The New Right in American Political Thought

Introduction

The “New Right” is a political, cultural, and intellectual movement that arose following the Second World War. The previous movement on the American right had been damaged by a variety of events, including the failure of President Herbert Hoover, a Progressive Republican; the subsequent popularity of President Franklin D. Roosevelt; the fading interest in American political isolation; and the desire of elites to globalize both markets and political decision making. While there were a variety of reasons and actors, especially given its ties to previous movements, the New Right arose in response to two primary causes. First, the Supreme Court’s various rulings in favor of the New Deal, especially West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish (1937) and Wickard v. Filburn (1942), which had reversed more than a century of precedents and jurisprudence regarding the ability of the federal government to expand beyond its enumerated powers. Political actors who wished to see government activity restrained could no longer necessarily rely on the Constitution’s defined limits. Second, threats posed by left-wing ideologies, both physical and philosophical, forced many intellectuals and political actors into a more active defense of the American regime and culture. Starting in the 1930s, the two political parties began to diverge on a number of key questions. At first, these were economic, but by the 1960s, they had spread to cultural issues as well. As the two parties sorted themselves, removing Progressives from the Republican Party, and Conservatives from the Democratic, these divergences grew. As this sorting continued, a variety of political actors would join the New Right in the mid-to-late 20th century. These included what, in the early 21st century, is referred to as the “Neo-Conservatives,” who reacted against the progressive changes and policies of the 1960s and 1970s—whether the expanded welfare guarantees for the poor or the feminist revolution—for failing to produce its promised results, and moreover, for its many unintended consequences. In addition to government expansion heralded by the New Deal, and “Great Society,” another mid-1960s piece of legislation, the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act, which resumed mass immigration after a thirty-year hiatus, reopened a variety of issues in American politics regarding immigration, culture, civil society, Americanization, and the underclass. As a full-fledged political and cultural movement, the New Right has produced scholarship on a variety of issues and has disagreed on some, such as immigration, foreign policy, and trade. This article seeks to introduce a scholar to the key texts and articles of the movement that have been produced both in the United States and internationally. While many of these texts play on the intellectual work of the late Enlightenment—including Adam Smith, John Locke, Frederic Bastiat, Baruch Spinoza, Edmund Burke, and others—we have attempted to stay within the bounds of the New Right, and therefore these foundational texts are excluded.

Key Foundational Texts

The New Right, as first a philosophical and then political movement, has a variety of texts that can be considered “foundational.” This category is divided into those written before the advent of the New Right, c. 1950, those written in the formative years of 1950–1980, and finally those written in the modern era.

Pre-1950

These texts, along with those late Enlightenment works not here included, would prove important, and in some cases prescient of the problems identified by the New Right when it arose in the 1950s. Many of these works would be cited by the first New Right authors as important in the formation of their political thought. Babbitt 1924 became a seminal text in the formation of the New Right due to its foresight concerning the ills of modernity. Among those concerns were the possible spread of leftist economic ideologies (Burnham 1941) and centralization of institutional functions (Hayek 1944).

Babbitt, Irving. Democracy and Leadership. London: Constable, 1924.
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A work of deep political philosophy, Babbitt’s text became a pivotal piece to the formation of the “New Right,” thanks to its prescience regarding what conservatives view as the ills of modernity. Babbitt suggests that man’s most noble characteristic is his “will to refrain,” and that as modern man expands his desires, society devolves into increasing self-indulgence and lawlessness.
Babbitt, Irving. Democracy and Leadership. London: Constable, 1924.
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Burnham, James. The Managerial Revolution. New York: John Day, 1941.
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A highly regarded text on the future of economics in the West where Burnham predicted a dangerous convergence between the various leftist economic ideologies of the time. Burnham suggested that National Socialism, Communism, and New Deal liberalism would meld into a bureaucratic “managerial’ state, dominated by a ruling class, and in fact resembling feudalism. George Orwell’s 1984 was much influenced by this text.
Burnham, James. The Managerial Revolution. New York: John Day, 1941.
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Chesterton, Gilbert K. Orthodoxy. Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library, 1908.
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In this semiautobiographical text, Chesterton discusses his belief that Christianity, regardless of whether it is true or not, is the answer to basic human needs, or as he puts it, “the answer to a riddle.”
Chesterton, Gilbert K. Orthodoxy. Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library, 1908.
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Hayek, Frederick von. The Road to Serfdom. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1944.
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In this classic text, Hayek attempted to illustrate how centralized control of the economy interferes with all aspects of society, and ultimately results in political oppression. The implication is that economic freedom is a necessary precondition for political freedom.
Hayek, Frederick von. The Road to Serfdom. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1944.
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Lewis, C. S. The Abolition of Man. New York: Macmillan, 1947.
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In this book, Lewis defended the concept of objective truth and natural law, warning against the forces of moral relativism.
Lewis, C. S. The Abolition of Man. New York: Macmillan, 1947.
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Weaver, Richard M. Ideas Have Consequences. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1948.
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For Richard Weaver, the idea that has consequences is that of relativism, the absence of belief in any source of truth outside of man. To the architects of the New Right, Weaver argued that relativism leads to social chaos, formless art, and virtueless individuals suckered by the mass media into believing that life consists only of chasing evermore creature comforts.
Weaver, Richard M. Ideas Have Consequences. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1948.
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1950–1980

By 1951, the formation of the New Right was in motion. The texts in this section are the pivotal works that inspired the reinvigoration of conservative thought and political action in the United States. Regarded as an influential text, Kirk 1953 chronicles the development of conservative political thought through its influential founders, presenting an in-depth analysis of its major beliefs. The idea of “fusionist” politics in Meyer 1962, combining traditional and libertarian conservatism, would prove influential as a broader movement in the 1980s with the election of Ronald Reagan as president.

Buckley, William. God and Man at Yale: The Superstitions of Academic Freedom. Chicago: Regnery, 1951.
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Buckley’s discussion of his undergraduate experiences at Yale, in which he attacks the entire superstructure of academia for attempting to indoctrinate students to believe in anti-individualism, to abandon their religious beliefs, and to become liberals.
Buckley, William. God and Man at Yale: The Superstitions of Academic Freedom. Chicago: Regnery, 1951.
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Burnham, James. Suicide of the West: An Essay on the Meaning and Destiny of Liberalism. New York: John Day, 1964.
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Burnham here suggests that liberalism is an ideology intent on destroying its own culture. He traces this to what he suggests is liberalism’s contempt for traditional values, institutions, and ideas. Finally, he discusses what he believes is the anti-intellectualism of liberal thought, through its often-totalitarian attempts to enforce its ideology on others.
Burnham, James. Suicide of the West: An Essay on the Meaning and Destiny of Liberalism. New York: John Day, 1964.
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Evans, M. Stanton. “The Sharon Statement.” The Heritage Foundation 11 September 1960.
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Issued in 1960, the Sharon Statement, which was formulated during the founding meeting of the organization “Young Americans for Freedom,” lays out a concise framework for the New Right as it reached into the mainstream of American political thought.
Evans, M. Stanton. “The Sharon Statement.” The Heritage Foundation 11 September 1960.
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Goldwater, Barry. The Conscience of a Conservative. Shepherdsville, KY: Victor, 1960.
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This short book, ghostwritten by Goldwater’s speechwriter, L. Brent Bozel Jr., is a concise formulation of the positions of the New Right in the early 1960s, and served to propel Mr. Goldwater into the 1964 race for the presidency.
Goldwater, Barry. The Conscience of a Conservative. Shepherdsville, KY: Victor, 1960.
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Hayek, Frederick von. The Constitution of Liberty. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1960.
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This three-part text of political philosophy serves as Hayek’s seminal work. In it he defends and promotes the cause of individual liberty and determination, and formulates a proper role for the state in society.
Hayek, Frederick von. The Constitution of Liberty. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1960.
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Kirk, Russell. The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Santayana. Chicago: H. Regnery, 1953.
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Arguably the most influential text in the formation of the New Right in American political thought. It traces the development of conservative political philosophy through its various intellectual founders, giving significant attention to each of its major beliefs. For any scholar studying the movement, this is the primary text.
Kirk, Russell. The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Santayana. Chicago: H. Regnery, 1953.
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Meyer, Frank. In Defense of Freedom: A Conservative Credo. Chicago: H. Regnery, 1962.
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This text, which sought to create what Meyer called a “fusionist” politics, combining traditional and libertarian conservatism, was a key work in the building of a broader movement that would peak with the election of Ronald Reagan as president.
Meyer, Frank. In Defense of Freedom: A Conservative Credo. Chicago: H. Regnery, 1962.
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Nisbet, Robert. The Quest for Community: A Study in the Ethics of Order and Freedom. New York: Oxford University Press, 1953.
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In The Quest for Community, Nisbet argued that the rise of the powerful modern state has eroded the sources of community, and that alienation inevitably resulted. He warned that as the traditional ties that bind fell away or were destroyed, the human impulse toward community led people to turn even more to the government itself, portending the return of totalitarianism and feudalism.
Nisbet, Robert. The Quest for Community: A Study in the Ethics of Order and Freedom. New York: Oxford University Press, 1953.
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Reagan, Ronald. “A Time for Choosing.” Speech presented during the 1964 US presidential election campaign, 27 October 1964.
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This televised advertisement for the Goldwater campaign in 1964 served as the coming out of Ronald Reagan, in which he attacked the tropes of modern liberalism. Many in the New Right highlight the speech because, in their view, the problems identified have grown exponentially in the fifty years since it was given.
Reagan, Ronald. “A Time for Choosing.” Speech presented during the 1964 US presidential election campaign, 27 October 1964.
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Rossiter, Clinton. Conservatism in America. New York: Knopf, 1955.
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A major work that sought to defend American classical liberalism and point out what the author viewed as the flaws in statist ideologies.
Rossiter, Clinton. Conservatism in America. New York: Knopf, 1955.
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Schlafly, Phyllis. A Choice Not an Echo. Alton, IL: Pere Marquette, 1964.
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This text identified and attacked the moderate Republican kingmakers who stopped the nomination of Robert Taft and attempted to stop Barry Goldwater. Distributed by the Goldwater campaign in 1964, it became a defining text of the movement.
Schlafly, Phyllis. A Choice Not an Echo. Alton, IL: Pere Marquette, 1964.
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Voegelin, Eric. The New Science of Politics: An Introduction. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1953.
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In this text Voegelin describes, among other things, a methodology for studying the political experiences of peoples. He makes the case for a connection between virtually every revolutionary ideology the West has ever known. The work is nothing less than an attempt to ground human political life in an existential philosophy and to construct from that understanding a method for rigorously and accurately studying those patterns of life.
Voegelin, Eric. The New Science of Politics: An Introduction. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1953.
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1980–Present

Following the triumph of the New Right with the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, the movement’s philosophical bent was turned toward ruling. The following key texts written after this victory often focus on the inability of the New Right, from the view of the authors, to change the course of American history in any fundamental way. Others refine the concepts introduced in the first few decades of the movement. Bork 1996 and Sowell 2009 chronicle how modern liberalism has corrupted American culture through its statist ideology. Compassionate conservatism (Will 1983) is presented as a better alternative of institutional and societal reform.

