Are You a Neoconservative?

I’ll be honest. I don’t understand the whole neocon debate. There really doesn’t seem to be a pat definition of a neocon other than something that old school conservatives such as Pat Buchanan and even older classical liberals such as Murray Rothbard detest. But now there’s a quiz to help us all.

And how did I fare? Between Isolationist, Liberal, Realist, and Neocon, I was a Realist.

Realists…

* Are guided more by practical considerations than ideological vision

* Believe US power is crucial to successful diplomacy – and vice versa

* Don’t want US policy options unduly limited by world opinion or ethical considerations

* Believe strong alliances are important to US interests

* Weigh the political costs of foreign action

* Believe foreign intervention must be dictated by compelling national interest

Historical realist: President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Modern realist: Secretary of State Colin Powell

Of course, this quiz puts Ronald Reagan down as a neoconservative. Methodology aside, it’s interesting to see the slant.