New Right
Encyclopedia
New Right is used in several countries as a descriptive term for various policies or groups that are right-wing. It has also been used to describe the emergence of Eastern European parties after the collapse of communism.
the "New Right" refers to a movement in the late 1970s and 1980s which advocated economically liberal
and increased socially conservative
policies (as opposed to the "old right" which advocated economically conservative policies), and small-l liberals with more socially liberal
views. Unlike the United Kingdom and United States, but like neighbouring New Zealand, the Australian Labor Party
initiated many "New Right" policy reforms (the Third Way
), but desisted from others, such as wholesale labour market deregulation (e.g. WorkChoices
), a GST
, the privatisation of Telstra
and welfare reform
including "work for the dole
", which John Howard
and the Liberal Party of Australia
were to initiate. The H. R. Nicholls Society
, a think tank which advocates full workplace deregulation, contains some Liberal MPs as members and is seen to be of the New Right.
Economic liberalism
, also called Economic Rationalism
in Australia, was first used by Labor's Gough Whitlam
. It is a philosophy which tends to advocate a free market economy, increased deregulation
, privatisation, lower direct taxation and higher indirect taxation, and a reduction of the size of the Welfare State
. The politicians favouring New Right ideology were referred to as "dries", while those advocating continuation of the economic policies of the post-war consensus
, typically Keynesian economics, or were more socially liberal, were called "wets" (the term "wets" was similarly used in Britain to refer to those Conservatives
who opposed Thatcherite economic policies, but "dries" in this context was much rarer in British usage).
in 2010 commed into the mainstream political discourse as interior minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter
used it to describe his government. Hinzpeter's introduction of the concept caused buzz among newspapers, politicians and analysts. According to a column published in The Clinic
the new right is different from the old autocratic
right of Augusto Pinochet
in that embraces democracy and different from the religiously conservative Unión Demócrata Independiente party in that it is more open to discuss questions like divorce. According to the same analysis the new right is increasingly pragmatic as their heightening of taxes following the 2010 Chile earthquake
showed.
, the New Right (or Nouvelle Droite
) has been used as a term to describe a modern think-tank of French
political philosophers and intellectuals led by Alain de Benoist
. Another noted intellectual, who was once part of Alain de Benoist's GRECE, is Dr. Guillaume Faye. Although accused by some critics as being "far-right" in their beliefs, they themselves claim that their ideas transcend the traditional "left
/right
" divide and actively encourages free debate. France also has one Identitarian New Right group (which is connected with Thule Seminar in Germany); that is Terre et Peuple of Dr. Pierre Vial, who was once an integral part and founding member of Alain de Benoist's GRECE.
" (literally, new right) consists of two parts: the "Jungkonservative" (literally, young conservatives), who search for followers in the civically part of the population; and, secondly, the "Nationalrevolutionäre" (national revolutionists), who are looking for followers in the ultra-right part of the German population, and use the rhetorics of right-wing politicians such as Gregor and Otto Strasser. Other noted New Right group in Germany is Thule Seminar of Dr. Pierre Krebs .
was the name of a political party in the Netherlands
. The party hadn't much to do with the "New Right", it was more of a classic conservative party with some populist leanings.
, as in Australia, it was the Labour Party
that initially adopted "New Right" economic policies, while also pursuing social liberal stances such as decriminalisation of male homosexuality, pay equity for women and adopting a nuclear-free policy. This meant temporary realignment within New Zealand politics, as "New Right" middle-class voters voted Labour at the New Zealand general election, 1987
due to approval of its economic policies. At first, Labour corporatised many former government departments and state assets, then emulated the Conservative Thatcher
administration and privatised them altogether during Labour's second term of office. However, recession and privatisation together led to increasing strains within the Labour Party, which led to schism, and the exit of Jim Anderton
and his NewLabour Party
, which later formed part of the Alliance Party
with the Greens and other opponents of New Right economics.
However, dissent and schism were not to be limited to the Labour Party and Alliance Party
alone. During the Labour Party's second term in office, National selected Ruth Richardson
as Opposition finance spokesperson, and when National won the 1990 general election
, Richardson became Minister of Finance, while Jenny Shipley
became Minister of Social Welfare. Richardson introduced deunionisation legislation, known as the Employment Contracts Act, in 1991, while Shipley presided over social welfare benefit cuts, designed to reduce "welfare dependency
" - both core New Right policy initiatives.
In the early nineties, maverick National
MP Winston Peters
also came to oppose New Right economic policies, and led his elderly voting bloc out of the National Party. As a result, his New Zealand First
anti-monetarist party has become a coalition partner to both National (1996–1998) and Labour (2005–2008) led coalition governments. Due to the introduction of the MMP
electoral system, a New Right "Association of Consumers and Taxpayers" party, known as ACT New Zealand was formed by ex-Labour New Right-aligned Cabinet Ministers like Richard Prebble
and others, and maintaining existing New Right policy initiatives such as the Employment Contracts Act, while also introducing US-style "welfare reform
." ACT New Zealand aspired to become National's centre-right coalition partner, but has been hampered by lack of party unity and populist leadership that often lacked strategic direction.
As for Labour and National themselves, their fortunes have been mixed. Labour was out of office for most of the nineties, only regaining power when Helen Clark
led it to victory and a Labour/Alliance coalition and centre-left government (1999–2002). However, the Alliance disintegrated in 2002.
National was defeated in 1999 due to the absence of a suitable, stable coalition partner given New Zealand First's partial disintegration after Winston Peters abandoned the prior National-led coalition. When Bill English
took over National, it was thought that he might lead the Opposition away from its prior hardline New Right economic and social policies, but his indecisiveness and lack of firm policy direction led to ACT New Zealand gaining the New Right middle-class voting basis in 2002. When Don Brash
took over, New Right middle-class voters returned to National's fold, causing National's revival in fortunes at the New Zealand general election, 2005
. However, at the same time, ACT New Zealand strongly criticised it for deviating from its former New Right economic policy perspectives, and at the same election, National did little to enable ACT's survival. ACT currently has five Members of Parliament, and its survival depends on whether or not ACT leader Rodney Hide
can retain his Epsom electorate seat at the next general election. Furthermore, Don Brash resigned as National party leader, being replaced by John Key
, who is seen as a more moderate National MP.
