DOCSLIB.ORG

American Presidents and Education

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
American Presidents and Education DOCUMENT RESUME ED 359 126 SO 023 121 AUTHOR Berube, Maurice R. TITLE American Presidents and Education. REPORT NO ISBN-0-313-27848-2; ISSN-0196-707X PUB DATE 91 NOTE 174p.; For the author's conferencepaper with the same title, see ED 335 274. PUB TYPE Books (010) Reports Descriptive (141) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC07 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Educational History; *Educational Policy;Elementary Secondary Education; *Government Role; Higher Education; *Politics of Education; *Presidents of the United States; Role of Education; United States History ABSTRACT This book seeks to analyze the involvement ofU.S. presidents in education and to correlate this analysiswith an assessment of national educational outcomes. In the earlyrepublic, the founding fathers stressed education mainlyas a tool for citizenship. Having successfully gained independencetnrough a revolution, they perceived educationas the best means to insure that democracy would prevail at home. In the 19th century,only during the Civil War was there a presidential recognitionthat education could be advanced for economic reasons. Presidential interestin education was periodic until World War II. With the rise ofan economy increasingly dependent on new technology, U.S. presidentswere confronted with the need to develop amore educated workforce. The book devotes separate chapters to the involvementof three presidential administrations to education: LyndonJohnson, Ronald Reagan, and George Bush. A bibliography ofmore than 180 items is included. (DB) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRSare the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** I AMERICAN PRESIDENTS AND EDUCATION MAURICE R. BERUBE c Recent Titles in Contributions to the Study of Education Getting Down to Business: Baruch College in the City of New York, N4/-1987 Selma C. lierrol The Democratic Tradition and the Evolution of Schooling in Norway Val D. Rua Diffusion of Innovations in English Language Teaching: The ELEC Effort in Japan. 1956-1968 Lynn Earl Henrichsen Improving Educational Quality: A Global Perspective David IV. Chapman and Carol A. Carrier, editors Rethinking the Curriculum: Toward an Integrated, Interdisciplinary College Education Mary E. Clark and Sandra A. Wawrytko, editors Study Abroad: The Experience of American Undergraduates /my S. Carlson, Barbara B. Burn, John Useern, and David Yachimowic7 Between Understanding and Misunderstanding: Problems and Prospects for International Cultural Exchange Yasushi Sugiyama, editor Southern Cities, Southern Schools: Public Education in the Urban South David N. Plank and Rick Ginsberg, editors Making Schools Work for Underachieving Minority Students: Next Steps for Reseaich, Policy, and Practice Josie G. Bain and Joan L. Herman, editors Foreign Teachers in China: Old Problems for a New Generation, 1979-1989 Edgar A. Porter Effective Interventions: Applying Learning Theory to School Social Work Evelyn Harris Ginsburg Cognitive Education and Testing: A Methodological Approach Eugene J. Meehan AMERICAN PRESIDENTS AND EDUCATION MAURICE R. BERUBE Contributions to the Study of Education, Number 46 GREENWOOD PRESS New York Westport, Conr ccticut London Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Berube, Maurice R. American presidents and education / Maurice R. Beruhe. p. cm.(Contributions to the study of education, ISSN 0196-707X ; no. 46) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-313-27848-2 (alk. paper) 1. Education and stateUnited States.2. PresidentsUnited StatesViews on education.I. Title.II.Series. LC89.B45 1991 379.73dc20 90-24709 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data isavailable. Copyright 0 1991 by Maurice R. Beruhe All rights reserved. No portion of this hook may he reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 90-24709 ISBN: 0-313-27848-2 ISSN: 0196-707X First published in 1991 Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. Printed in the United States of America t(E0_0 The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 For my wife, Anne Clarke I3erube L.) Contents Acknowledgments ix 1. Education and the Presidency 1 2.Education for Democracy 13 3.Education for the Economy 31 4.Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969) and the Equity Reform Movement 59 5.Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) and the Excellence Reform Movement 87 6.George Bush (1989) and National Standards 121 7.A National Framework 143 Bibliography 155 Index 165 1.1 A Acknowledgments I am much obliged to a number of people in the preparation of this study. Professors Dwight Allen, Jane Meeks and Raymond Strangways of Old Dominion University were helpful. Dwight Allen shared his manuscripton a national system of education, Jane Meeks furnished leads on the education of Southern blacks and Ray Strangways, on economics. Others have contributed in myriad ways. Dr. Mary T. Piana has beena supportive friend and a wise counsel for over a decade. Librariansat Old Dominion University and Norfolk State Universitywere exceptionally co- operative. Dawn Hall proved a patient and conscientious typist. Special thanks to my editors at Greenwood Press: Mildred Vasan, senior editor; Arlene Belzer, production editor; and Carol Lucas, copyeditor. Finally, I want to express my gratitude to the twenty respondentsto a purposeful sample mailed to fifty experts on educational policyon the ques- tion of a