Bork, Robert. Slouching towards Gomorrah: Modern Liberalism and American Decline. New York: Regan, 1996.
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Bork, a former federal judge once considered for the Supreme Court, chronicles how modern liberalism has corrupted American culture and set itself up as a new religion for its adherents. He also discusses how, in search for cures to the various ills that liberalism has prescribed, those on the left today have all arrived at necessarily statist goals.
Bork, Robert. Slouching towards Gomorrah: Modern Liberalism and American Decline. New York: Regan, 1996.
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Francis, Samuel. Beautiful Losers: Essays on the Failure of American Conservatism. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1994.
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A collection of essays from the former Washington Post columnist that deal with the ongoing quarrel between traditionalist and neoconservatives. Francis warns that members of the New Right “must recognize that its values and goals lie outside and against the establishment and that its natural allies are not in Manhattan, Yale and Washington but in the increasingly alienated and threatened strata of Middle America” (p. 17).
Francis, Samuel. Beautiful Losers: Essays on the Failure of American Conservatism. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1994.
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Fukuyama, Francis. The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011.
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Fukuyama here crystallizes a key component of the philosophy of the New Right regarding the importance of institutions and culture in the success or failure of societies in the modern world.
Fukuyama, Francis. The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011.
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Kirk, Russell. The Politics of Prudence. Bryn Mawr, PA: Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 1993.
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Formed out of a series of lectures that Mr. Kirk gave at the Heritage Foundation in the twilight of his life, it discusses at length the philosophical underpinnings of conservatism, while lamenting what Kirk viewed as the disintegration of the American nation.
Kirk, Russell. The Politics of Prudence. Bryn Mawr, PA: Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 1993.
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MacIntyre, Alasdair. After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1981.
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MacIntyre here examines the historical and conceptual roots of the idea of virtue, diagnoses the reasons for its absence in personal and public life, and offers a tentative proposal for its recovery. Perhaps most striking is his chapter regarding the price we as individuals pay when we lack virtue.
MacIntyre, Alasdair. After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1981.
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Sowell, Thomas. Intellectuals and Society. New York: Basic Books, 2009.
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In Intellectuals and Society, Thomas Sowell not only examines the track record of intellectuals in the things they have advocated but also analyzes the incentives and constraints under which their views and visions have emerged. Ultimately, he shows how often intellectuals have been proved not only wrong, but grossly and disastrously wrong in their prescriptions for the ills of society.
Sowell, Thomas. Intellectuals and Society. New York: Basic Books, 2009.
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Will, George. Statecraft as Soulcraft. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1983.
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In this book, Will makes the case for a conservatism that cares about the values and education of its citizens. He argues for a government that is involved with more than just economic concerns.
Will, George. Statecraft as Soulcraft. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1983.
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Culture

Intellectuals of the New Right have written extensively on cultural concerns from the very inception of the movement. Most often these take the form of discussions regarding civil society; the meaning and value of religious belief, marriage, and race/ethnicity; and the effects of the welfare state. The texts in this section attempt to guide a scholar through the various works from the New Right that focus on culture.

Civil Society

The New Right echoes Alexis de Tocqueville’s observation that a well-functioning democracy is dependent on good mores, norms, and habits—which are inculcated and nurtured through civil institutions and engagement. This notion of the importance of a well-functioning civil society is in opposition to the continental and progressive idea that government bureaucrats can sufficiently direct society and build connections among the populace; civil society in fact needs the least amount of government interference as possible in order to flourish. Among the texts that most reflect on the importance of civil society are Edward Banfield’s work in Southern Italy (see Banfield 1958) and Daniel Bell’s article on the links between civil society and American exceptionalism (see Bell 1989). In more current scholarship, there is disagreement about the state of civil society in America today. Putnam 2001 warns that it has weakened significantly since its heyday in the 1950s, as additionally chronicled in Dalrymple 2005. In opposition, scholars like Arthur Brooks make the argument that civil engagement and institutions are indeed still strong in America today, at least among some populations (Brooks 2006).

Banfield, Edward C. The Moral Basis of a Backward Society. Glencoe, IL: Free Press, 1958.
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An examination of the effects of the mafia on Italian society, this work highlights the importance of social capital for a well-functioning polity.
Banfield, Edward C. The Moral Basis of a Backward Society. Glencoe, IL: Free Press, 1958.
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Banfield, Edward C. The Unheavenly Society. Boston: Little Brown, 1970.
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Banfield discusses the nature and future of the urban crisis, focusing on a class analysis and concluding that most conventional responses to the problem would have little effect and could even make things worse.
Banfield, Edward C. The Unheavenly Society. Boston: Little Brown, 1970.
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Bell, Daniel. “American Exceptionalism Revisited: The Role of Civil Society.” The Public Interest 95 (Spring 1989): 38–56.
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An intellectual examination into American exceptionalism, claims of American decline, and the role of civil society in limiting the state and enhancing individual and communal existence.
Bell, Daniel. “American Exceptionalism Revisited: The Role of Civil Society.” The Public Interest 95 (Spring 1989): 38–56.
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Berger, Peter, and Richard Neuhaus. To Empower People: From State to Civil Society. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute, 1996.
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This book contains Berger and Neuhaus’s 1977 essay that examines the importance of such institutions as family, church, and neighborhood to a well-functioning civil society; eleven essays by social scientists evaluating the status of these institutions in the decades since the essay’s original publication; and responses by the authors.
Berger, Peter, and Richard Neuhaus. To Empower People: From State to Civil Society. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute, 1996.
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Brooks, Arthur C. Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth about Compassionate Conservatism. New York: Basic Books, 2006.
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Americans give more charity than do citizens of other modern states. In this work, Brooks examines trends in charitable giving, and explains that the data show correlations between charitable giving and such factors as religiosity, small-government principles, and self-identification as a political conservative.
Brooks, Arthur C. Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth about Compassionate Conservatism. New York: Basic Books, 2006.
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Dalrymple, Theodore. Our Culture, What’s Left of It: The Mandarins and the Masses. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2005.
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Dalrymple, a British psychiatrist and social commentator, offers twenty-six essays that examine various problematic developments of modern culture and society, including the breakdown of the modern family, prolonged adolescence, and widespread secularization. Dalrymple focuses on British society, but his insights are widely applicable in the modern West.
Dalrymple, Theodore. Our Culture, What’s Left of It: The Mandarins and the Masses. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2005.
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Putnam, Robert D. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.
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The thesis of Bowling Alone is that Americans are growing increasingly isolated, and that the American civic life lauded by Tocqueville is far weaker today than it was historically or, especially, in the middle of the 20th century. Putnam identifies such culprits as television, the Internet, and an increasingly mobile society to explain the changes. Putnam also found that, among both in and out groups, diversity had a negative impact on social trust, civic institutions, and public participation.
Putnam, Robert D. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.
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Religion

Religion is one of the civil institutions that both Tocqueville and the New Right (Bonhoeffer 1955, Lewis 1956) point to as having the potential to elevate society by inculcating virtue and through forming bonds among citizens. As the prevalence of religious adherence declines in the United States, the New Right has worked to defend religion in general, and Christianity in particular, on a variety of cultural, social, communitarian, and moral grounds (Kristol 2011, Putnam and Campbell 2010, Sobran 2003, and Sobran 2004).

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Ethics. New York: Macmillan, 1955.
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The Christian does not live in a vacuum, says the author, but in a world of government, politics, labor, and marriage. Hence, Christian ethics cannot exist in a vacuum; what the Christian needs, claims Dietrich Bonhoeffer, is instruction on how to live in an immoral world.
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Ethics. New York: Macmillan, 1955.
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Dochuk, Darren. From Bible Belt to Sunbelt: Plain-Folk Religion, Grassroots Politics, and the Rise of Evangelical Conservatism. New York: W. W. Norton, 2012.
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Dochuk tells the dramatic and largely unknown story of “plain-folk” religious migrants: hardworking men and women from Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas who fled the Depression and came to California for military jobs during World War II. Investigating this pious community at a grassroots level, Dochuk uses the stories of religious leaders, including Billy Graham, as well as many lesser-known figures to explain how evangelicals organized a powerful political machine.
Dochuk, Darren. From Bible Belt to Sunbelt: Plain-Folk Religion, Grassroots Politics, and the Rise of Evangelical Conservatism. New York: W. W. Norton, 2012.
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Kristol, Irving. “Taking Religious Conservatives Seriously.” The Neoconservative Persuasion. Edited by Gertrude Himmelfarb, 292–295. New York: Basic Books, 2011.
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In this essay Kristol points out the affinity between neoconservatives and religious conservatives, and explains that simply because of their numbers, religious conservatives are going to be an important force and influence on conservatism in America.
Kristol, Irving. “Taking Religious Conservatives Seriously.” The Neoconservative Persuasion. Edited by Gertrude Himmelfarb, 292–295. New York: Basic Books, 2011.
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Lewis, C. S. Mere Christianity. London: Collins, 1956.
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Mere Christianity is a book that sprung out of a series of wartime lectures on Christianity that Oxford professor C. S. Lewis gave. In it, he builds a picture of Christianity as not a religion of blind faith, but of free will, justice, law, and the grace of God.
Lewis, C. S. Mere Christianity. London: Collins, 1956.
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Moreton, Bethany. To Serve God and Wal-Mart: The Making of Christian Free Enterprise. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010.
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Moreton’s biography on Wal-Mart shows how a Christian probusiness movement grew from the bottom up as well as the top down, through an economic vision sanctifying corporate globalization.
Moreton, Bethany. To Serve God and Wal-Mart: The Making of Christian Free Enterprise. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010.
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Podhoertz, Norman. Why Are Jews Liberal? New York: Vintage, 2010.
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Podhoertz argues that, since the Six Day War of 1967, Jewish allegiance to the left no longer makes sense.
Podhoertz, Norman. Why Are Jews Liberal? New York: Vintage, 2010.
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Putnam, Robert D., and David E. Campbell. American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010.
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This book examines the state of religion in America today, focusing on the dynamic between mainstream and evangelical Protestant sects, and how each has responded to the 1960s cultural revolution and, in turn, their relative strengths in society today. The book also discusses religious tolerance and interfaith interaction.
Putnam, Robert D., and David E. Campbell. American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010.
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Sobran, Joe. “Is the Pope Square?” Sobran’s, 5 August 2003.
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In this article, columnist Sobran defends the institution of marriage and the relationship in which government does not have the authority to alter such an institution.
Sobran, Joe. “Is the Pope Square?” Sobran’s, 5 August 2003.
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Sobran, Joe. “How Tyranny Came to America.” Sobran’s (2004).
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In this, Sobran’s premiere essay, he traces how liberalism has infiltrated the educational and civic institutions of the United States, spreading propaganda and diverting children from the culture of their ancestors. He discusses at length the consequences to a free society of what he terms this “tyrannical indoctrination.”
Sobran, Joe. “How Tyranny Came to America.” Sobran’s (2004).
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Sex, Marriage, and Family

A key feature of the New Right has been the rejection of the sexual revolution of the 1960s (Gilder 1973, Gilder 1986, Gottfried 2001). Among some of the most significant consequences of this revolution include the culture of sexual promiscuity that is arguably more harmful than it is beneficial to women (Sommers 1994, Waite and Gallagher 2000); the divorce rate that rose dramatically starting in the 1960s, until it appeared to level off in the 1990s; the delay of marriage among the most educated of Americans (Kass 1997, Wilson 2002); the rise in cohabitation among both the poor and the educated; and the growing numbers and percentage of children born out of wedlock, especially among the poor (Hymowitz 2006). Many New Right intellectuals fear America might be going the way of Western Europe, where marriage and what constitutes a family have been altered dramatically from the traditional two-parent household. The New Right discusses at length the variety of consequences—economic, cultural, and otherwise—that it suggests these alternative familial formulations have.