As for the centre-left, Helen Clark and her Labour-led coalition have been criticised from ex-Alliance members and non-government organisations for their alleged lack of attention to centre-left social policies, while trade union membership has recovered due to Labour's repeal of the Employment Contracts Act 1991 and labour market deregulation
and the deunionisation that had accompanied it in the nineties. It is plausible that Clark and her Cabinet are influenced by Tony Blair
and his British Labour Government, which pursues a similar balancing act between social and fiscal responsibility while in government.
, a conservative liberal and eurosceptic
political party Congress of the New Right
(New Right) was founded on 25 March from former political parties Freedom and Lawfulness
(WiP) and Real Politics Union
(UPR) by Janusz Korwin-Mikke
. It is backed up by disappointed voters, some conservatives, people who want to legalize marijuana and citizens who endorse free market
and capitalism
.
, the far-right nationalist organization "Noua Dreaptă
" (New Right) was founded in 2000. In 2006, Noua Dreaptă staged a peaceful anti-gay rally in Bucharest. The organization uses the paraphernalia of interwar Iron Guard
and practices a cult of personality
towards the slain Iron Guard leader Corneliu Zelea Codreanu
. Noua Dreaptă is an active member of the far right European National Front
.
, the South Korean New Right
movement is a Korean attempt at neoconservative
politics. The Lee Myung-bak government
led by President Lee Myung-bak
and the conservative Grand National Party
is noted for being a benefactor of the domestic New Right movement.
; there are also independent New Right thinkers such as Alex Kurtagić
and artists such as New Right chairman Jonathan Bowden
.
Another example of the new right (which is different from above mentioned New Right) is used today in connection with post modern neoliberal capitalist politics.
This is explained below.
Philosophy: New Right ideas were developed in the early eighties and took a distinctive view of elements of society such as family
, education, crime and deviance. In the United Kingdom, the term New Right more specifically refers to a strand of Conservatism
that the likes of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan influenced. Thatcher's style of New Right ideology, known as Thatcherism
, was heavily influenced by the work of Friedrich Hayek
(in particular the book The Road to Serfdom
). They were ideologically committed to neo-liberalism as well as being socially conservative
. Key policies included deregulation of business, a dismantling of the welfare state, privatization of nationalized industries and restructuring of the national workforce in order to increase industrial and economic flexibility in an increasingly global market. Similar policies were continued by the subsequent Conservative government
under John Major
and the mark of the New Right is evident in the New Labour government, first under Tony Blair
, then Gordon Brown
.
Influential figures:
Margaret Thatcher
—Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
John Redwood
—Conservative MP.
Chubb, John E. and Moe, Terry M—New Right theorists who spoke about education in their book "Politics, Markets and America's Schools"
, New Right refers to two historically distinct conservative
political movements. Both American New Rights are distinct from and opposed to the more moderate tradition of the so-called Rockefeller Republicans. The New Right also differs from the Old Right
(1933–1955) on issues concerning foreign policy with the New Right being opposed to the non-interventionism of the Old Right.
. The Goldwater campaign, though failing to unseat incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson
, galvanized the formation of a new political movement.
First New Right figures:
William F. Buckley, Jr.
—editor of National Review
Frank Meyer
—anti-communist libertarian and creator of the "fusionist" political theory
James Burnham
—anti-communist political theorist
M. Stanton Evans—journalist and writer of Young Americans for Freedom's "Sharon Statement"
Barry Goldwater
—U.S. Senator from Arizona and 1964 Republican U.S. presidential nominee
into the White House
in the 1980 presidential election. In elite think-tanks and local community organizations alike, new policies, marketing strategies, and electoral strategies were crafted over the succeeding decades to promote strongly conservative policies. Though mostly ignored by scholars until the late 1980s, the formation of the New Right is now one of the fastest-growing areas of historical research.
Second New Right figures:
Richard Viguerie
—direct mail activist
Howard Phillips—founder of the Conservative Caucus
Robert Grant
—Christian right activist and founder of Christian Voice
Terry Dolan—founder of the National Conservative Political Action Committee
Phyllis Schlafly
—anti-feminist activist and founder of the Eagle Forum
Paul Weyrich
—founder of the Heritage Foundation and Free Congress Education and Research Foundation
Ronald Reagan
—President of the USA
Family —Much like functionalists, New Right theorists see the family as the cornerstone of society. The nuclear family
is the ‘normal family’ in the view of the New Right. For example, according to John Redwood: ‘the natural state should be the two-adult family caring for their children’. The New Right sees the family in a state of deterioration. They point to the following evidence to support their claims: lone-parent families, fatherless families, and divorce rates.
Criticisms of the New Right's views on the family include arguments that they tend to blame the victims of disadvantaged families, and that they hold an idealized view of the past.
Crime and Deviance
‘Thinking about Crime’—1975—James Q. Wilson.
Wilson denies that trying to eradicate evils such as poverty will help to reduce crime. According to him, programs to reduce poverty in the U.S. lead to subsequent rising levels of crime. He therefore believes crime can neither be explained nor tackled by the nanny state. Wilson sees crime as a result of rational calculations. People will commit crime if the benefits outweigh the risk involved. Therefore, suggesting remedies like harsher sentences would help resolve crime. Wilson sees the main problems of crime as undermining communities—‘[crime]prevents the formation and maintenance of community’. With the absence of community, crime rates soar.
Murray—1990, 2001.