possible constitutional amendment on a right to education. These include: Dwight Allen, Professor of Educational Reform, Old Dominion University; Stanley Aronowitz, Professar of Sociology, City University of New York; Terrel H. Bell, Professor of Education, University of Utah and former U.S. Secretary of Education; Chester E. Finn, Jr., Professor of Ed- ucational Policy, Vanderbilt University, and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education; Susan Eagleton Fuhrman, Professor of Political Science, Rut- gers University; Bernard Gifford, Professor of Education, University of Cal- ifornia at Berkeley; Herbert Gintis, Professor of Education, University of Massachusetts at Amherst; Marilyn Gittell, Professor of Political Science, City University of New York; Nathan Glazer, Professor of Education and Sociology, Harvard University; Gerald Grant, Professor of Education, Syr- acuse University; Samuel Halperin, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of tTh Y x Acknowledgments Health, Education and Welfare; Harold Howe II, Lecturer at Harvard Uni- versity and former U.S. Commissioner of Education; David Kapel, Dean, School of Education, University of New Orleans; David Kratwohl, Professor of Education, Syracuse University; Allan Odden, Professor of Education, University of Southern California; Diane Ravitch, Adjunct Professor of Ed- ucation, Teachers College, Columbia University; Joel Spring, Professor of Education, University of Cincinnati; Michael Timpane, President, Teachers College, Columbia University; Charles Vert Willie, Professor of Education, Harvard University; and Frederick Wirt, Professor of Education, University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana. AMERICAN PRESIDENTS AND EDUCATION Education and the Presidency The role of the president of the United States in education is changing. As the American economy became sophisticated, the demand for an educated work force increased. This transformation was most dramatic after World War II as America emerged as a dominant technological economic and world power. Consequently, American presidents have become aware gradually of na- tional and international pressures to shape educational policies for America. !.1 They have responded in varying fashion, some more education-minded than others. However, national concern with education has increasingly devel- oped within presidential councils. Some presidents, such as Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan, were at the center of large-scale educational reform. Others, such as Richard Nixon and George Bush, have mainly continued past policies. In general, there has been an unbroken chain of presidential interest growing in intensity since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In the early republic, the founding fathers stressed education mainly as a tool for citizenship. Having successfully gained independence through a revolution, they were especially concerned that democracy be preserved, and they perceived education as the best means to insure that democracy would prevail at home. In the nineteenth century, only during the Civil War was there a presidential recognition that education could be advanced for economic reasons. Presidential interest in education was periodic until World War II. With the rise of an economy increasingly dependent on new technology, American presidents were confronted with the need to develop a more educated work force. This is a policy study. My aim is to analyze presidential involvement in education and the reasons for it and correlate it with an assessment of 2 American Presidents and Education national educational outcomes. I shall examine presidential efforts in edu- cation that have been successful and also had considerable impact as well as some that were not so successful but had significance either ideologically or as forerunners of future policies. I hope that as a policy study it will have implications for future
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Wanda Morris
    Bridgewater College BC Digital Commons Bridgewater Magazine Journals and Campus Publications 3-1982 Vol. 57, No. 3 | March 1982 Bridgewater College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.bridgewater.edu/bridgewater_magazine BRIDGEWATER__ March, l982 Terrel Bell To Speak Founders Day Terrel H. Bell, U.S. Secretary of Education, is to be the featured speaker for the 1982 Bridgewater College Founders Day activities April 2. Dr. Bell will speak at a special 3 p. m. academic convocation and at the Founders Day dinner that evening in the Kline Campus Center dining room. Dr. Bell will be honored with a Doctor of Laws degree to be conferred during the academic convocation program. Dr. Bell was sworn in as Secretary of Education in January 1981, following his appointment by President Reagan and confirmation by the U.S. Senate. Prior to his cabinet appointment, Bell had been Utah's Commissioner of Higher Education and Chief Executive Officer of the Board of Regents since 1976, following two years of service in Washington, D.C. as the 21st Commis­ sioner of Education. Dr. Bell holds a B.A. degree from Southern Idaho College of Education and an M.S. from the University of Idaho. He earned his doctorate in educational administration from the University of Utah. Bell has classroom teaching experience on both the second­ ary and college levels. Dr. Bell is known for his advocation of increased community Terrel H. Bell, Secretar_J' of Education Continued on page /3 Dr. Ben F. Wade Named College Provost Dr. Wayne F. Geisert, President of away from campus.
