Those who want to defend the American principles of limited government and capitalism must do so on objective philosophical grounds. They need a rational, principled alternative to conservatism.
The following article traces the lack of a firm philosophical base in the recent conservatives, the attempt to convert even that weak base into a morality of “re-distribution” (e.g. neocons) and finally describes the result we have on a practical level and in general terms the history of our country as a result of philosophy of rational self interest. It shows that in the long run Morality and Pragmatism are the same because to act immorally is to act against our nature. Freedom is not only right it is the only practical system.
“The neocons are, arguably, the most intellectually active faction of the post-war intellectual Right. They teach at the best universities; they run the wealthiest conservative philanthropic foundations; they control the leading conservative think tanks; they manage the leading conservative journals and magazines; and they have a significant presence in the major media. The neocons have become so influential and so confident of their place in the conservative intellectual establishment that one of their most articulate spokesmen, David Brooks of The New York Times, has declared: “We’re all neoconservatives now.”
In a much-discussed essay entitled “The Neoconservative Persuasion,” Irving Kristol, doyen of the neocons, sums up their agenda: Their aim is to “convert the Republican Party, and American conservatism in general, against their respective wills, into a new kind of conservative politics suitable to governing a modern democracy.” Historically, neoconservatives have always had a rather distant and uneasy relationship with traditional conservatives. As with John Stuart Mill, they have viewed conservatives as “the stupid party,” but now they aim to fix that.Source