Neocons and neolibs: why they differ.

• Author: Peters, Charles
• Position: TILTING at windmills - On Irving Kristol - Brief article

Although I've been called the godfather of neoliberalism, I was always fond of Irving Kristol, the godfather of neoconservatism, who died recently. We had many things in common. In the 1940s, we even lived within a block or two of each other on the West Side of New York City. More significantly, we both became critics of conventional liberalism. The difference between us was that seeing what was wrong with liberalism made him into a conservative, while I wanted to use the criticism to make liberalism better.

Over the years, I have speculated about what explained the different conclusions we had reached. One experience stands out. We had served in the Army during World War II, but what happened to me strengthened my belief in democracy while his experience produced the opposite result. He suffered abuse from most of his fellow soldiers because he was a Jew. I, on the other hand, found myself not only liking...