    [Show full text]
  • Thomas Jefferson and the Ideology of Democratic Schooling
    Thomas Jefferson and the Ideology of Democratic Schooling James Carpenter (Binghamton University) Abstract I challenge the traditional argument that Jefferson’s educational plans for Virginia were built on mod- ern democratic understandings. While containing some democratic features, especially for the founding decades, Jefferson’s concern was narrowly political, designed to ensure the survival of the new republic. The significance of this piece is to add to the more accurate portrayal of Jefferson’s impact on American institutions. Submit your own response to this article Submit online at democracyeducationjournal.org/home Read responses to this article online http://democracyeducationjournal.org/home/vol21/iss2/5 ew historical figures have undergone as much advocate of public education in the early United States” (p. 280). scrutiny in the last two decades as has Thomas Heslep (1969) has suggested that Jefferson provided “a general Jefferson. His relationship with Sally Hemings, his statement on education in republican, or democratic society” views on Native Americans, his expansionist ideology and his (p. 113), without distinguishing between the two. Others have opted suppressionF of individual liberties are just some of the areas of specifically to connect his ideas to being democratic. Williams Jefferson’s life and thinking that historians and others have reexam- (1967) argued that Jefferson’s impact on our schools is pronounced ined (Finkelman, 1995; Gordon- Reed, 1997; Kaplan, 1998). because “democracy and education are interdependent” and But his views on education have been unchallenged. While his therefore with “education being necessary to its [democracy’s] reputation as a founding father of the American republic has been success, a successful democracy must provide it” (p.
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of High Stakes Testing on School Leadership Permit Several
    HIGH STAKES TESTING AND ACCOUNTABILITY MANDATES: IMPACT ON CENTRAL OFFICE LEADERSHIP A dissertation submitted to the Kent State University College of Education, Health and Human Services in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy by Susan D. Carver December, 2008 © Copyright by Susan D. Carver 2008 All Rights Reserved A dissertation written by Susan D. Carver B.A., John Carroll University, 1994 M.Ed., Cleveland State University, 1996 Ph.D., Kent State University, 2008 Approved by _________________________, Director, Doctoral Anita M. Varrati, Ed.D. Dissertation Committee _________________________, Member, Doctoral Catherine E. Hackney Ph.D. Dissertation Committee _________________________, Member, Doctoral Diane L. Schnelker, Ph.D. Dissertation Committee Accepted by _________________________, Chairperson, Department of Teaching J. David Keller, Ph.D. Leadership and Curriculum Studies _________________________, Dean, College and Graduate School of Daniel F. Mahony, Ph.D. Education, Health, and Humans Services iii Carver, Susan D. Ph.D., December, 2008 K-12 Educational Administration HIGH STAKES TESTING AND ACCOUNTABILITY MANDATES: IMPACT ON CENTRAL OFFICE LEADERSHIP (252 pp.) Director of Dissertation: Anita M. Varrati, Ed.D. This qualitative study examined the ways in which K-12 central office administrators resolve the philosophical dilemma of maintaining democratic leadership strategies when federal mandates induce a more autocratic environment. Responses to two central research questions - how central office administrators are affected by the accountability and testing demands, and how they manage them - provided insight into efforts to resolve this dilemma. Interviews were conducted with four central office administrators from one school district in Ohio with a K-12 enrollment of 5,500 students.