Gilder, George. Sexual Suicide. New York: Quadrangle, 1973.
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Gilder examines the deleterious effects of the sexual revolution on the family—in terms of the ability of the new mores to incentivize men to marriage—and the reverberations of these effects throughout society, for example, the social consequences of large numbers of children being raised without fathers at home.
Gilder, George. Sexual Suicide. New York: Quadrangle, 1973.
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Gilder, George. Men and Marriage. Gretna, LA: Pelican, 1986.
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Gilder further examines the relationship between men and marriage, and the crucial importance for civilization of social institutions and norms that encourage the subordination of male sexual impulses to long-term goals, like raising and providing for children.
Gilder, George. Men and Marriage. Gretna, LA: Pelican, 1986.
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Gottfried, Paul. “The Trouble with Feminism.” LewRockwell.com, 21 April 2001.
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In the essay, Gottfried decries the alteration of the status of men and women in American society in the late 20th century. The article is best described in the quotation, “The change of women’s role, from being primarily mothers to self-defined professionals, has been a social disaster that continues to take its toll on the family. Rather than being the culminating point of Western Christian gentility, the movement of women into commerce and politics may be seen as exactly the opposite, the descent by increasingly disconnected individuals into social chaos.”
Gottfried, Paul. “The Trouble with Feminism.” LewRockwell.com, 21 April 2001.
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Hymowitz, Kay S. Marriage and Caste in America: Separate and Unequal Families in a Post-Marital Age. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2006.
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Hymowitz examines the effects on the family over the decades since the cultural revolution of the 1960s, and suggests that marriage and family have been harmed throughout society, but disproportionately among the poor and African Americans.
Hymowitz, Kay S. Marriage and Caste in America: Separate and Unequal Families in a Post-Marital Age. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2006.
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Kass, Leon R. “The End of Courtship.” The Public Interest 126 (Winter 1997): 39–63.
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Kass examines the demise of courtship, and what this means for relations between the sexes, and thus for marriage and family. His focus concerns the phenomenon of male and female erotic yearnings, the role of love and procreation in human life, and what it means for procreation to be fundamentally separated from sex through artificial means.
Kass, Leon R. “The End of Courtship.” The Public Interest 126 (Winter 1997): 39–63.
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Sommers, Christina Hoff. Who Stole Feminism? How Women Have Betrayed Women. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.
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Sommers warns against developments in feminist thought that promote the argument that men and traditional social arrangements aim to subordinate and oppress women. In addition to interfering with open inquiry in the academy, such a feminist agenda is at odds with the values and desires of American women.
Sommers, Christina Hoff. Who Stole Feminism? How Women Have Betrayed Women. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.
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Sommers, Christina Hoff. The War against Boys: How Misguided Feminism is Harming Our Young Men. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.
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Sommers here argues that the focus on girls’ empowerment over the past several decades has led to the neglect of boys, and by several metrics—especially educational attainment—boys are indeed being harmed and need help other than the type that has been promoted with the intention of helping women.
Sommers, Christina Hoff. The War against Boys: How Misguided Feminism is Harming Our Young Men. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.
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Waite, Linda J., and Maggie Gallagher. The Case for Marriage. New York: Doubleday, 2000.
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A social scientific examination into the effects of marriage on individual well-being, this work argues against conventional thinking of the past few decades and maintains that—on multiple fronts, from happiness to health and longevity—married women and men are better off than are their single or divorced counterparts.
Waite, Linda J., and Maggie Gallagher. The Case for Marriage. New York: Doubleday, 2000.
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Wilson, James Q. The Marriage Problem. New York: Harper Collins, 2002.
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Wilson attributes the weakened state of marriage today—for example, the high divorce rates, increasing numbers of children born out of wedlock, and the delay or forgoing of marriage altogether by many segments of society—not to the 1960s, as do many conservatives, but to the Enlightenment and individualism more generally.
Wilson, James Q. The Marriage Problem. New York: Harper Collins, 2002.
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The Welfare State and Inequality

Neoconservativism arose among public intellectuals formerly on the left, led by Irving Kristol and Daniel Bell, upon the recognition that progressive welfare entitlement policies were failing to produce their promised results, and moreover, were resulting in many unintended and undesirable consequences. Among some of the most significant concerns include the entrenchment of the poor (Dalrymple 2001) and the related problem of the growing numbers and percentage of children born out of wedlock among this class (Magnet 1993). Whereas historically immigrants who move to the United States have been able to take advantage of the potential for social mobility and opportunity for which America has always been proud, these scholars suggest there is an underclass in America that has not been able to break the cycle of poverty. Murray 1984 was the first significant and systematic examination of the failure of the Great Society programs. This work arguably was the first step in the path toward the welfare reform of 1996, which aimed to change some of welfare’s perverse incentives, such as those that discouraged work and marriage. Increasingly, there have been emphases on questions of culture and on the recognition that improvement and change are dependent on forces like mores, norms, and habits. Herein fits the New Right’s concerns for community, Civil Society, and Religion, as noted.

Dalrymple, Theodore. Life at the Bottom: The Worldview That Makes the Underclass. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2001.
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In a number of essays, Dalrymple examines the attitudes and culture of the underclass, which work to promote the entrenchment of this class. A key theme touched on is what the author views as a lack of personal responsibility among those who are stuck in poverty.
Dalrymple, Theodore. Life at the Bottom: The Worldview That Makes the Underclass. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2001.
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Eberstadt, Nicholas. The Poverty of the Poverty Rate: Measure and Mis-measure of Material Deprivation in Modern America. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute, 2008.
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Eberstadt argues that the official poverty rate measure, used as a government measure since 1965, is a flawed metric for capturing what it promises: information on absolute levels of material deprivation. By only taking income into account, the metric ignores the widening disparity between reported income and consumption.
Eberstadt, Nicholas. The Poverty of the Poverty Rate: Measure and Mis-measure of Material Deprivation in Modern America. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute, 2008.
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Himmelfarb, Gertrude. The Idea of Poverty. New York: Random House, 1983.
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Himmelfarb here examines reactions to poverty in Victorian England, 1750–1850. She considers the views of such thinkers as Adam Smith, Thomas Paine, Edmund Burke, Charles Dickens, and Friedrich Engels.
Himmelfarb, Gertrude. The Idea of Poverty. New York: Random House, 1983.
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Magnet, Myron. The Dream and the Nightmare: The Sixties’ Legacy to the Underclass. New York: William Morrow, 1993.
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Whereas Murray’s Losing Ground focuses on the perverse economic incentives of the Great Society programs to explain the social situation of America’s underclass, Magnet argues for the importance of culture as an explanation. He attributes changed attitudes toward work and personal responsibility among the poor to the elite counterculture of the 1960s.
Magnet, Myron. The Dream and the Nightmare: The Sixties’ Legacy to the Underclass. New York: William Morrow, 1993.
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Murray, Charles A. Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950–1980. New York: Basic Books, 1984.
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In this seminal work that began laying the ground for the welfare reform of 1996, Murray examines the state of the underclass on a number of fronts, and he argues that their situation has only gotten worse since the onset of the Great Society, not better. He identifies the policies’ perverse incentives as exacerbating the problem rather than helping to solve it.
Murray, Charles A. Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950–1980. New York: Basic Books, 1984.
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Murray, Charles A. In Our Hands: A Plan to Replace the Welfare State. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute, 2006.
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Murray identifies key features necessary for a satisfying life—such as family, community, and work—and recommends a restructuring of government welfare policies that have as goals the promotion of these ends.
Murray, Charles A. In Our Hands: A Plan to Replace the Welfare State. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute, 2006.
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Murray, Charles A. Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960–2010. New York: Crown Forum, 2012.
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Murray examines the growing divide between the educated elite and the working class. On matters such as marriage, family, and religiosity, the elite are living better than they preach, while the working-class poor are embodying those values that have been publicly espoused since the 1960s, resulting in an alienating individuality and disturbing social trends.
Murray, Charles A. Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960–2010. New York: Crown Forum, 2012.
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Murray, Charles A., and Richard J. Herrnstein. The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life. New York: Free Press, 1994.
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The central argument of this book is that intelligence is a better predictor of such matters as income, job performance, and chance of unwanted pregnancy than are such factors as parental socioeconomic status or education level. The discussion of racial differences prompted much controversy among those on the left. The authors warn about a growing divide between the intellectual elite and those of average or below-average intelligence.
Murray, Charles A., and Richard J. Herrnstein. The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life. New York: Free Press, 1994.
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Williams, Walter E. Race and Economics: How Much Can Be Blamed on Discrimination? Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution, 2011.
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Williams applies an economic analysis to the problems black Americans have faced in the past and still face in the present, and argues that free-market resource allocation, as opposed to political allocation, is in the best interests of minorities.
Williams, Walter E. Race and Economics: How Much Can Be Blamed on Discrimination? Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution, 2011.
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Race

Much of New Right thinking on race is connected with the thinking on the welfare state; the black community is thought to have suffered the most from the original incentives that financially rewarded single mothers, thereby discouraging marriage, not to mention relinquishing men from their responsibility to the children they fathered (Moynihan 1965). A related topic involving race is that of affirmative action and the question of whether nonwhite individuals should be held to different standards (Sowell 1983, Sowell 1984, Sowell 2004). Thinkers on the right of all races generally argue that affirmative action policies—whether necessarily, or simply because of the way they have been implemented—hurt black individuals and the black community more than they help (Steele 1998, Steele 2006, Thernstrom 2009, Thernstrom and Thernstrom 2002). Thomas Sowell, for example, argues that it is racist to hold individuals of color to a different standard than that to which other individuals are held, and moreover, that different standards merely work to keep individuals from realizing their full potential (Sowell 1983). New Right thinkers generally also argue that by stressing factors of race, such policies merely help to maintain, and even create new, racial tensions and divisions in the country, thereby impeding a full healing from America’s slavery and Jim Crow past.

