conservative social movements in the United States since p>196

conservative social movements refer to conservative thinkers entering the society from ivory towers, and expanding the social and political influence of conservative ideas by guiding and establishing political and religious organizations, interest groups/political action committees, foundations, think tanks, etc. This social movement has a wide range of contents, involving economic/fiscal conservatism movement, social/cultural conservative righteousness movement, federalism movement, free will movement, etc. Among them, the most important social/cultural conservative movement, mainly the "new right" and "religious right" movements. Although the "religious right" is closely related to the "new right", its leaders are mainly evangelists of various sects, both evangelicals and Protestant fundamentalism; It contains both Catholic orthodoxy and Jewish orthodoxy, so it has more theological color than the "new right". In addition, the "new right" and "religion.

The "Rightists" lived in different times. The "New Rightists" were mainly active in the 197s and 198s, while the "Religious Rightists" were more active in the 198s and 199s and the 21st century.

just as the "old right" in the 194s and 195s was the opposite of the "old left" in the 193s, the "new right" in the 197s and 198s was the opposite of the "new left" in the 196s. The opposition between the "old right" and the "old left" is mainly due to economic problems; The differences between the "new right" and the "new left" are caused by a series of social and cultural problems. The new right was brewing in the 196s, but it only rose in the 197s and 198s, and its influence on society and politics lagged behind that of the "new left".

Since the organization of Students in a Democratic Society (SDS for short) was established on campus in 1962, the "New Left" launched vigorous social movements in the 196s, such as civil rights movement, feminist movement, anti-war movement, anti-culture movement and sexual liberation movement. Their criticism of society and the development of these movements prompted the Congress controlled by the Democratic Party to pass a series of laws that changed history, such as the Civil Rights Bill and the War Authorization Bill. Their presidential candidates, Hubert Humphrey and George McGovern, were nominated by the Democratic Party in 1968 and 1972 respectively. However, their influence gradually declined after the 197s. Under the guidance of conservative thinkers such as William Buckley Jr., the right-wing student organization "Youth for Free America" (YAF for short) was established on campus in 196, and it did not disintegrate until the 198s. Most of the students in this organization come from the family of * * * and Party members. They don't think that * * * and Party liberalism have the freedom, tradition and order respected by "conservative" classical liberalism. The centralized system in Washington is the result of the excessive development of democratic liberalism, and the expansion of government functions makes it give freedom to some people and take away the freedom of others, such as implementing new compulsory racial integration and affirmative action in the south. This organization trained many cadres for the conservative movement of the new right in 197s and 198s, such as the core leader of the new right: Richard Vigery, the first executive director of YAF, became an expert in direct mail fund-raising for conservative political movements; Howard Phillips, a veteran of YAF, established the organization of "Conservative Caucus"; and Paul Veric, a conservative activist, launched the conservative movement of "Christian Right".

It is generally believed that the "new right" and "religious right" mainly carry out their activities through four types of organizations:

(1) Political Action Committee.

Political Action Committee refers to the political organization of interest groups that donate money to candidates running for public office, and its activities are mainly fund-raising and donation; The purpose is to help conservatives enter the leadership, so as to make them sympathize with their ideas. For example, in 1974, Veric led the establishment of the "Committee for the Survival of a Free Congress" to help conservatives be elected as members of Congress; In 1975, the conservative caucus established under Phillips' leadership was mainly at the grassroots level, with branches in every congressional constituency in the country, with about 3, members; In 1974, the National Conservative Political Action Committee led by Terry Dolan has become the largest conservative political action committee in the United States.

(2) interest groups with single issues.

The National Committee for the Right to Life, which opposes abortion, claims to have 1 million members; The National Committee on the Right to Work, which advocates the abolition of the minimum wage law, claims to have 1.5 million donors; The National Taxpayers' Union against high taxes has 45, members and is known as the oldest and largest taxpayer organization in China. The American Gunmen Association, which opposes gun control, also has 1.86 million members.

(3) religious organizations.