According to Murray, increased numbers of young, healthy, low-income people choose not to take jobs, but instead turn to crime; in particular, street crime and regular drug abuse. According to Murray, this is a result of the increase of lone parent families without a father figure. As a result, the young males lack role models that demonstrate how to live in society correctly. Murray believes the welfare dependency that these young men have lived on throughout their childhood has led them to a lack of work ethos, and subsequently pushed them towards a life of crime.
Wilson—1985.
In Wilson’s more recent work, he has moved towards a biological explanation for the causes of crime. He argues that people are born with a natural predisposition for crime. This potential can only be realised through poor socialization provided by inadequate families—e.g., single-parent families. Wilson also goes on to say how the welfare state has led to the easy life for many people. There is no longer the hard work needed to hold down a job, and one can live solely off the state. Also, from an increasingly affluent society, the potential gains of crime are increasing, and thus inviting more people to a life of crime.
"Third" New Right figures:
James Q. Wilson
—advisor to Reagan. Ideas very unpopular among left-wing British sociologists.
Charles Murray
—New Right theorist, spoke about family, crime, and deviance.
George Erdos and Norman Dennis
—New Right thinkers who were sociologists, and wrote about families without fathers.
Aside from the above mentioned ideologies, the "New Right" also refers to a form of Conservativism
which calls for survival-of-the-fittest, and a retention of the 1960s permissive society.
Australia
In AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
the "New Right" refers to a movement in the late 1970s and 1980s which advocated economically liberal
Economic liberalism
Economic liberalism is the ideological belief in giving all people economic freedom, and as such granting people with more basis to control their own lives and make their own mistakes. It is an economic philosophy that supports and promotes individual liberty and choice in economic matters and...
and increased socially conservative
Social conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
policies (as opposed to the "old right" which advocated economically conservative policies), and small-l liberals with more socially liberal
Social liberalism
Social liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...
views. Unlike the United Kingdom and United States, but like neighbouring New Zealand, the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
initiated many "New Right" policy reforms (the Third Way
Third way (centrism)
The Third Way refers to various political positions which try to reconcile right-wing and left-wing politics by advocating a varying synthesis of right-wing economic and left-wing social policies. Third Way approaches are commonly viewed from within the first- and second-way perspectives as...
), but desisted from others, such as wholesale labour market deregulation (e.g. WorkChoices
WorkChoices
The Workplace Relations Act 1996, as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, popularly known as Work Choices, was a Legislative Act of the Australian Parliament that came into effect in March 2006 which involved many controversial amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996, the...
), a GST
Goods and Services Tax (Australia)
The GST is a broad sales tax of 10% on most goods and services transactions in Australia. It is a value added tax, not a sales tax, in that it is refunded to all parties in the chain of production other than the final consumer....
, the privatisation of Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
and welfare reform
Welfare reform
Welfare reform refers to the process of reforming the framework of social security and welfare provisions, but what is considered reform is a matter of opinion. The term was used in the United States to support the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act...
including "work for the dole
Work for the dole
Work for the Dole is an Australian federal government program that is a form of workfare, work-based welfare. It was first permanently enacted in 1998, having been trialed in 1997....
", which John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
and the Liberal Party of Australia
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
were to initiate. The H. R. Nicholls Society
H. R. Nicholls Society
The H.R. Nicholls Society is an Australian think tank of the New Right on industrial relations. It was created in March 1986 after John Stone, Peter Costello, Barrie Purvis, and Ray Evans organised a seminar aimed at discussing the Hancock Report and other industrial matters.The Society is named...
, a think tank which advocates full workplace deregulation, contains some Liberal MPs as members and is seen to be of the New Right.
Economic liberalism
Economic liberalism
Economic liberalism is the ideological belief in giving all people economic freedom, and as such granting people with more basis to control their own lives and make their own mistakes. It is an economic philosophy that supports and promotes individual liberty and choice in economic matters and...
, also called Economic Rationalism
Economic rationalism
Economic rationalism is an Australian term in discussion of microeconomic policy, applicable to the economic policy of many governments around the world, in particular during the 1980s and 1990s....
in Australia, was first used by Labor's Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
. It is a philosophy which tends to advocate a free market economy, increased deregulation
Deregulation
Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...
, privatisation, lower direct taxation and higher indirect taxation, and a reduction of the size of the Welfare State
Welfare State
The Welfare State is a commitment to health, education, employment and social security in the United Kingdom.-Background:The United Kingdom, as a welfare state, was prefigured in the William Beveridge Report in 1942, which identified five "Giant Evils" in society: squalor, ignorance, want, idleness...
. The politicians favouring New Right ideology were referred to as "dries", while those advocating continuation of the economic policies of the post-war consensus
Post-war consensus
The post-war consensus is a name given by historians to an era in British political history which lasted from the end of World War II in 1945 to the election of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1979....
, typically Keynesian economics, or were more socially liberal, were called "wets" (the term "wets" was similarly used in Britain to refer to those Conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
who opposed Thatcherite economic policies, but "dries" in this context was much rarer in British usage).
Chile
The term New Right (Spanish: Nueva derecha) has since the election of Sebastián PiñeraSebastián Piñera
Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique is a Chilean businessman and politician. He was elected President of Chile in January 2010, taking office in March 2010.- Education :...
in 2010 commed into the mainstream political discourse as interior minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter
Rodrigo Hinzpeter
Rodrigo Javier Hinzpeter Kirberg is a Chilean lawyer and politician. He was one of the founders of National Renewal, a center-right political party...
used it to describe his government. Hinzpeter's introduction of the concept caused buzz among newspapers, politicians and analysts. According to a column published in The Clinic
The Clinic
The Clinic is a Chilean satirical/investigative newspaper founded by Patricio Fernández Chadwick in November 1998. The name was inspired by Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet's October 1998 arrest in Britain at The London Clinic, which bears the name The Clinic on its façade...
the new right is different from the old autocratic
Autocracy
An autocracy is a form of government in which one person is the supreme power within the state. It is derived from the Greek : and , and may be translated as "one who rules by himself". It is distinct from oligarchy and democracy...
right of Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
in that embraces democracy and different from the religiously conservative Unión Demócrata Independiente party in that it is more open to discuss questions like divorce. According to the same analysis the new right is increasingly pragmatic as their heightening of taxes following the 2010 Chile earthquake
2010 Chile earthquake
The 2010 Chile earthquake occurred off the coast of central Chile on Saturday, 27 February 2010, at 03:34 local time , having a magnitude of 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale, with intense shaking lasting for about three minutes. It ranks as the sixth largest earthquake ever to be recorded by a...
showed.
