the '90s, conservative commentators have increasingly focused on the growing fragmentation of the American political & intellectual Right. From the early postwar years, when a small band of intellectual dissidents emerged in response to the Soviet threat, to the '80s & the Reagan years, when the coalition of journalists, politicians & lobbyists known as the New Right reached its height of influence, the conservative movement has always been a complex, shifting set of ideologies & factions. In this revised, updated study, Paul Gottfried provides an insider's look at the factions & controversies, the personalities & ideologies, the rival journals & institutes. He argues that the scope of this war on the Right has been misrepresented by journalists, who've been sympathetic to the moderates & have consistently downplayed the strength & intelligence of the paleoconservatives. A striking feature of the book is a detailed, well-informed exposition of conservative foundations & think tanks--revealing who funds whom & who controls whom--information that has never before appeared in print. Gottfried discusses the implications of the '92 electoral campaign for the future of the Right: from paleocon Pat Buchanan's controversial bid for the Republican nomination to the migration of several leading neocons over to Bill Clinton's camp. Certain to spark both attention & controversy, this book is required reading for anyone who wants to understand a complex conservative landscape & its prospects.