Dillard, Angela. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner Now? Multicultural Conservatism in America. New York: New York University Press, 2002.
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Dillard offers the first comparative analysis of a conservatism that in the early 21st century cuts across the boundaries of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality.
Dillard, Angela. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner Now? Multicultural Conservatism in America. New York: New York University Press, 2002.
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McWhorter, John. Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America. New York: Free Press, 2000.
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McWhorter explores a provocative thesis: racism’s ugliest legacy is black America’s defeatism. The three components of analysis include the cult of victimology, separatism, and anti-intellectualism.
McWhorter, John. Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America. New York: Free Press, 2000.
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Moynihan, Daniel Patrick. The Negro Family: The Case for National Action. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1965.
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This influential report argues that welfare did not alleviate the problems of poverty because it did not address its root causes, and that the black poor was suffering most of all from the breakdown of the family. He suggested that more education and vocational training could help empower this population and that public policy should encourage two-parent families.
Moynihan, Daniel Patrick. The Negro Family: The Case for National Action. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1965.
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Sowell Thomas. The Economics and Politics of Race: An International Perspective. New York: W. Morrow, 1983.
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Sowell examines the effects of prejudice on the position of different groups in society. He argues that internal values are what account for success, not the attitude of external society. Policies like affirmative action are thus irrelevant at best and have the potential to harm the populations they aim to help.
Sowell Thomas. The Economics and Politics of Race: An International Perspective. New York: W. Morrow, 1983.
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Sowell, Thomas. Civil Rights: Rhetoric or Reality? New York: W. Morrow, 1984.
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Aided by his empirical examination, Sowell continues making the argument that culture plays the significant role in accounting for differences between groups, rather than either discrimination or inherent inferiority of some groups.
Sowell, Thomas. Civil Rights: Rhetoric or Reality? New York: W. Morrow, 1984.
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Sowell, Thomas. Affirmative Action around the World: An Empirical Study. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2004.
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Sowell examines the effects of affirmative action policies in America and abroad; he argues that they have not produced their desired effects and have often resulted in just the opposite.
Sowell, Thomas. Affirmative Action around the World: An Empirical Study. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2004.
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Steele, Shelby. A Dream Deferred: The Second Betrayal of Black Freedom in America. New York: Harper Collins, 1998.
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Steele criticizes the political correctness that governs discussions of race in society, arguing that its rhetoric and euphemisms simply obfuscate matters, preventing an honest and helpful discussion of important issues.
Steele, Shelby. A Dream Deferred: The Second Betrayal of Black Freedom in America. New York: Harper Collins, 1998.
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Steele, Shelby. White Guilt: How Blacks and Whites Together Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Era. New York: Harper Collins, 2006.
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Steele argues the civil rights era has not benefited the black community, and calls for the promotion of a culture of individual responsibility.
Steele, Shelby. White Guilt: How Blacks and Whites Together Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Era. New York: Harper Collins, 2006.
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Thernstrom, Abigail. Voting Rights—and Wrongs: The Elusive Quest for Racially Fair Elections. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute, 2009.
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This work analyzes the history of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and its eventual goal of proportional racial representation. Thernstrom examines the negative consequences this goal has had for the black community’s participation in politics, as well as for American politics as a whole. She argues for radically revising the law.
Thernstrom, Abigail. Voting Rights—and Wrongs: The Elusive Quest for Racially Fair Elections. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute, 2009.
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Thernstrom, Abigail, and Stephen Thernstrom, eds. Beyond the Color Line: New Perspectives on Race and Ethnicity in America. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution, 2002.
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This book is comprised of essays by various experts and examines the latest data on such matters as residential segregation; the black family; black churches; crime; economic discrimination; integration in education; affirmative action; and the growing Hispanic population, and the backlash it has prompted.
Thernstrom, Abigail, and Stephen Thernstrom, eds. Beyond the Color Line: New Perspectives on Race and Ethnicity in America. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution, 2002.
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Wortham, Anne. The Other Side of Racism: A Philosophical Study of Black Race Consciousness. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press, 1981.
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Using the principles of individualism defined in Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism, Wortham offers a provocative analysis of ethno-race consciousness.
Wortham, Anne. The Other Side of Racism: A Philosophical Study of Black Race Consciousness. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press, 1981.
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Constitutional Thought

The New Right, with its basis in political philosophy (Finnis 1980, Kirk 1990), defense of the rights enshrined in the Constitution (Bork 1990, Calabresi 2007), and reaction to the Supreme Court cases that expanded the range of actions available to the federal government, has always been involved in studying constitutional thought.

Bork, Robert H. “Neutral Principles and Some First Amendment Problems.” Indiana Law Journal Supplement 47 (1971): 1.
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Judge Bork attempts to establish the necessity for theory in constitutional law and to take the argument of how constitutional doctrine should be evolved by courts a step or two further. The first section centers upon the implications of Professor Wechsler’s concept of “neutral principles,” and the second attempts to apply those implications to some important and much-debated problems in the interpretation of the First Amendment.
Bork, Robert H. “Neutral Principles and Some First Amendment Problems.” Indiana Law Journal Supplement 47 (1971): 1.
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Bork, Robert H. The Tempting of America: The Political Seduction of the Law. New York: Free Press, 1990.
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Judge Bork traces many movements of the Supreme Court from its beginning; through the New Deal; and into the Warren, Burger, and Rehnquist courts, focusing on the slow slide away from the original understanding the framers intended. He then devotes several chapters to objections to original understanding and various alternative constructions.
Bork, Robert H. The Tempting of America: The Political Seduction of the Law. New York: Free Press, 1990.
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Calabresi, Steven G., ed. Originalism: A Quarter-Century of Debate. Washington, DC: Regnery, 2007.
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This series of essays by luminaries of the New Right attempts to dissect the conservative constitutionalist revival in the late 20th century, and is an excellent source of information on this intellectual movement.
Calabresi, Steven G., ed. Originalism: A Quarter-Century of Debate. Washington, DC: Regnery, 2007.
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Finnis, John. Natural Law and Natural Rights. Oxford: Clarendon, 1980.
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This text is a wide-ranging treatment of ethical and political theory aimed at supporting a broadly natural law conception of the foundations of law.
Finnis, John. Natural Law and Natural Rights. Oxford: Clarendon, 1980.
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Kirk, Russell. The Conservative Constitution. Washington, DC: Regnery Gateway, 1990.
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In this text Kirk explores the influences of the constitution, as well as the different routes that the American and French Revolutions took.
Kirk, Russell. The Conservative Constitution. Washington, DC: Regnery Gateway, 1990.
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Williams, Walter E. More Liberty Means Less Government: Our Founders Knew This Well. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution, 1999.
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In this collection of essays, Williams analyzes personal liberty and the principles laid out in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution.
Williams, Walter E. More Liberty Means Less Government: Our Founders Knew This Well. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution, 1999.
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Foreign Policy

Foreign policy among the New Right, united during the Cold War behind the idea that socialism is antithetical to the functioning of a free and prospering society, can in the early 21st century be divided into two camps: liberal internationalists and noninterventionists. These divisions were submerged during the Cold War but have risen anew in the modern era. This section attempts to provide the works that shaped the minds and philosophies of generations of Americans, first through a look at Cold War texts and then modern examples.

Anticommunism

The various proponents of a new conservative philosophical tradition in the United States in the mid-20th century were generally united behind a strong anticommunist stance. Key texts in the first decade include Burnham 1953, Crossman and Koestler 1950, Rossiter 1948, and Chambers 1952. During the Cold War itself, texts such as Solzhenitsyn 1974, Gulag Archipelago, served to reinforce these beliefs, while an essay defending General Pinochet’s regime (see Kirkpatrick 1979) is a fundamental text on both anticommunism and the creation of civil societies. Following the fall of the Soviet Union, several texts were published that further examined the role of American spies and agents who worked to undermine the position of the United States (Billingsley 1998, Murphy and Kramer 1999, Collier and Horowitz 1991).

Billingsley, Kenneth Lloyd. Hollywood Party: How Communism Seduced the American Film Industry in the 1930s and 1940s. Rocklin, CA: Prima, 1998.
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Mr. Billingsley corrects the record regarding the infiltration of communism into the film industry, and the subsequent “black-listing” of propagandist filmmakers.
Billingsley, Kenneth Lloyd. Hollywood Party: How Communism Seduced the American Film Industry in the 1930s and 1940s. Rocklin, CA: Prima, 1998.
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Burnham, James. Containment or Liberation? An Inquiry into the Aims of United States Foreign Policy. New York: John Day, 1953.
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Burnham here outlines an American foreign policy, given the Cold War and the threat of the Soviet Union. He stresses a defense of American values and that the economic threat posed by a Soviet-dominated Europe necessitates maintenance of a standing army.
Burnham, James. Containment or Liberation? An Inquiry into the Aims of United States Foreign Policy. New York: John Day, 1953.
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Chambers, Whittaker. Witness. New York: Random House, 1952.
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A blockbuster political biography upon release, this book recounts how Chambers was the main witness against Alger Hiss, one of the main architects of the United Nations, and who was later revealed to be a Soviet spy.
Chambers, Whittaker. Witness. New York: Random House, 1952.
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Collier, Peter, and David Horowitz. Deconstructing the Left: From Vietnam to the Persian Gulf. Los Angeles: Second Thoughts, 1991.
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In this book, the authors attempt to lay out how communism continues to be a force in American political life, especially in academia, despite its failure in the Soviet Union.
Collier, Peter, and David Horowitz. Deconstructing the Left: From Vietnam to the Persian Gulf. Los Angeles: Second Thoughts, 1991.
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Crossman, Richard H. S., and Arthur Koestler. Communism: The God That Failed. New York: Harper, 1950.
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This book, which is a series of six studies of Communist governments, shows in detail just how deadly and anti-intellectual socialism and other left-wing ideologies are.
Crossman, Richard H. S., and Arthur Koestler. Communism: The God That Failed. New York: Harper, 1950.
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Kirkpatrick, Jeanne. “Dictatorships and Double-Standards.” Commentary, 1 November 1979.
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This seminal article details how the left has removed distinctions between authoritarian and totalitarian regimes. Her main thesis revolves around how right-leaning dictators such as Pinochet facilitate economic, civic, institutional, and social progress, leading to a more free society in the future. She contrasts this with leftist dictatorships, in which social progress is retarded.
Kirkpatrick, Jeanne. “Dictatorships and Double-Standards.” Commentary, 1 November 1979.
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Murphy, Jonathan, and Mark Kramer, trans. The Black Book of Communism, Crimes, Terror, Repression. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999.
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This book details the crimes of Communist regimes in the 20th century, showing in great detail the hypocrisy of their claims at improving the fate of their citizens.
Murphy, Jonathan, and Mark Kramer, trans. The Black Book of Communism, Crimes, Terror, Repression. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999.
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Rossiter, Clinton. Constitutional Dictatorship: Crisis Government in the Modern Democracies. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1948.
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This text became an important one nearly fifty years after its publication, due to Rossiter’s discussion of how political regimes will, when desiring to maintain their power, lurch from one crisis to another.
Rossiter, Clinton. Constitutional Dictatorship: Crisis Government in the Modern Democracies. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1948.
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Solzhenitsyn, Alexandr. The Gulag Archipelago, 1918–1956. New York: Harper & Row, 1974.
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This text from a Soviet refugee makes clear the crimes of the Soviet regime, as well as an autobiographical look at the true tyranny of a statist regime.
Solzhenitsyn, Alexandr. The Gulag Archipelago, 1918–1956. New York: Harper & Row, 1974.
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Welch, Robert. The Blue Book of the John Birch Society. Boston: Western Islands, 1961.
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Published in 1961, this is a codification of the conference speeches of Robert Welch during the meeting in 1958 in which the John Birch Society was founded. Contains discussions of anticommunism and a complex defense of the American culture, free markets, property rights, and the Constitution.
Welch, Robert. The Blue Book of the John Birch Society. Boston: Western Islands, 1961.
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Liberal Internationalists, 1991–2015

In the post-Soviet era, Liberal internationalists, allied with proponents of a large military-industrial complex, suggest that America should have a major role in the internal policies of other nations (Kagan and Kristol 2000, Kagan 2003, Stelzer 2004). They argue that in order to ensure market access, protection from terrorism, good relations, and prevention of a multipolar power struggle, certain American values should be incorporated into foreign societies at any opportunity (Muravchik 2003 and Muravchik 2007).

