Ronald Reagan's Character And The Application Of Neo Conservatism

This essay first evaluates Reagan’s disposition, character and personal philosophy to establish whether or not his character was consistent with that of a neo-conservative. It then examines the extent to which the neo-conservatives around him influenced his foreign policy, particularly during the Cold War. Lastly, it applies the ‘pragmatic libertarian’ label to discover its relevance in comparison to neo-conservatism. Reagan was not the ‘hawk’ that he has been eagerly portrayed to be by contemporary neo-conservatives. There is a distinction to be made between Ronald Reagan’s character and the application of a neo-conservatism label to his foreign policy (Husan, 2011; Thompson, 2011) and a disparity between theory and action practise (Halper

A critical perspective reveals that in fact, his foreign policy was defined primarily by prudence, pragmatism and appreciation for the balance of power in a bi-polar world (Buchanan, 2004; Kaufman, 2011; Lawry, 2005). The label which suits him best is arguably ‘pragmatic libertarian’.

In placing Reagan’s foreign policy within a set framework, the wider political theory must first be established. Conservatives see American power as a force for good, aggressive use of power should only be used in defence of the national interest but they differentiate between “targeted, focused and limited” action (Krauthammer 2004, 17), not as the neoconservatives see it, a world crusade. Conservatives support freedom and liberty, some with modest enthusiasm, the Old Right, and others pushing freedom to the extreme, libertarians. Reagan, self-admittedly, falls into the latter category, “I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism” (Reagan 1975). Neoconservatives see that power can be wielded in almost any situation to produce desires results, even if interventions are loosely based on U.S.

These included notions of political liberty, economic freedom, pragmatism and American exceptionalism. He was aggressive only in his proactive defence against threats, this realist approach enabled him to maintain an appreciation for power and its limits. Reagan’s foreign policy endorsed a “ringing idealism” (Lowry, 2005), discriminately applied with the specific purpose of eroding and defeating a hostile world empire, the Soviet Union. Reagan pleased the neo-conservatives in his ‘anti-Sovietism’ stance. The applied use of the heavy weight of U.S. power was needed to bankrupt the USSR, through a substantial arms build-up, this belligerent yet pragmatic approach was “prudent and necessary” (Lowry 2005). Reagan was unapologetic when dealing with the USSR, calling it the ‘Evil Empire’, despite this, in his second term, he developed a diplomatic relationship with Gorbachev as circumstances changed, and Reagan’s foreign policy reacted to changes in the Soviet system with a pragmatic mirroring effect. This shows a disparity between “Reaganism as defined in theory, and that which became practice” (Halper and Clarke 2004). Following Reagan’s strategy of helping the Soviet Union stabilise its empire with not responding militarily to martial law instated in Poland, an action desired by neoconservatives, Podhoretz (1982) accused Reagan of ‘appeasement’ and falling into the trap of believing in