    [Show full text]
  • UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations
    UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Packaging Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3th639mx Author Galloway, Catherine Suzanne Publication Date 2012 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California PACKAGING POLITICS by Catherine Suzanne Galloway A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science in the Graduate Division of the University of California at Berkeley Committee in charge Professor Jack Citrin, Chair Professor Eric Schickler Professor Taeku Lee Professor Tom Goldstein Fall 2012 Abstract Packaging Politics by Catherine Suzanne Galloway Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science University of California, Berkeley Professor Jack Citrin, Chair The United States, with its early consumerist orientation, has a lengthy history of drawing on similar techniques to influence popular opinion about political issues and candidates as are used by businesses to market their wares to consumers. Packaging Politics looks at how the rise of consumer culture over the past 60 years has influenced presidential campaigning and political culture more broadly. Drawing on interviews with political consultants, political reporters, marketing experts and communications scholars, Packaging Politics explores the formal and informal ways that commercial marketing methods – specifically emotional and open source branding and micro and behavioral targeting – have migrated to the
    [Show full text]
  • Guide to Material at the LBJ Library Pertaining to Political Affairs
    LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON L I B R A R Y & M U S E U M www.lbjlibrary.org Rev. 11/2002, 6/2010, 7/2011 PL MATERIAL AT THE LBJ LIBRARY PERTAINING TO POLITICAL AFFAIRS INTRODUCTION This list includes the principal files in the Johnson Library that contain material relating to political affairs. It is not definitive, however, and researchers should consult with the Library's archivists about other potentially useful files. The guide includes those collections that have been opened for research in part or in whole, and those collections that are currently unprocessed or unavailable. See also the guides: Congress; Public Opinion Polls and Mail; Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP); New Hampshire Politics; The President’s Club; Public Opinion Polls and Mail; 1968-69 Presidential Transition; Whistle Stop; plus those for individuals such as Barry Goldwater, Robert F. Kennedy, etc. WHITE HOUSE CENTRAL FILES (WHCF), SUBJECT FILE This permanent white House office was the main filing unit during the Johnson presidency, though not the primary file for foreign policy documents. Material was filed under 60 major subject headings, as described in the WHCF finding aid. Box # FG, Federal Government Organizations FG 1, The President of the United States 9-35 FG 400, The Legislative Branch 321-330 FG 410, House of Representatives 332-333 FG 411, House Committees 333-337 FG 412, Speaker of the House 337-338 FG 415, Joint Committees of Congress 338-339 FG 430, Senate 339-340 FG 431, Senate Committees 341-346 FG 440, Vice President of the United States 346-351
    [Show full text]
  • An Historical Policy Analysis of the Carl D. Perkins Legislation: Examining the History, Creation, Implementation and Reauthorization of the Law
    AN HISTORICAL POLICY ANALYSIS OF THE CARL D. PERKINS LEGISLATION: EXAMINING THE HISTORY, CREATION, IMPLEMENTATION AND REAUTHORIZATION OF THE LAW BY AIMEE MICHELLE LAFOLLETTE DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Policy Studies in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2011 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Yoon Pak, Chair Professor James D. Anderson Professor Debra Bragg Associate Professor Christopher Span ABSTRACT This dissertation explores the historical development of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act of 1984, with the incorporation of ―special populations‖ as a provision in the law from 1963. From 1917 through 1963, vocational funding primarily supported teacher training, research, program improvement, and expansion of vocational programs, in 1963 acknowledging the social climate of the time Congress included provisions to support services for disadvantaged students. In 1984, Congress established prescriptive provisions attaching funds to serve and address the needs of underserved students described as special populations. Vocational education‘s focus expanded from 1963 -1984 to included provisions to create programs eliminating sexual bias and stereotyping. This dissertation traces the foundations by which Congress was led to focus on access to vocational education programs and prescribe funding to serve handicapped, single parents, displaced homemakers, economically disadvantaged, academically disadvantaged, students with limited English proficiency, and gender equity. ii To my children James and Jacob iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I believe Malcolm Gladwell, author of Tipping Point, said it best when he stated that, ―…the people we surround ourselves with have a profound effect on who we are.‖ Personal success can never be attributed to a single individual.
    [Show full text]
  • Stewart L. Udall Oral History Interview – JFK #1, 1/12/1970 Administrative Information
    Stewart L. Udall Oral History Interview – JFK #1, 1/12/1970 Administrative Information Creator: Stewart L. Udall Interviewer: W.W. Moss Date of Interview: January 12, 1970 Length: 28 pp. Biographical Note Udall was the Secretary of the Interior for the President Kennedy and President Johnson Administrations (1961-1969). This interview focuses on Udall’s political background, his first impressions of Senator John F. Kennedy, Labor Relations of 1958, and the 1960 presidential nomination, among other issues. Access Restrictions No restrictions. Usage Restrictions According to the deed of gift signed March 17, 1981, copyright of these materials have been assigned to the United States Government. Users of these materials are advised to determine the copyright status of any document from which they wish to publish. Copyright The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excesses of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law. The copyright law extends its protection to unpublished works from the moment of creation in a tangible form.
