On The Other Hand
Editor — exploring modern JewryIrving Kristol: Neo-Con’s Jewish Godfather
Irving Kristol, the “godfather of the neo-conservative movement,” died Friday, Sept. 18 at age 89. The life story of the son of non-observant Eastern European Jewish immigrants reveals how American Jews continue to openly, confidently shape the broader society without retribution.
If it was anything, Kristol’s intellectual journey was fascinating. Praised in his final decades as an icon of the intellectual right, in his earlier years he was a hardcore leftist. Back in 1940, as a City College of New York student he was part of a Trotskyite communist sect that morphed into the New York Intellectuals. In 1973, disenchanted with the Democratic Party’s left-wing, he coined with Michael Harrington the term “neo-conservatism.”
Along the way, Kristol’s many positions of influence included being Managing Editor of the American Jewish Committee’s Commentary magazine (1947-1952), of which he was a lifelong contributor. From 1965 to 2002 he was the co-founder and co-editor of Public Interest. From 1985 to 2002 he was the founder and publisher of The National Interest. He also authored four books, including the 1978 “Two Cheers for Capitalism.”
Now I’m a regular reader of Commentary. I have always found Kristol’s essays intelligent, even though I’d say I only agreed with about half of his conclusions. Still, he made you think about your positions – and he made me reconsider several of mine. (That’s far more than I can say for his son Bill at the Weekly Standard, who I just don’t think has anywhere near the intellectual clout and is much more of a political hack.)
Over the years, Irving Kristol’s choice quotes included:
• “A neo-conservative is a liberal who has been mugged by reality.” (Nu, Irving, ever hear of self-defense classes?)
• “The danger facing American Jews today is not that Christians want to persecute them but that Christians want to marry them.” (I couldn’t agree more. We’re not being done in by anti-Semitism in this country, but by our inability to convince people that Jewish living is worthy of perpetuating.)
• “A liberal is a person who sees a 14-year-old girl performing live sex acts onstage and wonders if she’s being paid the minimum wage.” (As offensive as that is to some, it has to make you chuckle a little.)
Whatever his perspective, Kristol’s essays had impact, even as the vast majority of American Jews defied his hopes by voting with the Democratic Party.
Regardless, Kristol gave right-leaning American Jews an intellectual comfort in GOP circles. And unlike so many in the political arena today, he was a principled gentleman more interested in stoking ideas than anger. In short, he left an indisputable imprint on the American Jewish experience while shaping the national debate as well.
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