Kagan, Robert. Of Paradise and Power: America and Europe in the New World Order. New York: Knopf, 2003.
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Kagan attributes the differences between America’s approach to foreign policy from those of European states to the significant difference between America’s power and capabilities, and those of the others.
Kagan, Robert. Of Paradise and Power: America and Europe in the New World Order. New York: Knopf, 2003.
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Kagan, Robert, and William Kristol, eds. Present Dangers: Crisis and Opportunity in American Foreign and Defense Policy. San Francisco: Encounter, 2000.
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A book of essays by the likes of Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle, Present Dangers examines early-21st-century threats to America’s national security and makes the case for taking important steps to prepare for likely crises ahead. Among other things addressed are questions of which nations should be America’s partners in the 21st century.
Kagan, Robert, and William Kristol, eds. Present Dangers: Crisis and Opportunity in American Foreign and Defense Policy. San Francisco: Encounter, 2000.
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Muravchik, Joshua. “The Neo-conservative Cabal.” Commentary, 1 September 2003.
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Muravchik examines the claims made about neoconservatism, and its role in the Bush administration and in the war in Iraq.
Muravchik, Joshua. “The Neo-conservative Cabal.” Commentary, 1 September 2003.
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Muravchik, Joshua. “The Past, Present, and Future of Neo-conservatism.” Commentary, 1 October 2007.
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Muravchik examines the status of the neoconservative movement in light of several difficult years of war in the Middle East.
Muravchik, Joshua. “The Past, Present, and Future of Neo-conservatism.” Commentary, 1 October 2007.
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Stelzer, Irwin, ed. The Neocon Reader. New York: Grove, 2004.
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A book of essays by such figures as Margaret Thatcher, George F. Will, and Condoleezza Rice on neoconservatism, most notably on matters of foreign policy.
Stelzer, Irwin, ed. The Neocon Reader. New York: Grove, 2004.
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Nonintervention

In opposition to liberal internationalists are a variety of traditionalists, isolationists, and libertarians who believe that America and other nations are both better served when American foreign policy heeds the words of President John Quincy Adams, when he said in his speech to the House of Representatives on 4 July 1821, “[America] goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own.” Noninterventionists also see significant danger to the liberties of the American people in a large, permanently maintained military force (Bacevich 2002, Paul 2007).

Bacevich, Andrew J. American Empire: The Realities and Consequences of U.S. Diplomacy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2002.
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Bacevich lays out the case that Wilsonism has been the dominant foreign policy ideology of the United States in the 20th century, and with the purpose of justifying the continued expansion of domestic government and international commitments.
Bacevich, Andrew J. American Empire: The Realities and Consequences of U.S. Diplomacy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2002.
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Buchanan, Patrick J. “Whose War?” American Conservative, 24 March 2003.
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In his defense of a foreign policy that values the interests of the United States only, Buchanan lays out his case for why invading Iraq is a terrible mistake which has wide-ranging consequences.
Buchanan, Patrick J. “Whose War?” American Conservative, 24 March 2003.
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Fleming, Thomas. The Illusion of Victory: America in World War I. New York: Basic Books, 2004.
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Fleming here lays out a case that Wilson was convinced by British and French agents to join the First World War, and that he gave speeches extolling American values while imposing anti-American statist policies on its citizens. He also demonstrates how Wilson’s betrayal of the cause for a neutral peace directly led to the Second World War.
Fleming, Thomas. The Illusion of Victory: America in World War I. New York: Basic Books, 2004.
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Fukuyama, Francis. America at the Crossroads: Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2006.
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Here Fukuyama breaks with his neoconservative allies and attacks the Bush administration, not only for its invasion of Iraq, but also for pushing an ideology of the United States as an benevolent hegemon.
Fukuyama, Francis. America at the Crossroads: Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2006.
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Paul, Ron. A Foreign Policy of Freedom: “Peace, Commerce, and Honest Friendship.” Lake Jackson, TX: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education, 2007.
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Congressman Paul outlines a conservative foreign policy in which the United States is friends with all, and enemies with none.
Paul, Ron. A Foreign Policy of Freedom: “Peace, Commerce, and Honest Friendship.” Lake Jackson, TX: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education, 2007.
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Taft, Robert. A Foreign Policy for Americans. New York: Doubleday, 1951.
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Much like Congressman Paul, Senator Taft here outlines a foreign policy that emphasizes American national interests and an end to foreign commitments.
Taft, Robert. A Foreign Policy for Americans. New York: Doubleday, 1951.
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Trade Policy

American trade policy has traditionally been one of the more divisive issues in the political system. The New Right, especially in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, divided decisively on this issue as outsourcing, globalization, and mechanization continued apace. The following are subsets that provide a solid intellectual grounding in each position, from the perspective of the New Right.

Pro–Free Trade

Arguments in favor of free trade among those in the New Right (Bhagwati 1993, Bhagwati and Hudec 1996, Bhagwati 2004, Magee 1976) are rooted in the writing of Adam Smith and David Ricardo: that it is better for mankind generally—Americans as well as foreigners—if countries trade with open borders (in other words, without tariffs or other such penalties). Countries will produce those goods that are to their advantage to produce, and goods will cost less, as well as be of better quality, given the larger arena of competition.

Bhagwati, Jagdish. “The Case for Free Trade.” Scientific American 269.5 (November 1993): 41–57.
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Economist Bhagwati articulates reasons for why free trade between nations benefits all parties involved.
Bhagwati, Jagdish. “The Case for Free Trade.” Scientific American 269.5 (November 1993): 41–57.
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Bhagwati, Jagdish. In Defense of Globalization. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
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Economist Jagdish Bhagwati defends globalization against its detractors by pointing to the myriad of examples of social good it accomplishes; examples include the rise in prosperity, reduction of child labor, and increase in literacy that it brings to underdeveloped nations.
Bhagwati, Jagdish. In Defense of Globalization. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
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Bhagwati, Jagdish, and Robert E. Hudec, eds. Fair Trade and Harmonization. Vol. 1, Economic Analysis. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 1996.
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A book of essays examining free trade and its effects on matters like labor practices, the environment, and competition generally.
Bhagwati, Jagdish, and Robert E. Hudec, eds. Fair Trade and Harmonization. Vol. 1, Economic Analysis. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 1996.
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Magee, Stephen P. International Trade and Distortions in Factor Markets. New York: Marcel-Dekker, 1976.
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The author pulls together information from scores of academic articles to examine multiple angles and aspects concerning trade between nations, and factors that interfere with efficient commerce.
Magee, Stephen P. International Trade and Distortions in Factor Markets. New York: Marcel-Dekker, 1976.
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Protectionist (American System)

Traditionally the political right in the United States has supported tariffs, which up until the 1950s provided the lion’s share of federal revenue while simultaneously promoting a free internal market protected from cheap foreign imports. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, some members of the New Right, shaken by the massive job losses resulting from technological innovation and globalization (Buchanan 2006), have returned to this philosophical standard, once known as the “American system.” Among their arguments is that the middle class requires well-paying, medium-skill jobs (Shearer and Fletcher 2012, Roberts 2005); that comparative advantage is not immutable, but can be constructed (Chang 2002); and that American economic policy should be formulated solely with regard to the benefit of Americans (Buchanan 2006, Roberts 2005).

Buchanan, Patrick J. “The Fruits of NAFTA.” The Conservative Voice 16.3 (10 March 2006).
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In this article columnist Buchanan examines the claims and results of the NAFTA treaty, which was passed over vociferous opposition, in the early 1990s. He points out in succinct detail the various reasons that he believes this treaty has harmed the American people while benefiting those in other nations.
Buchanan, Patrick J. “The Fruits of NAFTA.” The Conservative Voice 16.3 (10 March 2006).
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Chang, Ha-Joon. Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective. London: Anthem, 2002.
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Chang examines various cultural and institutional ways in which the West prospered. He then develops the theory that the West, having abandoned many of the practices that helped in its rise to power, including protectionism, is forcing third-world nations to avoid practices that would benefit them economically.
Chang, Ha-Joon. Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective. London: Anthem, 2002.
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Roberts, Paul Craig. “US Falling Behind across the Board.” Paul Craig Roberts (26 July 2005).
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This article by columnist Roberts examines the results of American free-trade policies, with particular emphasis on the lower and middle classes. He makes the argument that, while the upper class may benefit from free trade, the average American has been devastated by the loss of ladder-climbing, medium-skill jobs.
Roberts, Paul Craig. “US Falling Behind across the Board.” Paul Craig Roberts (26 July 2005).
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Shearer, William, and Thomas Fletcher. The Conservative Case against Free Trade. Vienna, VA: Conservative Caucus, 2012.
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In this short text, the authors lay out the history of protectionism (the American system) in US history, as well as the reasons why they believe Americans are ill served by the free trade regime that replaced it.
Shearer, William, and Thomas Fletcher. The Conservative Case against Free Trade. Vienna, VA: Conservative Caucus, 2012.
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Economics

New Right economics operates in the vein of Adam Smith and came about in contrast not only to socialism, but also to the Keynesian approach of frequent government intervention in the marketplace. Resounding themes include the recognition that individuals know better what they want and need than could any centralized bureaucracy, and thus it is better for society if information is traded through the marketplace, where matters like price relay the necessary information about supply and demand (Doherty 2007, Folsom 1996). Free-market economists of this vein also argue that there is a strong link between economic liberty and political and individual liberty (Belloc 1912, Friedman 1962, von Mises 1951, Rothbard 1962). The New Right has also been concerned that American currency has been debauched by central banking, and that without the limitations imposed by a unit of account redeemable in material assets such as gold, Americans are subject to a crippling inflation tax (Mead 2007, Griffin 1994).