    [Show full text]
  • Clause Used in Marbury V Madison
    Clause Used In Marbury V Madison Is Roosevelt unpoised or disposed when overstudies some challah clonks flagrantly? Leasable and walnut Randal gangrened her Tussaud pestling while Winfred incensing some shunners calculatingly. Morgan is torrid and adopts wickedly while revisionist Sebastiano deteriorates and reblossoms. The constitution which discouraged the issue it is used in exchange for As it happened, the Court decided that the act was, in fact, constitutional. You currently have no access to view or download this content. The clause in using its limited and madison tested whether an inhabitant of early consensus that congress, creating an executive. Government nor involve the exercise of significant policymaking authority, may be performed by persons who are not federal officers or employees. Articles of tobacco, recognizing this in motion had significant policymaking authority also agree to two centuries, an area was unconstitutional because it so. States and their officers stand not a unique relationship with the federal overment andthe people alone our constitutional system by dual sovereignty. The first section provides a background for the debate. The Implications the Case As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, this decision forms the basis for petitioners to challenge the constitutionality of our laws before the Supreme Court, including the health care law being debated today. Baldwin served in Congress for six years, including one term as Chairman of the House Committee on Domestic Manufactures. Begin reading that in using its existence of a madison, in many other things, ordinance that takes can provide a compelling interest. All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the eve of Representatives; but the Senate may laugh or cause with Amendments as make other Bills.
    [Show full text]
  • He Road to Charlottesville T the 1989 Education Summit
    covers.qx4 12/2/1999 10:11 AM Page 3 he Road to Charlottesville T The 1989 Education Summit A Publication of the National Education Goals Panel covers.qx4 12/2/1999 10:11 AM Page 4 Current Members National Education Goals Panel Governors Paul E. Patton, Kentucky (D), Chairman 1999 John Engler, Michigan (R) Jim Geringer, Wyoming (R) James B. Hunt, Jr., North Carolina (D) Frank Keating, Oklahoma (R) Frank O’Bannon, Indiana (D) Tommy Thompson, Wisconsin (R) Cecil H. Underwood, West Virginia (R) Members of the Administration Michael Cohen, Special Assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Education (D) Richard W. Riley, U.S. Secretary of Education (D) Members of Congress U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman, New Mexico (D) U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords, Vermont (R) U.S. Representative William F. Gooding, Pennsylvania (R) U.S. Representative Matthew G. Martinez, California (D) State Legislators Representative G. Spencer Coggs, Wisconsin (D) Representative Mary Lou Cowlishaw, Illinois (R) Representative Douglas R. Jones, Idaho (R) Senator Stephen Stoll, Missouri (D) Executive Director Ken Nelson negp30a.qx4 12/2/1999 10:18 AM Page iii he Road to Charlottesville T The 1989 Education Summit Maris A. Vinovskis Department of History, Institute for Social Research, and School of Public Policy University of Michigan September 1999 A Publication of the National Education Goals Panel negp30a.qx4 12/2/1999 10:18 AM Page iv Paper prepared for the National Education Goals Panel (NEGP). I am grateful to a number of individuals who have provided assistance. I want to thank Emily Wurtz of NEGP and EEI Communications in Alexandria, Virginia, for their editorial assis- tance.