France
In FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the New Right (or Nouvelle Droite
Nouvelle Droite
Nouvelle Droite is a school of political thought founded largely on the works of Alain de Benoist and GRECE .-Etymology and history:...
) has been used as a term to describe a modern think-tank of French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
political philosophers and intellectuals led by Alain de Benoist
Alain de Benoist
Alain de Benoist is a French academic, philosopher, a founder of the Nouvelle Droite and head of the French think tank GRECE. Benoist is a critic of liberalism, free markets and egalitarianism.-Biography:...
. Another noted intellectual, who was once part of Alain de Benoist's GRECE, is Dr. Guillaume Faye. Although accused by some critics as being "far-right" in their beliefs, they themselves claim that their ideas transcend the traditional "left
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
/right
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
" divide and actively encourages free debate. France also has one Identitarian New Right group (which is connected with Thule Seminar in Germany); that is Terre et Peuple of Dr. Pierre Vial, who was once an integral part and founding member of Alain de Benoist's GRECE.
Germany
In Germany, the "Neue RechteNeue Rechte
The Neue Rechte is a German political movement, founded in opposition to the "New Left" generation of the 1960s. Ideologically, they are linked to the ideologues of the Weimar Conservative Revolution, which included such people as Carl Schmitt, Ernst Jünger, Oswald Spengler and Ernst von Salomon...
" (literally, new right) consists of two parts: the "Jungkonservative" (literally, young conservatives), who search for followers in the civically part of the population; and, secondly, the "Nationalrevolutionäre" (national revolutionists), who are looking for followers in the ultra-right part of the German population, and use the rhetorics of right-wing politicians such as Gregor and Otto Strasser. Other noted New Right group in Germany is Thule Seminar of Dr. Pierre Krebs .
Netherlands
The New RightNew Right (Netherlands)
New Right was a nationalist Dutch political party, founded by Michiel Smit in February 2003 and dissolved in December 2007.-History:...
was the name of a political party in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. The party hadn't much to do with the "New Right", it was more of a classic conservative party with some populist leanings.
New Zealand
In New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, as in Australia, it was the Labour Party
New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....
that initially adopted "New Right" economic policies, while also pursuing social liberal stances such as decriminalisation of male homosexuality, pay equity for women and adopting a nuclear-free policy. This meant temporary realignment within New Zealand politics, as "New Right" middle-class voters voted Labour at the New Zealand general election, 1987
New Zealand general election, 1987
The 1987 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 43rd sitting of the New Zealand Parliament. The governing New Zealand Labour Party, led by Prime Minister David Lange, was re-elected for a second term, although the Opposition National Party made gains...
due to approval of its economic policies. At first, Labour corporatised many former government departments and state assets, then emulated the Conservative Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
administration and privatised them altogether during Labour's second term of office. However, recession and privatisation together led to increasing strains within the Labour Party, which led to schism, and the exit of Jim Anderton
Jim Anderton
James Patrick Anderton, usually known as Jim Anderton , is the leader of the Progressive Party, a New Zealand political party. He has served in Parliament since 1984. He served as Deputy Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002 and is currently also the sitting Father of the House, the longest...
and his NewLabour Party
NewLabour Party (New Zealand)
NewLabour was a left-of-centre party founded in 1989 by Jim Anderton, an MP and former President of the New Zealand Labour Party.NewLabour was established by a number of Labour Party members who left the party in reaction to "Rogernomics", the economic policies implemented by the Labour Party's...
, which later formed part of the Alliance Party
Alliance (New Zealand political party)
The Alliance is a left-wing political party in New Zealand. It was formed in 1991, and was influential in the 1990s, but has since declined and has no representation in parliament. It suffered a major setback after Jim Anderton, the party's leader, left the party in 2002, taking several of the...
with the Greens and other opponents of New Right economics.
However, dissent and schism were not to be limited to the Labour Party and Alliance Party
Alliance (New Zealand political party)
The Alliance is a left-wing political party in New Zealand. It was formed in 1991, and was influential in the 1990s, but has since declined and has no representation in parliament. It suffered a major setback after Jim Anderton, the party's leader, left the party in 2002, taking several of the...
alone. During the Labour Party's second term in office, National selected Ruth Richardson
Ruth Richardson
Ruth Richardson served as New Zealand's Minister of Finance from 1990 to 1993, and is known for her strong pursuit of free-market economic reforms .-Early life:...
as Opposition finance spokesperson, and when National won the 1990 general election
New Zealand general election, 1990
The 1990 New Zealand general election was held on 27 October to determine the composition of the 43rd New Zealand parliament. The governing Labour Party was defeated, ending its controversial two terms in office...
, Richardson became Minister of Finance, while Jenny Shipley
Jenny Shipley
Dame Jenny Shipley, DNZM , served as the 36th Prime Minister of New Zealand from December 1997 to December 1999, the first woman to hold this office and the first, and to date only, woman to serve as parliamentary leader of the National Party of New Zealand.-Early life:Shipley was born as Jennifer...
became Minister of Social Welfare. Richardson introduced deunionisation legislation, known as the Employment Contracts Act, in 1991, while Shipley presided over social welfare benefit cuts, designed to reduce "welfare dependency
Welfare dependency
Welfare dependency is the state in which a person or household is reliant on government welfare benefits for their income for a prolonged period of time, and without which they would not be able to meet the expenses of daily living...
