Movement Conservatism

It’s difficult to find a simple definition of Movement Conservatism, but here’s my best shot.

Movement Conservatism describes what has been called the New Right in the U.S. (although it’s not really new anymore, since it began with William F. Buckley Jr. in the 1950s). The phrase was first used by William Rusher (publisher of the conservative magazine, National Review) in a memo to William F. Buckley Jr. in 1961.

My definition:

Movement Conservatives are not conservative in the sense of “keeping things the way they are”; they advocate for the radical reorganization of society and economics along libertarian lines. They believe that big government constitutes the most serious problem (Ronald Reagan: “government is the problem”), and they believe the growth of the administrative state has destroyed individual initiative (a potentially racist belief, since Blacks and Latinos are frequently viewed as lacking initiative. Racism is denied by men like Mr. Buckley, but evident in Mr. Trump). In practice, its libertarianism favors “big business.” Traditionalist in morals and views of personal responsibility.

George H. Nash identified five distinct groups within Movement Conservatism.

1. Mid-1930s to the 1960s. Libertarians, traditionalists, and anti-communists; intent on fighting the New Deal.

2. In the 1970s. Two additional groups added: neoconservatives and the religious right.

Movement Conservatism became the dominant form of conservatism in the mid-1970s, and especially after the election of Ronald Reagan to the presidency.

Some sources I’ve read:

George H. Nash, 2009. Reappraising the Right: The Past and Future of American Conservatism.

Jonathan M. Schoenwald, 2002. A Time for Choosing: The Rise of Modern American Conservatism.

Nancy MacLean, 2017. Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America

Nancy MacLean lecture on Democracy in Chains. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eowEmcS75JM

Heather Boushey, August 2017. “How the Radical Right Played the Long Game and Won.” (A review of Democracy in Chains.) The New York Times, August 15. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/15/books/review/democracy-in-chains-nancy-maclean.html

Rick Perlstein, October 2006. “Thunder on the Right: The Roots of Conservative Victory in the 1960s.” OAH Magazine of History.