Belloc, Hillaire. The Servile State. Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Classics, 1912.
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Here philosopher Belloc lays out the economic history of Europe, and attempts to trace the rise of capitalism to the end of the monastery system.
Belloc, Hillaire. The Servile State. Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Classics, 1912.
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Burns, Jennifer. Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
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In this biography, Burns follows Rand from her childhood in Russia through her meteoric rise to best-selling novelist. Burns highlights the two facets of Rand’s work that make her a perennial draw for those on the right: her promotion of capitalism and her defense of limited government.
Burns, Jennifer. Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
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Doherty, Brian. Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement. New York: Public Affairs, 2007.
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Doherty here traces the evolution of the libertarian movement through the unconventional life stories of its most influential leaders—Ludwig von Mises, F. A. Hayek, Ayn Rand, Murray Rothbard, and Milton Friedman.
Doherty, Brian. Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement. New York: Public Affairs, 2007.
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Folsom, Burton W. The Myth of the Robber Barons. Herndon, VA: Young America’s Foundation, 1996.
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This book traces the personalities that dominated the American economy in the late 19th century, which Folsom divides into two groups. The first, which includes James Hill, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and John D. Rockefeller, are said to be “market entrepreneurs” who succeeded on their own merits. The second group, political entrepreneurs such as Robert Collins, focused on the subsidies and favors that government can grant, and ended up creating the myth of the detrimental “robber baron.”
Folsom, Burton W. The Myth of the Robber Barons. Herndon, VA: Young America’s Foundation, 1996.
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Friedman, Milton. Capitalism and Freedom. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962.
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In this classic book, Milton Friedman provides the definitive statement of his immensely influential economic philosophy—one in which competitive capitalism serves as both a device for achieving economic freedom and a necessary condition for political freedom.
Friedman, Milton. Capitalism and Freedom. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962.
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Friedman, Milton, and Rose D. Friedman. Free to Choose: A Personal Statement. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1980.
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Milton and Rose Friedman here make the case that individuals being free to make their own choices, in the aggregate, produce a better-functioning society than could be produced by central planning.
Friedman, Milton, and Rose D. Friedman. Free to Choose: A Personal Statement. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1980.
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Griffin, G. Edward. The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve. Westlake Village, CA: American Media, 1994.
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In this explosive exposé, Mr. Griffin traces the history of the Federal Reserve and shows how the central bank is directly responsible for our current inflation, budget deficit, debt, and economic boom-and-bust cycle.
Griffin, G. Edward. The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve. Westlake Village, CA: American Media, 1994.
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Hazlitt, Henry. Economics in One Lesson. New York: Harper, 1946.
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Considered among the leaders of the “Austrian” school of economic theory, Henry Hazlitt released this text in 1946, introducing libertarian economic policy to millions of readers.
Hazlitt, Henry. Economics in One Lesson. New York: Harper, 1946.
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Levy, Jonathan. Freaks of Fortune: The Emerging World of Capitalism and Risk in America. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2014.
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Focusing on the hopes and anxieties of ordinary people, Levy shows how risk developed through the extraordinary growth of new financial institutions—insurance corporations, savings banks, mortgage-backed securities markets, commodities futures markets, and securities markets—while posing inescapable moral questions.
Levy, Jonathan. Freaks of Fortune: The Emerging World of Capitalism and Risk in America. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2014.
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Mead, Walter Russell. God and Gold: Britain, America, and the Making of the Modern World. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007.
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Mead’s account of the global political and economic system, sustained first by Britain and now by America, that has created the modern world. Here he argues that America grew to world leadership because of our individualistic civic religion. Finally, he makes the case that both Britain and the United States are abandoning this culture and, therefore, may not be able to win future ideological conflicts.
Mead, Walter Russell. God and Gold: Britain, America, and the Making of the Modern World. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007.
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Rothbard, Murray Newton. Man, Economy, and State: A Treatise on Economic Principles. Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand, 1962.
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A pillar of the Austrian School Library, Rothbard discusses utility and welfare economics, antitrust, labor, taxation, public goods, and social-insurance schemes.
Rothbard, Murray Newton. Man, Economy, and State: A Treatise on Economic Principles. Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand, 1962.
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Stigler, George J. “The Economics of Information.” Journal of Political Economy 69.3 (1961): 213–225.
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This article is the landmark contribution of Chicago School of Economics member George Stigler. In it, he creates the theory of the information as a valuable resource.
Stigler, George J. “The Economics of Information.” Journal of Political Economy 69.3 (1961): 213–225.
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Vaïsse, Justin. Neoconservatism: The Biography of a Movement. Cambridge, MA: Belknap, 2010.
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Vaïsse frames the neoconservative movement in three distinct ages: the New York Intellectuals who reacted against the 1960s leftists; the “Scoop Jackson Democrats” who tried to preserve a mix of hawkish anticommunism abroad and social progress at home, but failed to recapture the soul of the Democratic Party; and the “Neocons” of the 1990s and 2000s, who are no longer either liberals or Democrats.
Vaïsse, Justin. Neoconservatism: The Biography of a Movement. Cambridge, MA: Belknap, 2010.
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von Mises, Ludwig. Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1951.
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In this central economic text, von Mises demonstrates that socialism cannot function rationally because economic calculation is impossible under statism. Building on this, as well as many other important insights, socialism is shown to be little more than a chimera with virtually no scientific backing whatsoever. Von Mises identifies socialism as a fundamentally destructive, purely antisocial force. In sharp contrast to this is the capitalist form of society based upon the principles of (classical) liberalism.
von Mises, Ludwig. Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1951.
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Immigration

Immigrants have arrived in the United States in ebbs and flows since the 1820s, and the debate about their arrival, presence, and incorporation has always been tumultuous. In the early 21st century, immigration policy on the New Right is divided into those who support moving toward open borders and those who believe that the time for mass immigration into the United States has now ended, for economic, cultural, or environmental reasons. Hatton and Williamson 1998 and Myrdal 1944 provide a solid background on the subject, while the other texts are divided into the two categories previously mentioned.

Hatton, Timothy J., and Jeffrey G. Williamson. The Age of Mass Migration: Causes and Economic Impact. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
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In this basic economic textbook, the authors describe in detail the forces that have driven international migration in the last three centuries, with particular emphasis on the late 20th century.
Hatton, Timothy J., and Jeffrey G. Williamson. The Age of Mass Migration: Causes and Economic Impact. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
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Myrdal, Gunnar. An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy. New York: Harper, 1944.
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Myrdal, a Swedish political scientist, published this text in 1944, describing in prescient form both the strengths of the Anglo-Protestant culture and the challenges it would face in the future.
Myrdal, Gunnar. An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy. New York: Harper, 1944.
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Pro–Open Borders

Coming from a variety of perspectives, those on the right who favor mass immigration often do so either for economic (Epstein 2011) or philosophical reasons such as the desire for open borders (Jacoby 2003, Motomura 2006, Zolberg 2006).

Epstein, Jennifer. Bloomberg: United States Immigration Policy is National Suicide.” Politico (15 June 2011).
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In this speech, Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City, makes the case that the United States must, in the name of further economic growth, further open up its immigration system to incorporate any individual willing to move to America. He makes the claim that cultural, economic, ethnic, institutional, or political concerns are of no interest.
Epstein, Jennifer. Bloomberg: United States Immigration Policy is National Suicide.” Politico (15 June 2011).
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Jacoby, Tamar. Reinventing the Melting Pot: The New Immigrants and What It Means to be American. New York: Basic Books, 2003.
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This series of essays discusses assimilation and Americanization in modern America, coming to the conclusion that the United States should not return to a system of limited immigration or cultural Americanization. The authors make the case that diversity is a strength, a common culture is a weakness, and that international competitiveness requires that we incorporate as many immigrants as possible.
Jacoby, Tamar. Reinventing the Melting Pot: The New Immigrants and What It Means to be American. New York: Basic Books, 2003.
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Motomura, Hiroshi. Americans in Waiting: The Lost Story of Immigration and Citizenship in the United States. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
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In this text, Motomura traces what he considers to be harsh treatment and excessive cultural demands placed on immigrants in the past. He suggests that cultural pluralism is a better model.
Motomura, Hiroshi. Americans in Waiting: The Lost Story of Immigration and Citizenship in the United States. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
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Zolberg, Aristide R. Nation by Design: Immigration Policy in the Fashioning of America. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2006.
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In this text, Zolberg examines the myth that the United States is a nation of immigrants. He then proceeds to attack the various groups and interests that limited immigration and worked to Americanize the arrivals. Finally, Zolberg discusses the early-21st-century immigration system in light of the history of what he calls American tendencies toward “xenophobia.”
Zolberg, Aristide R. Nation by Design: Immigration Policy in the Fashioning of America. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2006.
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Pro-Limitation

For scholars of the New Right, mass immigration in the late 20th century involves a variety of complications. Some of these pertain to the ways that immigrants in the early 21st century differ radically from the traditional European peasants who arrived with their family and were met by a variety of social institutions that, over several generations, Americanized them and their descendants. Others involve the ways in which America itself, and the way it greets immigrants, has changed; these include the transition of mainstream American society toward multiculturalism and the presence of welfare programs that reduce incentives for immigrants, dissatisfied with America as they find it, to return home (Borjas 1999). For the New Right, both of these changes significantly complicate, and may ultimately prevent, the maintenance and transmission of the historic American culture to recent immigrants and their children (Auster 1990, Brimelow 1995). As an example, scholars of the New Right may argue that there is no reason that Hispanics should have an experience different from that of Southern or Eastern Europeans a century ago, except that the country in which they arrive has grown radically different. Others on the New Right, such as presented in Kennan 1993, argue that for environmental reasons, mass immigration to the United States must cease.

Auster, Lawrence. The Path to National Suicide: An Essay on Immigration and Multiculturalism. Monterey, VA: American Immigration Control Foundation, 1990.
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In this essay Auster traces the damage he claims the immigration system, in combination with multiculturalism, has done to American society, and the consequences he foresees if such policies continue.
Auster, Lawrence. The Path to National Suicide: An Essay on Immigration and Multiculturalism. Monterey, VA: American Immigration Control Foundation, 1990.
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Borjas, George J. Heaven’s Door: Immigration Policy and the American Economy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999.
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Borjas attacks what he terms three economic myths regarding immigration: that immigration improves the material circumstances of all Americans, that immigrants pay more than they cost governments, and that immigration is needed at all.
Borjas, George J. Heaven’s Door: Immigration Policy and the American Economy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999.
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Brimelow, Peter. Alien Nation: Common Sense about America’s Immigration Disaster. New York: Random House, 1995.
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The book that relaunched the immigration debate in the United States in the mid-1990s. Here Brimelow examines the consequences of the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act, as well as the effects of multiculturalism on the fabric of American society.
Brimelow, Peter. Alien Nation: Common Sense about America’s Immigration Disaster. New York: Random House, 1995.
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Kennan, George. “US Overpopulation Deprives Planet of Helpful Civilization.” Social Contract Press 3.3 (Spring 1993): 192–194.
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Kennan, an elder statesman of American politics, wrote this essay late in life, in an attempt to suggest that immigration policy should return to its American average. He examines overpopulation, driven by immigrants and their children, and suggests that it is devastating the ability of the United States to survive as a culture and society.
Kennan, George. “US Overpopulation Deprives Planet of Helpful Civilization.” Social Contract Press 3.3 (Spring 1993): 192–194.
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Reimers, David. “An Unintended Reform: The 1965 Immigration Act and Third World Immigration to the United States.” Journal of American Ethnic History 3.1 (Fall 1983): 9–28.
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In this article, Reimers traces the predictions made at the time of the 1965 Immigration Act, including testimony by various American intellectual and political leaders, that immigration would not appreciably increase, nor the ethnic mix of the United States change, as a result of the bill. He examines the results of the bill and whether the consequences were predicted by those who opposed it.
Reimers, David. “An Unintended Reform: The 1965 Immigration Act and Third World Immigration to the United States.” Journal of American Ethnic History 3.1 (Fall 1983): 9–28.
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Americanization and Citizenship

The New Right, for a variety of reasons relating to the Americanization of immigrants (Graham and Koen 1993–1994), the creation of an educated citizenry (Burdette 1942, Kesler 2005, Schwartz 1995), and the fostering of traditional American Anglo-Protestant culture and liberties (Huntington 2004, Harrison and Huntington 2000), has been intimately involved in writing about citizenship. Much of this writing covers the various ways that American society has greatly changed since the early 20th century and the negative effects that, from their perspective, this may be having on the traditional American culture.