" - both core New Right policy initiatives.
In the early nineties, maverick National
New Zealand National Party
The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...
MP Winston Peters
Winston Peters
Winston Raymond Peters is a New Zealand politician and leader of New Zealand First, a political party he founded in 1993. Peters has had a turbulent political career since entering Parliament in 1978. He served as Minister of Maori Affairs in the Bolger National Party Government before being...
also came to oppose New Right economic policies, and led his elderly voting bloc out of the National Party. As a result, his New Zealand First
New Zealand First
New Zealand First is a political party in New Zealand that was founded in 1993, following party founder Winston Peters' resignation from the National Party in 1992...
anti-monetarist party has become a coalition partner to both National (1996–1998) and Labour (2005–2008) led coalition governments. Due to the introduction of the MMP
Electoral system of New Zealand
In 1994 New Zealand officially adopted mixed member proportional representation as its electoral system for the House of Representatives after many years of first-past-the-post voting. The first MMP election was held in 1996....
electoral system, a New Right "Association of Consumers and Taxpayers" party, known as ACT New Zealand was formed by ex-Labour New Right-aligned Cabinet Ministers like Richard Prebble
Richard Prebble
Richard William Prebble CBE, born 7 February 1948, was for many years a member of the New Zealand Parliament. Initially a member of the Labour Party, he joined the newly formed ACT New Zealand party under Roger Douglas in 1996.-Early and personal life:...
and others, and maintaining existing New Right policy initiatives such as the Employment Contracts Act, while also introducing US-style "welfare reform
Welfare reform
Welfare reform refers to the process of reforming the framework of social security and welfare provisions, but what is considered reform is a matter of opinion. The term was used in the United States to support the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act...
." ACT New Zealand aspired to become National's centre-right coalition partner, but has been hampered by lack of party unity and populist leadership that often lacked strategic direction.
As for Labour and National themselves, their fortunes have been mixed. Labour was out of office for most of the nineties, only regaining power when Helen Clark
Helen Clark
Helen Elizabeth Clark, ONZ is a New Zealand political figure who was the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008...
led it to victory and a Labour/Alliance coalition and centre-left government (1999–2002). However, the Alliance disintegrated in 2002.
National was defeated in 1999 due to the absence of a suitable, stable coalition partner given New Zealand First's partial disintegration after Winston Peters abandoned the prior National-led coalition. When Bill English
Bill English
Simon William "Bill" English is the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Minister of Infrastructure of New Zealand.English entered parliament in 1990 as a National party MP representing the Wallace electorate...
took over National, it was thought that he might lead the Opposition away from its prior hardline New Right economic and social policies, but his indecisiveness and lack of firm policy direction led to ACT New Zealand gaining the New Right middle-class voting basis in 2002. When Don Brash
Don Brash
Donald "Don" Thomas Brash , a New Zealand politician, was Leader of the Opposition, parliamentary leader of the National Party from 28 October 2003 to 27 November 2006 and the leader of the ACT Party for 28th April 2011 - 26 November 2011...
took over, New Right middle-class voters returned to National's fold, causing National's revival in fortunes at the New Zealand general election, 2005
New Zealand general election, 2005
The 2005 New Zealand general election held on 17 September 2005 determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. No party won a majority in the unicameral House of Representatives, but the Labour Party of Prime Minister Helen Clark secured two more seats than nearest rival, the...
. However, at the same time, ACT New Zealand strongly criticised it for deviating from its former New Right economic policy perspectives, and at the same election, National did little to enable ACT's survival. ACT currently has five Members of Parliament, and its survival depends on whether or not ACT leader Rodney Hide
Rodney Hide
Rodney Hide is a New Zealand politician who was leader of the political party ACT New Zealand from 2004 to 2011. From 2005 to 2011 he represented the electorate of Epsom as its Member of Parliament. Rodney Hide was Minister of Local Government, Associate Minister of Commerce and Minister of...
can retain his Epsom electorate seat at the next general election. Furthermore, Don Brash resigned as National party leader, being replaced by John Key
John Key
John Phillip Key is the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand, in office since 2008. He has led the New Zealand National Party since 2006....
, who is seen as a more moderate National MP.
As for the centre-left, Helen Clark and her Labour-led coalition have been criticised from ex-Alliance members and non-government organisations for their alleged lack of attention to centre-left social policies, while trade union membership has recovered due to Labour's repeal of the Employment Contracts Act 1991 and labour market deregulation
Labour market flexibility
Labour market flexibility refers to the speed with which labour markets adapt to fluctuations and changes in society, the economy or production.-Definition:In the past, the most common definition of labour market flexibility was the neo-liberal definition...
and the deunionisation that had accompanied it in the nineties. It is plausible that Clark and her Cabinet are influenced by Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
and his British Labour Government, which pursues a similar balancing act between social and fiscal responsibility while in government.
Poland
In PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, a conservative liberal and eurosceptic
Euroscepticism
Euroscepticism is a general term used to describe criticism of the European Union , and opposition to the process of European integration, existing throughout the political spectrum. Traditionally, the main source of euroscepticism has been the notion that integration weakens the nation state...
political party Congress of the New Right
Congress of the New Right
Congress of the New Right is a conservative liberal political party in Poland. It was founded on 25 March 2011 by Janusz Korwin-Mikke from the merger of Freedom and Lawfulness with the Real Politics Union.- Ideology :...
(New Right) was founded on 25 March from former political parties Freedom and Lawfulness
Freedom and Lawfulness
Freedom and Lawfulness , abbreviated to WiP, was a free market-emphasizing conservative political party in Poland. It was composed of conservatives, libertarians, and monarchists. Janusz Korwin-Mikke was the party leader and founder....