    [Show full text]
  • Government-Sponsored Prayer in the Classroom Robert E
    Government-Sponsored Prayer in the Classroom Robert E. Riggs uring its 1984 session the United States Senate fell eleven votes short of the two-thirds majority required to endorse a constitutional amend- ment allowing government-sponsored prayers in public schools (S. J. Res. 1983). This was the strongest support yet accorded to one of numerous such attempts to amend the Constitution since the Supreme Court first banned a state-composed school prayer in 1962. Religious proponents have vowed to continue the fight for the amendment (Cornell 1984), and politicians are unlikely to drop the subject with polls showing 80 percent public approval of prayer in the schools (Gallup 1982, 1983). Prayer amendments have been reintroduced in the 1985 session of Congress. At the state and local level, many school districts continue to permit school-organized prayer, regardless of its constitutionality and, in some instances, in disregard of minority objections. The school prayer issue varies in intensity from time to time and from one locality to another, but, somehow, it will not go away. School prayer has intrinsic importance for many people, but the persisting vitality of the issue springs from much broader concerns. It is rooted in perva- sive frustration with a wide range of social evils that seem attributable, at least in part, to the growing secularization of American society. The challenge of traditional religious values is real enough, as are accompanying signs of social disintegration. Drug abuse, crime, alcoholism, commercialized obscenity, illegitimacy, broken marriages, fraud and corruption in business and govern- ment, heavy dependence upon government welfare — the evidence is all around us.
    [Show full text]
  • Neoconservatism Hoover Press : Berkowitz/Conservative Hberkc Ch5 Mp 104 Rev1 Page 104 Hoover Press : Berkowitz/Conservative Hberkc Ch5 Mp 105 Rev1 Page 105
    Hoover Press : Berkowitz/Conservative hberkc ch5 Mp_103 rev1 page 103 part iii Neoconservatism Hoover Press : Berkowitz/Conservative hberkc ch5 Mp_104 rev1 page 104 Hoover Press : Berkowitz/Conservative hberkc ch5 Mp_105 rev1 page 105 chapter five The Neoconservative Journey Jacob Heilbrunn The Neoconservative Conspiracy The longer the United States struggles to impose order in postwar Iraq, the harsher indictments of the George W. Bush administration’s foreign policy are becoming. “Acquiring additional burdens by engag- ing in new wars of liberation is the last thing the United States needs,” declared one Bush critic in Foreign Affairs. “The principal problem is the mistaken belief that democracy is a talisman for all the world’s ills, and that the United States has a responsibility to promote dem- ocratic government wherever in the world it is lacking.”1 Does this sound like a Democratic pundit bashing Bush for par- tisan gain? Quite the contrary. The swipe came from Dimitri Simes, president of the Nixon Center and copublisher of National Interest. Simes is not alone in calling on the administration to reclaim the party’s pre-Reagan heritage—to abandon the moralistic, Wilsonian, neoconservative dream of exporting democracy and return to a more limited and realistic foreign policy that avoids the pitfalls of Iraq. 1. Dimitri K. Simes, “America’s Imperial Dilemma,” Foreign Affairs (Novem- ber/December 2003): 97, 100. Hoover Press : Berkowitz/Conservative hberkc ch5 Mp_106 rev1 page 106 106 jacob heilbrunn In fact, critics on the Left and Right are remarkably united in their assessment of the administration. Both believe a neoconservative cabal has hijacked the administration’s foreign policy and has now overplayed its hand.
    [Show full text]
  • Military Neoliberalism: Endless War and Humanitarian Crisis in the Twenty-First Century Michael Schwartz Stony Brook State University
    Societies Without Borders Volume 6 | Issue 3 Article 3 2011 Military Neoliberalism: Endless War and Humanitarian Crisis in the Twenty-First Century Michael Schwartz Stony Brook State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/swb Part of the Human Rights Law Commons, and the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Schwartz, Michael. 2011. "Military Neoliberalism: Endless War and Humanitarian Crisis in the Twenty-First Century." Societies Without Borders 6 (3): 190-303. Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/swb/vol6/iss3/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Cross Disciplinary Publications at Case Western Reserve University School of Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Societies Without Borders by an authorized administrator of Case Western Reserve University School of Law Scholarly Commons. Schwartz: Military Neoliberalism: Endless War and Humanitarian Crisis in th M. Schwartz/Societies Without Borders 6:3 (2011) 190-303 Military Neoliberalism: Endless War and Humanitarian Crisis in the Twenty-First Century Michael Schwartz Stony Brook State University Received January 2011; Accepted August 2011 ______________________________________________________ Abstract This article seeks to understand the dynamics of twenty-first century military intervention by the United States and its allies. Based on an analysis of Bush and Obama administration policy documents, we note that these wars are new departures from previous interventions, calling on the military to undertake post-conflict reconstruction in ways that was previously left to indigenous government or to the civilian aspects of the occupation. This military-primary reconstruction is harnessed to ambitious neoliberal economics aimed at transforming the host country’s political economy.
    [Show full text]