Burdette, Franklin L. “Education for Citizenship.” Public Opinion Quarterly (1942): 269–279.
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This foundational text traces the roots of America’s Anglo-Protestant culture and provides a framework for educating young citizens.
Burdette, Franklin L. “Education for Citizenship.” Public Opinion Quarterly (1942): 269–279.
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Fonte, John. “Global Governance vs. the Liberal Democratic Nation-State: What Is the Best Regime?” Paper presented at the 2008 Bradley Symposium, Hudson Institute, Washington, DC, 4 June 2008.
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Fonte here traces the cultural challenges, rooted in Cultural Marxism and internationalism, that have undermined the traditional culture of the United States.
Fonte, John. “Global Governance vs. the Liberal Democratic Nation-State: What Is the Best Regime?” Paper presented at the 2008 Bradley Symposium, Hudson Institute, Washington, DC, 4 June 2008.
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Gordon, Milton. Assimilation in American Life. New York: Oxford University Press, 1964.
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Gordon here traces the myths of immigration in American life. His most important finding was that, thanks to a variety of society-wide private Americanization efforts, immigrants were able to disappear into the broader society within three generations, without significantly altering any civic or cultural facet of the host society.
Gordon, Milton. Assimilation in American Life. New York: Oxford University Press, 1964.
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Graham, Otis, and Elizabeth Koen. “Americanizing the Immigrant: Past, Present, and Future.” Social Contract 4.2 (Winter 1993–1994): 120–148.
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In this article, Graham and Koen trace the process of Americanization in the early 20th century, finding that it was a difficult and momentous undertaking that resulted in a variety of differing peoples becoming “as American as apple pie.”
Graham, Otis, and Elizabeth Koen. “Americanizing the Immigrant: Past, Present, and Future.” Social Contract 4.2 (Winter 1993–1994): 120–148.
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Harrison, Lawrence, and Samuel Huntington, eds. Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress. New York: Basic Books, 2000.
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This series of essays discusses the importance of certain cultural practices in the success or failure of human societies.
Harrison, Lawrence, and Samuel Huntington, eds. Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress. New York: Basic Books, 2000.
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Huntington, Samuel. Who Are We: The Challenges to America’s National Identity. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004.
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This final book from one of the 20th century’s premiere political scientists is a defense of Americanization and the Anglo-Protestant pillars of the historic American culture.
Huntington, Samuel. Who Are We: The Challenges to America’s National Identity. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004.
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Kesler, Charles. “The Crisis of American National Identity.” Claremont Review of Books 5.4 (2005).
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A defense of Western Civilization and the culture of the United States, in the face of a multiculturalism that seeks to undermine the very foundations of American society.
Kesler, Charles. “The Crisis of American National Identity.” Claremont Review of Books 5.4 (2005).
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Schwartz, Benjamin. “The Diversity Myth.” Atlantic Monthly 275.5 (May 1995): 57–67.
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This article seeks to implode the leftist myth that cultural or ethnic diversity is strength. It does this by examining diversity in an international setting first, before settling on why America has been able to integrate so many immigrants: a common culture to which they were Americanized, or encouraged to return home.
Schwartz, Benjamin. “The Diversity Myth.” Atlantic Monthly 275.5 (May 1995): 57–67.
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Nature of American Society and Culture

Within American society there has been a significant tension between those who believe that the United States is a proposition nation and those who believe in what may be called, awkwardly, a philosophy of blood and soil, akin to nearly all other nations in modern history, which evolved as the expressions of specific peoples. This tension exists on the New Right, and can be seen in a variety of texts, especially involving Americanization, culture, globalization, and liberal internationalism.

“Proposition Nation”

For those who believe in the idea of the United States as a proposition nation, the founding had little to do with those who resided in its territory before the revolution (Barone 2001, Frum 2003, Wattenberg 1991) and that the “who” holds little to no relevance to American society or politics today (Bush 2001, Sowell 1981, Lipset 1996).

Barone, Michael. The New Americans: How the Melting Pot Can Work Again. Washington, DC: Regnery, 2001.
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Barone examines the experiences of different immigrant groups in America over the 19th and 20th centuries; he points out patterns and similarities of these experiences, as well as challenges with regard to making American the immigrants of the early 21st century.
Barone, Michael. The New Americans: How the Melting Pot Can Work Again. Washington, DC: Regnery, 2001.
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Bush, George W. “First Inaugural Address.” The American Presidency Project, 20 January 2001.
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In his first inaugural address, George W. Bush articulates the ideas and promise that define what is most fundamental about America.
Bush, George W. “First Inaugural Address.” The American Presidency Project, 20 January 2001.
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Frum, David. “Unpatriotic Conservatives.” National Review, 7 April 2003.
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In this essay Frum examines the paleoconservative movement in America; among other things, he discusses what he claims is its “politics of uninhibited racial nationalism.” He makes the claim that those holding to any sense of cultural, linguistic, or ethnic nationalism, or those holding noninterventionist views, should be excluded from the political spectrum.
Frum, David. “Unpatriotic Conservatives.” National Review, 7 April 2003.
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Lipset, Seymour Martin. American Exceptionalism: A Double-Edged Sword. New York: W. W. Norton, 1996.
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Lipset identifies a common set of ideals that Americans share that account for the significant ways in which America differs from other modern Western states: individualism, antistatism, populism, and egalitarianism.
Lipset, Seymour Martin. American Exceptionalism: A Double-Edged Sword. New York: W. W. Norton, 1996.
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Sowell, Thomas. Ethnic America: A History. New York: Basic Books, 1981.
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Sowell examines the experiences of various ethnic groups in America.
Sowell, Thomas. Ethnic America: A History. New York: Basic Books, 1981.
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Wattenberg, Ben J. The First Universal Nation: Leading Indicators and Ideas about the Surge of America in the 1990s. New York: Free Press, 1991.
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Wattenberg argues that America’s strength lies in the rich diversity of cultures and groups that comprise the American people.
Wattenberg, Ben J. The First Universal Nation: Leading Indicators and Ideas about the Surge of America in the 1990s. New York: Free Press, 1991.
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“Blood and Soil Nation”

Those of the New Right who have articulated beliefs that could be loosely called “nativism” would suggest that the rights enjoyed in the early 21st century by American citizens were the result of an evolutionary political, cultural, and philosophical process among Europeans (Buchanan 2006, Buchanan 2011), especially those living in Northern Europe, and this experience was translated to America by the four English groups who came to the new world and settled the United States (Boorstein 1953, Bradford 1985). For these proponents, the settlers are as important to American culture and society (even centuries later), as the German people are in a society called Germany (Elliot 1949). Their final analysis is that, if the specific people of a nation change, then that nation inevitably will change in ways that will result in a fundamentally different polity.

Boorstein, Daniel J. The Genius of American Politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1953.
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In this lecture, Boorstein asks the question, how much of our political, civic, and cultural traditions can be absorbed or used by other people? He also suggests what our attitudes must be toward ourselves and other countries if we are to preserve our institutions and help others to improve theirs.
Boorstein, Daniel J. The Genius of American Politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1953.
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Bradford, Melvin E. Remembering Who We Are: Observations of a Southern Conservative. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1985.
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Bradford here makes a strong case for a unique American identity rooted in its European and English cultural roots.
Bradford, Melvin E. Remembering Who We Are: Observations of a Southern Conservative. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1985.
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Buchanan, Patrick J. “Nation or Notion?” American Conservative Magazine, 25 September 2006: 12–15.
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In this essay Buchanan traces the history of the idea that the American people are not special, nor deserve the respect granted to a people free to choose to remain apart. He suggests that the nation’s greatest asset, its civic and cultural heritage, is being undermined by the idea that the United States is simply a notion, not a people.
Buchanan, Patrick J. “Nation or Notion?” American Conservative Magazine, 25 September 2006: 12–15.
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Buchanan, Patrick J. Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025? New York: Thomas Dunne, 2011.
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Here Buchanan traces how mass immigration, multiculturalism, and the decline of Christianity in American life have divided and imperiled the survival of a unique American society.
Buchanan, Patrick J. Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025? New York: Thomas Dunne, 2011.
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Elliot, T. S. Notes toward the Definition of Culture. New York: Harcourt, 1949.
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In this series of essays, poet and philosopher Elliot attempts to make the case that the culture of the West has been formed through common conceptions that have been handed down from the ancient civilizations of Greece, Rome, and Israel. These legacies have given way to common understandings of private and public morality, a conception of Roman law, and common standards of art and literature. He suggests that it is the duty of men of letters throughout Europe to pass on this culture, unadulterated by political motives, to future generations by producing “those excellent works which mark a superior civilization” (pp. 123–124).
Elliot, T. S. Notes toward the Definition of Culture. New York: Harcourt, 1949.
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New Right Historicism

Like any significant cultural and philosophical movement, the New Right has been host to a variety of historians in whose work the movement finds justification or support. A significant theme in these texts is the ways in which religions, cultures, and peoples interact to create certain results and/or policy outcomes. Dawson 1950 traces the importance of religion on the formation of the various branches of Western civilization, and Fischer 1989 examines the specific ways in which the culture and folkways of certain English settlers defined the lands they colonized (Bailyn 1967, Rossiter 1953, Toynbee and Somervell 1934–1961, Dawson 1950).