(WiP) and Real Politics Union
Real Politics Union
The Real Politics Union , abbreviated to UPR, was a free market-emphasizing conservative political party in Poland. It was composed of conservatives, libertarians and monarchists...
(UPR) by Janusz Korwin-Mikke
Janusz Korwin-Mikke
Janusz Ryszard Korwin-Mikke is a Polish conservative liberal political commentator and politician. He is the leader of the Congress of the New Right, which was formed in 2011 from Freedom and Lawfulness, which he led from its formation in 2009, and the Real Politics Union, which he led from...
. It is backed up by disappointed voters, some conservatives, people who want to legalize marijuana and citizens who endorse free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
and capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
.
Romania
In RomaniaRomania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, the far-right nationalist organization "Noua Dreaptă
Noua Dreapta
Noua Dreaptă is an ultra-nationalist organization in Romania and Moldova, founded in 2000.-Beliefs:The group's beliefs include militant nationalism and strong Orthodox Christian religious convictions...
" (New Right) was founded in 2000. In 2006, Noua Dreaptă staged a peaceful anti-gay rally in Bucharest. The organization uses the paraphernalia of interwar Iron Guard
Iron Guard
The Iron Guard is the name most commonly given to a far-right movement and political party in Romania in the period from 1927 into the early part of World War II. The Iron Guard was ultra-nationalist, fascist, anti-communist, and promoted the Orthodox Christian faith...
and practices a cult of personality
Cult of personality
A cult of personality arises when an individual uses mass media, propaganda, or other methods, to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. Cults of personality are usually associated with dictatorships...
towards the slain Iron Guard leader Corneliu Zelea Codreanu
Corneliu Zelea Codreanu
Corneliu Zelea Codreanu was a Romanian politician of the far right, the founder and charismatic leader of the Iron Guard or The Legion of the Archangel Michael , an ultra-nationalist and violently antisemitic organization active throughout most of the interwar period...
. Noua Dreaptă is an active member of the far right European National Front
European National Front
European National Front is a coordinating structure of European Third Positionist, anti-communist and nationalist parties. Sometimes members of the ENF also use anti-capitalist rhetoric...
.
South Korea
In South KoreaSouth Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, the South Korean New Right
New Right (South Korea)
The New Right movement in the South Korean politics is a school of political thought based on neoconservative values.-School textbooks:Some well-known politicians from the "old right" GNP indicated commonality with the New Right groups, including Park Geun-hye endorse the anti-North Korean New...
movement is a Korean attempt at neoconservative
Neoconservatism
Neoconservatism in the United States is a branch of American conservatism. Since 2001, neoconservatism has been associated with democracy promotion, that is with assisting movements for democracy, in some cases by economic sanctions or military action....
politics. The Lee Myung-bak government
Lee Myung-bak government
The Lee Myung-bak government is sixth consecutive government of the Sixth Republic of South Korea. It was officially launched on February 25th, 2008, under Lee Myung-bak's victory in the 2007 presidential election...
led by President Lee Myung-bak
Lee Myung-bak
Lee Myung-bak is the President of South Korea. Prior to his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction and the mayor of Seoul. He is married to Kim Yoon-ok and has three daughters and one son. His older brother is Lee Sang-deuk, a South Korean politician. He attends the...
and the conservative Grand National Party
Grand National Party
The Grand National Party is a conservative political party in South Korea. Its Korean name, Hannara, has a double meaning as "Great National" and "Korean National." The GNP holds a majority of seats in the 18th Assembly, lasting from 2008 to 2012....
is noted for being a benefactor of the domestic New Right movement.
United Kingdom
Use of the term New Right in the United Kingdom is rather ambiguous and very different. There is National Anarchist Movement in which perhaps most prominent figure today is an author, writer, and musician Troy SouthgateTroy Southgate
Troy Southgate is an author, musician and leading National-Anarchist activist based in the United Kingdom.-Politics:Originally from Crystal Palace, in South London, Southgate is of English-Scots descent and moved to the small village of Jarvis Brook, East Sussex, in his teenage years...
; there are also independent New Right thinkers such as Alex Kurtagić
Supernal Music
Alex Kurtagić , born 1970 and residing in the United Kingdom, is a radical traditionalist, racial-realist, elitist, pro-White activist and author on the Alternative and New Right author, artist, musician, publisher, translator, interviewer, blogger, movie and book reviewer, prolific writer,...
and artists such as New Right chairman Jonathan Bowden
Jonathan Bowden
Jonathan Bowden is a British artist and political figure who has been involved with a number of political parties and groups, and is a leading speaker on the nationalist circuit.-Career:...
.
Another example of the new right (which is different from above mentioned New Right) is used today in connection with post modern neoliberal capitalist politics.
This is explained below.
Philosophy: New Right ideas were developed in the early eighties and took a distinctive view of elements of society such as family
Family values
Family values are political and social beliefs that hold the nuclear family to be the essential ethical and moral unit of society. Familialism is the ideology that promotes the family and its values as an institution....
, education, crime and deviance. In the United Kingdom, the term New Right more specifically refers to a strand of Conservatism
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
that the likes of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan influenced. Thatcher's style of New Right ideology, known as Thatcherism
Thatcherism
Thatcherism describes the conviction politics, economic and social policy, and political style of the British Conservative politician Margaret Thatcher, who was leader of her party from 1975 to 1990...
, was heavily influenced by the work of Friedrich Hayek
Friedrich Hayek
Friedrich August Hayek CH , born in Austria-Hungary as Friedrich August von Hayek, was an economist and philosopher best known for his defense of classical liberalism and free-market capitalism against socialist and collectivist thought...
(in particular the book The Road to Serfdom
The Road to Serfdom
The Road to Serfdom is a book written by the Austrian-born economist and philosopher Friedrich von Hayek between 1940–1943, in which he "warned of the danger of tyranny that inevitably results from government control of economic decision-making through central planning," and in which he argues...
). They were ideologically committed to neo-liberalism as well as being socially conservative
Social conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
. Key policies included deregulation of business, a dismantling of the welfare state, privatization of nationalized industries and restructuring of the national workforce in order to increase industrial and economic flexibility in an increasingly global market. Similar policies were continued by the subsequent Conservative government
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
under John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
and the mark of the New Right is evident in the New Labour government, first under Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, then Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
.
Influential figures:
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
—Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
John Redwood
John Redwood
John Alan Redwood is a British Conservative Party politician and Member of Parliament for Wokingham. He was formerly Secretary of State for Wales in Prime Minister John Major's Cabinet and was an unsuccessful challenger for the leadership of the Conservative Party in 1995...
—Conservative MP.
Chubb, John E. and Moe, Terry M—New Right theorists who spoke about education in their book "Politics, Markets and America's Schools"
United States
In the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, New Right refers to two historically distinct conservative
American conservatism
Conservatism in the United States has played an important role in American politics since the 1950s. Historian Gregory Schneider identifies several constants in American conservatism: respect for tradition, support of republicanism, preservation of "the rule of law and the Christian religion", and...
political movements. Both American New Rights are distinct from and opposed to the more moderate tradition of the so-called Rockefeller Republicans. The New Right also differs from the Old Right
Old Right (United States)
The Old Right was a conservative faction in the United States that opposed both New Deal domestic programs and U.S. entry into World War II. Many members of this faction were associated with the Republicans of the interwar years led by Robert Taft, but some were Democrats...
(1933–1955) on issues concerning foreign policy with the New Right being opposed to the non-interventionism of the Old Right.
The first New Right
The first New Right (1955–1964) was centered around the libertarians, traditionalists, and anti-communists at William F. Buckley's National Review. The first New Right embraced "fusionism" (classical liberal economics, traditional social values, and an ardent anti-communism) and coalesced through grassroots organizing in the years preceding the 1964 presidential campaign of Barry GoldwaterBarry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
. The Goldwater campaign, though failing to unseat incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
, galvanized the formation of a new political movement.
First New Right figures:
William F. Buckley, Jr.
William F. Buckley, Jr.
William Frank Buckley, Jr. was an American conservative author and commentator. He founded the political magazine National Review in 1955, hosted 1,429 episodes of the television show Firing Line from 1966 until 1999, and was a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist. His writing was noted for...
—editor of National Review
Frank Meyer
Frank Meyer
Frank Straus Meyer was a libertarian political philosopher and co-founding editor of the National Review magazine.-Personal life:...
—anti-communist libertarian and creator of the "fusionist" political theory
James Burnham
James Burnham
James Burnham was an American popular political theorist, best known for his influential work The Managerial Revolution, published in 1941. Burnham was a radical activist in the 1930s and an important factional leader of the American Trotskyist movement. In later years he left Marxism and produced...
—anti-communist political theorist
M. Stanton Evans—journalist and writer of Young Americans for Freedom's "Sharon Statement"
Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
—U.S. Senator from Arizona and 1964 Republican U.S. presidential nominee
The second New Right
The second New Right (1964 to the present) was formed in the wake of the Goldwater campaign and had a more populist tone than the first New Right. The second New Right tended to focus on social issues and national sovereignty (i.e. the Panama Canal treaty) and was often linked with the Religious Right. The second New Right formed a policy approach and electoral apparatus that brought Ronald ReaganRonald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
into the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
in the 1980 presidential election. In elite think-tanks and local community organizations alike, new policies, marketing strategies, and electoral strategies were crafted over the succeeding decades to promote strongly conservative policies. Though mostly ignored by scholars until the late 1980s, the formation of the New Right is now one of the fastest-growing areas of historical research.
Second New Right figures:
Richard Viguerie
Richard Viguerie
Richard Art Viguerie is a conservative figure, pioneer of political direct mail and writer on American politics...
—direct mail activist
Howard Phillips—founder of the Conservative Caucus
Robert Grant
Robert Grant
Robert Grant may refer to:*Ramesvara Swami, born Robert Grant, ISKCON member*Robert Grant , , was a Scottish astronomer.*Robert Grant , lumberman and politician in British Columbia, Canada...
—Christian right activist and founder of Christian Voice
Christian Voice
Christian Voice may refer to:* Christian Voice , a UK fundamentalist Christian lobby group* Christian Voice , an American conservative Christian advocacy group* Christian Voice, Karachi, a Pakistani newspaper...
Terry Dolan—founder of the National Conservative Political Action Committee
National Conservative Political Action Committee
The National Conservative Political Action Committee was a New Right political action committee in the United States that was a major contributor to the ascendancy of conservative Republicans in the early 1980s, including the election of Ronald Reagan as President, and that innovated the use of...
Phyllis Schlafly
Phyllis Schlafly
Phyllis McAlpin Stewart Schlafly is a Constitutional lawyer and an American politically conservative activist and author who founded the Eagle Forum. She is known for her opposition to modern feminism ideas and for her campaign against the proposed Equal Rights Amendment...
—anti-feminist activist and founder of the Eagle Forum
Paul Weyrich
Paul Weyrich
Paul M. Weyrich was an American conservativepolitical activist and commentator, most notable as a figurehead of the New Right. He co-founded the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank and the Free Congress Foundation, another conservative think tank...