Bailyn, Bernard. The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. Cambridge, MA: Belknap, 1967.
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Here Bailyn traces the cultural and ideological origins of the American Revolution, looking at the Protestant reformation, the Tudor constitution, the development of English common law and civic culture, and the particularities of the people who settled the United States.
Bailyn, Bernard. The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. Cambridge, MA: Belknap, 1967.
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Collingwood, Robin G. The Idea of History. Edited by Thomas M. Knox. Oxford: Clarendon, 1946.
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In attempting to explain why the study of history has not been given the same respect as other sciences, Collingwood’s lectures develop a comprehensive theory of the study of history. Most importantly, it discusses how the study of history allows for the reflection on why events happened, in an attempt to learn from past successes and failures.
Collingwood, Robin G. The Idea of History. Edited by Thomas M. Knox. Oxford: Clarendon, 1946.
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Dawson, Christopher. Religion and the Rise of Western Culture. New York: Sheed & Ward, 1950.
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Dawson published a variety of texts regarding the relationship between Christianity and the cultures in Europe that followed it. This text, perhaps his most famous, seeks to explain how Christianity was influential in allowing Western cultures to advance to world dominance.
Dawson, Christopher. Religion and the Rise of Western Culture. New York: Sheed & Ward, 1950.
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Fischer, David Hackett. Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
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This book traces the four different settler groups who, through their movement to the American continent, determined the culture of the United States to date.
Fischer, David Hackett. Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.
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McDonald, Forrest. We the People: The Economic Origins of the Constitution. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1958.
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McDonald’s three-part series on the American society, with a particular emphasis on the culture that developed in the 150 years before the revolution.
McDonald, Forrest. We the People: The Economic Origins of the Constitution. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1958.
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Rossiter, Clinton. Seedtime of the Republic: The Origin of the American Tradition of Political Liberty. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1953.
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Rossiter here connects the civic and cultural practices of the American revolutionaries to their English forebearers.
Rossiter, Clinton. Seedtime of the Republic: The Origin of the American Tradition of Political Liberty. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1953.
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Toynbee, Arnold, and David C. Somervell. A Study of History. Vol. 1–12. New York: Oxford University Press, 1934–1961.
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This comprehensive history of the world attempts both to discuss and to dissect the reasons why certain cultures and societies were able to advance, while others did not.
Toynbee, Arnold, and David C. Somervell. A Study of History. Vol. 1–12. New York: Oxford University Press, 1934–1961.
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Education

Like Americanization and citizenship, the New Right has written widely on the subject of the education of citizens (Babbit 1908, Bloom 1987, Mirel 2002) and the failure of modern American public education (Murray 2008). Diane Ravitch’s work in particular (see Ravitch 1990 and Ravitch 1998) provides insight in New Right thinking on education during the curriculum wars of the 1990s.

Babbit, Irving. Literature and the American College. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1908.
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In this text, Babbit argued for a college that served as an ever-vigilant, stubborn, rear-guard resistance against too early specialization in an increasingly mechanized modern world, a resistance to fetishizing academic degrees, and the emulation of a teacher such as Socrates.
Babbit, Irving. Literature and the American College. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1908.
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Bloom, Allan. The Closing of the American Mind. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987.
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Bloom here laments the decay of the humanities and the decline of the family and students’ spiritual education. Bloom traces what he sees as an anti-Enlightenment attitude in our society that dates back to Rousseau. He calls for a “Great Books” educational program that would teach students the unity of the sciences, social sciences, and arts.
Bloom, Allan. The Closing of the American Mind. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987.
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Mirel, Jeffrey. “The Decline of Civic Education.” Daedalus 131.3 (2002): 49–55.
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Mirel traces how civic education has all but disappeared in American schools, and the damage that this is having on citizenship.
Mirel, Jeffrey. “The Decline of Civic Education.” Daedalus 131.3 (2002): 49–55.
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Murray, Charles. Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing America’s Schools Back to Reality. New York: Crown Forum, 2008.
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Murray attempts to create a debate about the future of American education and suggests four ways in which schools could be made to better serve society and their clients.
Murray, Charles. Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing America’s Schools Back to Reality. New York: Crown Forum, 2008.
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Ravitch, Diane. “Multiculturalism: E Pluribus Plures.” American Scholar 59 (1990): 337–354.
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Ravitch notes that “pluralism” could result in a “richer common culture,” but worries that multiculturalism is instead moving segments of society toward a belief in “particularism” that rejects the notion that “a common culture is possible or desirable” (p. 340).
Ravitch, Diane. “Multiculturalism: E Pluribus Plures.” American Scholar 59 (1990): 337–354.
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Ravitch, Diane. “The Controversy over National History Standards.” Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 51.3 (1998): 14–28.
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Ravitch traces the decline of American history and civic education in public education, examining attempts to replace traditional curriculum with a multicultural one. Of particular interest is the discussion of the attempt to create national history standards in the early 1990s, and, from the perspective of the New Right, the disturbing, anti-Western and anti-American curriculum that nearly resulted.
Ravitch, Diane. “The Controversy over National History Standards.” Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 51.3 (1998): 14–28.
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Crime

New Right thinking on the topic of crime can generally be characterized as a reaction against policies of the 1960s and 1970s that explained crime as a failure of society, and aimed primarily to rehabilitate criminals rather than keep them incarcerated (Wilson 1983, Wilson and Kelling 1982). The implementation of such policies was followed by two decades that saw a dramatic rise in crime. Social scientists on the right argued that rehabilitation programs were not working, and they promoted tougher policing tactics as well as harsher sentences for criminals (Wilson and Herrnstein 1985).

Wilson, James Q. Thinking about Crime. New York: Basic Books, 1983.
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This is a book of essays that illustrates a rethinking of sound responses to the growing crime rate, and challenged conventional thinking on the subject.
Wilson, James Q. Thinking about Crime. New York: Basic Books, 1983.
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Wilson, James Q., and Richard J. Herrnstein. Crime and Human Nature. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1985.
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In opposition to environmental explanations for the cause of crime, Wilson and Herrnstein here examine seemingly innate and biological factors that predict criminal and antisocial behavior, such as body type, gender, intelligence, and personality.
Wilson, James Q., and Richard J. Herrnstein. Crime and Human Nature. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1985.
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Wilson, James Q., and George L. Kelling. “Broken Windows.” Atlantic Monthly (March 1982): 29–38.
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This seminal article promoted the theory that to fight the (at the time, growing) incidence of serious crimes, cities needed to implement a zero-tolerance policy when it came to small crimes as well; it was a matter of signaling that social disruption of all types would not be tolerated.
Wilson, James Q., and George L. Kelling. “Broken Windows.” Atlantic Monthly (March 1982): 29–38.
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Wilson, James Q., and Joan Petersilia, eds. Crime. San Francisco: Institute for Contemporary Studies, 1995.
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This work contains essays on different aspects of crime, by a variety of scholars. Topics addressed include matters concerning biological factors of criminal behavior, the role of education on the incidence of crime, connections between criminal behavior and the labor market, urban gangs, juvenile delinquency, and social factors.
Wilson, James Q., and Joan Petersilia, eds. Crime. San Francisco: Institute for Contemporary Studies, 1995.
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Fiction

Over the course of its intellectual life, the New Right has produced a variety of fictional texts that do well to illustrate the points of the movement, as conveyed by the specific author. Many of these texts have been highly influential in spreading the various philosophies of the New Right to the broader culture. As this section could be quite lengthy, we have endeavored to limit these selections to those of widespread intellectual influence, in addition to any common popularity. Themes found within these texts range from urban decay (Bellow 1970, Wolfe 1987), the dangers of state control (Huxley 2004), and totalitarianism (Orwell 1954) to objectivism in life and thought (Rand 1957).

Bellow, Saul. Mr. Sammler’s Planet. New York: Viking, 1970.
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This novel is a key conservative text because it is a sociological exercise in having a liberal experience the decay and destruction of a society that is overrun by its own internal contradictions. What Bellow—through Sammler—does is to ask whether liberalism itself is somehow complicit in its own dissolution.
Bellow, Saul. Mr. Sammler’s Planet. New York: Viking, 1970.
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dos Passos, John. Midcentury. New York: Giant Cardinal, 1961.
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Dos Passos’s themes are the great issues of the 1950s: the Cold War and the aftereffects of the New Deal. Midcentury uses both fiction and history to show how Communists and organized crime corrupted labor unions, when they were at the peak of their power.
dos Passos, John. Midcentury. New York: Giant Cardinal, 1961.
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Heinlein, Robert A. Starship Troopers. New York: Putnam, 1959.
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Heinlein traces his libertarian philosophies, especially regarding citizenship and the individual.
Heinlein, Robert A. Starship Troopers. New York: Putnam, 1959.
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Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper, 2004.
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Set in a future where the World State regulates every aspect of people’s lives to ensure the continuation of a peaceful, mundane, and functionary society, Brave New World examines the loss of individual identity and the threat posed by an overreaching government.
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper, 2004.
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Kelton, Elmer. The Time It Never Rained. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1973.
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Kelton’s protagonist is Charlie Flagg, a rancher suffering through a harsh drought in West Texas during the 1950s. Charlie refuses the questionable “assistance” of federal aid programs and their bureaucratic regulations. The book is a profoundly conservative story about the importance of self-reliance in the face of overwhelming odds.
Kelton, Elmer. The Time It Never Rained. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1973.
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McCarry, Charles. Shelley’s Heart. New York: Overlook, 2009.
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McCarry delivers a fictional account of how modern Washington works—or doesn’t, as the case may be. The novel eviscerates politicians, aides, journalists, and judges as they vie for power.
McCarry, Charles. Shelley’s Heart. New York: Overlook, 2009.
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Orwell, George. Animal Farm. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1954.
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Orwell, a reformed leftist, examines the tendency toward totalitarianism and feudalism inherent in socialism.
Orwell, George. Animal Farm. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1954.
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Percy, Walker. The Thanatos Syndrome. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1987.
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Thomas More is a doctor who returns home to Louisiana after a stint in prison. More learns the townspeople are lacing the municipal waters with a chemical designed to eliminate bad conduct. More resists this effort because the exercise of choice and free will makes us human. The elimination of undesirable characteristics leads, inexorably in Percy’s view, to the destruction of “unwanted” persons. Scientific judgment, without an infusion of charity, results in decisions that are literally nonhuman.
Percy, Walker. The Thanatos Syndrome. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1987.
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Rand, Ayn. Atlas Shrugged. New York: Random House, 1957.
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Rand’s seminal work, which many in the New Right view as prescient, traces what happens when the men and women who drive the engine of economic growth, following years of bureaucratic encroachment, simply cease to participate in a parasitic society.
Rand, Ayn. Atlas Shrugged. New York: Random House, 1957.
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Raspail, Jean. The Camp of the Saints. New York: Scribner, 1975.
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Raspail assails those who would refuse to defend the nations and peoples of the West against cultural and physical encroachments. It is set in a France where millions of Indians have decided to move, and few politicians and civic or religious leaders can summon the courage to defend their society on any grounds.
Raspail, Jean. The Camp of the Saints. New York: Scribner, 1975.
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Wolfe, Tom. The Bonfire of the Vanities. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1987.
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Tom Wolfe’s modern American satire tells the story of Sherman McCoy, a Wall Street “Master of the Universe” who has it all—a Park Avenue apartment; a job that brings wealth, power, and prestige; a beautiful wife; and an even more beautiful mistress. Suddenly, Sherman takes one wrong turn and spirals downward in a sudden fall from grace that sucks him into the ravenous heart of 1980s New York City.
Wolfe, Tom. The Bonfire of the Vanities. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1987.
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