—founder of the Heritage Foundation and Free Congress Education and Research Foundation
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
—President of the USA
The "third" New Right
A third group often labeled "New Right" are a group of theorists and scholars whose work on public policy issues such as crime and the family assisted policy makers in the 1970s and 1980s. Their work came to prominence around the same time that the second New Right emerged and came into power."Third" New Right theories
Family —Much like functionalists, New Right theorists see the family as the cornerstone of society. The nuclear family
Nuclear family
Nuclear family is a term used to define a family group consisting of a father and mother and their children. This is in contrast to the smaller single-parent family, and to the larger extended family. Nuclear families typically center on a married couple, but not always; the nuclear family may have...
is the ‘normal family’ in the view of the New Right. For example, according to John Redwood: ‘the natural state should be the two-adult family caring for their children’. The New Right sees the family in a state of deterioration. They point to the following evidence to support their claims: lone-parent families, fatherless families, and divorce rates.
Criticisms of the New Right's views on the family include arguments that they tend to blame the victims of disadvantaged families, and that they hold an idealized view of the past.
Crime and Deviance
‘Thinking about Crime’—1975—James Q. Wilson.
Wilson denies that trying to eradicate evils such as poverty will help to reduce crime. According to him, programs to reduce poverty in the U.S. lead to subsequent rising levels of crime. He therefore believes crime can neither be explained nor tackled by the nanny state. Wilson sees crime as a result of rational calculations. People will commit crime if the benefits outweigh the risk involved. Therefore, suggesting remedies like harsher sentences would help resolve crime. Wilson sees the main problems of crime as undermining communities—‘[crime]prevents the formation and maintenance of community’. With the absence of community, crime rates soar.
Murray—1990, 2001.
According to Murray, increased numbers of young, healthy, low-income people choose not to take jobs, but instead turn to crime; in particular, street crime and regular drug abuse. According to Murray, this is a result of the increase of lone parent families without a father figure. As a result, the young males lack role models that demonstrate how to live in society correctly. Murray believes the welfare dependency that these young men have lived on throughout their childhood has led them to a lack of work ethos, and subsequently pushed them towards a life of crime.
Wilson—1985.
In Wilson’s more recent work, he has moved towards a biological explanation for the causes of crime. He argues that people are born with a natural predisposition for crime. This potential can only be realised through poor socialization provided by inadequate families—e.g., single-parent families. Wilson also goes on to say how the welfare state has led to the easy life for many people. There is no longer the hard work needed to hold down a job, and one can live solely off the state. Also, from an increasingly affluent society, the potential gains of crime are increasing, and thus inviting more people to a life of crime.
"Third" New Right figures:
James Q. Wilson
James Q. Wilson
James Q. Wilson is an American academic political scientist and an authority on public administration. He is a professor and senior fellow at the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy at Boston College....
—advisor to Reagan. Ideas very unpopular among left-wing British sociologists.
Charles Murray
Charles Murray (author)
Charles Alan Murray is an American libertarian political scientist, author, columnist, and pundit working as a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, DC...
—New Right theorist, spoke about family, crime, and deviance.
George Erdos and Norman Dennis
Norman Dennis
Norman Dennis was a British sociologist.Born one of four sons to a tram driver, Dennis was educated at Bede Collegiate Boy's School and was offered a place at Corpus Christi, Oxford, but declined it in favour of London School of Economics, where he achieved a first in economics...
—New Right thinkers who were sociologists, and wrote about families without fathers.
Aside from the above mentioned ideologies, the "New Right" also refers to a form of Conservativism
South Park Republican
"South Park Republican" was a term that first circulated in blogs and articles on the Internet between the years circa 2001 and 2002, used to describe what some modern commentators describe as a "new wave" or generation of young adults and teenagers who hold center-right political beliefs that are,...
which calls for survival-of-the-fittest, and a retention of the 1960s permissive society.
See also
- American Conservative UnionAmerican Conservative UnionThe American Conservative Union is an American political organization advocating conservative policies, and is the oldest such conservative lobbying organization in the country.-Organization:...
- Christian VoiceChristian VoiceChristian Voice may refer to:* Christian Voice , a UK fundamentalist Christian lobby group* Christian Voice , an American conservative Christian advocacy group* Christian Voice, Karachi, a Pakistani newspaper...
- Conservative Caucus
- Eagle ForumEagle ForumEagle Forum is a conservative interest group in the United States founded by Phyllis Schlafly in 1972 and is the parent organization that also includes the Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund and the Eagle Forum PAC. The Eagle Forum has been primarily focused on social issues; it describes...
- Free Congress FoundationFree Congress FoundationThe Free Congress Foundation , is a conservative think tank founded by Paul Weyrich. It was based near Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C...
- Heritage FoundationHeritage FoundationThe Heritage Foundation is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong...
- National ReviewNational ReviewNational Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
- NeoconservatismNeoconservatismNeoconservatism in the United States is a branch of American conservatism. Since 2001, neoconservatism has been associated with democracy promotion, that is with assisting movements for democracy, in some cases by economic sanctions or military action....
- New LeftNew LeftThe New Left was a term used mainly in the United Kingdom and United States in reference to activists, educators, agitators and others in the 1960s and 1970s who sought to implement a broad range of reforms, in contrast to earlier leftist or Marxist movements that had taken a more vanguardist...
- Religious RightReligious rightThe term religious right may refer to religiously motivated right wing movements such as:*Christian right*Hindu nationalism *Islamism*Jewish right*Theravada...
- Sharon StatementSharon StatementThe Sharon Statement is the founding statement of principles of the Young Americans for Freedom.Written by M. Stanton Evans with the assistance of Annette Kirk, wife of Russell Kirk, and adopted on September 11, 1960, the statement is named for the location of the inaugural meeting of Young...
- Young Americans for FreedomYoung Americans for FreedomYoung Americans for Freedom is a 501 non-profit organization and is now a project of Young America's Foundation. YAF is an ideologically conservative youth activism organization that was founded in 1960, as a coalition between traditional conservatives and libertarians...
External links
- New Right - articles on New Right movements.
- Free Speech Project - various New Right texts in English
- New Right Forum - New Right on Reddit
- A Survey of the European New Right New Culture, New Right: Anti-Liberalism in Postmodern Europe by Michael O’Meara