The religious conservative groups that emerged in the 197s and 198s have more and more influence on politics. First, the Voice of Christianity established by Robert Grant in 1978, the Religious Roundtable established by Edward McAteer and Reverend James Robinson in 1979, the National Christian Action Alliance established by Robert Billings, and the "Moral Majority" established by Jerry Fauvel in 1979. Among them, the Moral Majority has the largest momentum, with 4,. After that, Pat Robertson's "religious right"; The former claimed that it had defeated 12 liberal Democrats in the 198 election, while the latter claimed that it had contributed to * * * and the party regaining the leadership of Congress in 1994. In fact, the "religious right" has been growing, with 1.7 million members.

Since 1992, it has become an important force in the Party and the Communist Party of China. In some states (such as Alaska and Minnesota), evangelical Christianity and the right to life movement, branches of the "religious right", have actually controlled the state's * * * and party organizations. This kind of religious group with strong political nature is very active in the nomination process of the party's last three presidential elections. Like most interest groups, religious groups also adopt new technologies for political activities, such as telephone library, fax, satellite TV, electronic bulletin board, radio talk and direct mail.

The "religious right" publishes its scores of members of Congress on relevant issues every two years. It is most concerned about family morality, so it opposes any proposal such as abortion and same-sex families.

(4) think tanks and publications.

In p>1973, Paul Veric founded the traditional foundation, a think tank of the new right. Before entering the 198s, the traditional foundation rarely surpassed the activities of * * * and the party conservatives, so it was not very noticeable. After the 198s, with Reagan in power, the scope of the traditional foundation gradually expanded, and it often took internal affairs, diplomacy, economy and social issues as research objects, and often held seminars and put forward policy suggestions. The influence of traditional foundations on policies is particularly obvious. In 1994, * * * and the party's new members changed their routine and went to the traditional foundation instead of going to Harvard University to listen to reports on legislation, which reflected the influence of the new right on * * * and the party. Since George W. Bush came to power, the influence of the Unified Foundation has been greatly strengthened. Many nominations for Bush's cabinet were recommended by the talent pool of the Traditional Foundation. The publications of the new right mainly include the monthly magazine "Conservative Digest" founded by Wei Li in 1975, which has become the organ publication of the "new right". In addition, many organizations of the "new right" have their own publications, such as the quarterly Policy Review of the Heritage Foundation and the monthly Tradition Today. Compared with the conservative ideological movement in the forties and fifties, the social movements of the "New Right" and "Religious Right" are right populist movements, which have far-reaching and enormous influence, which is manifested in the following aspects:

(1) Their organizations have continued to develop and grow, and the number of self-proclaimed conservatives in American society has steadily increased, and by 1993 it was almost the same as that of self-proclaimed moderates (4%). Religious Rightists have great influence in the south and midwest, so these places are called "Bible Belt".

(2) The influence on * * * and the Party is growing. Conservatism has become the mainstream of * * * and the Party since 198s. Most people tend to think that the upsurge of conservative movement in the late 197s was an important reason for Reagan's coming to power, and the overwhelming victory of * * and the Party in the mid-term elections in 1994 to regain control of Congress was also inseparable from the strong support of the "religious right".

(3) After the 198s, it had a growing influence on American public policies. For example, the "New Rightists" directly put their policy ideas into practice by using grassroots organizations: the "Eagle Forum" led by Phyllis Shrivrey with 5, members "succeeded" in making the Congress pass in 1972 by testifying in the state legislature, holding rallies, gathering people to petition and lobbying. Under the pressure of many organizations of the "new right" and "religious right" who oppose abortion, since 1976, * * * and the party's platform have written four times in succession to support the adoption of a constitutional amendment, "to restore the protection of the rights of unborn children." In 1981-1982, the "new right" also proposed 118 bills in 31 States, including the "amendment to the right to human life." It is forbidden to use intrauterine devices, because life begins with conception. In the mid-196s, the religious right hoped that the conservative 14th Congress controlled by * * * and the Party would pass the bill prohibiting abortion, but it was not fully realized. In 1995, they passed the Contract with American Families to express their dissatisfaction with * * * and Party members.

(4) the influence on all Americans' political ideas or public philosophy. According to the general social survey conducted by the Chicago Center for Public Opinion Research, since 1974, people's positions on a series of issues have become more and more conservative. In the 1988 general election, liberalism became a "dirty word" and became synonymous with extravagance and unrestrained. In 1996, even President Clinton of the Democratic Party declared that "the era of big government is gone forever". This shows that conservatism has not only become the main trend of * * * and the party, but also has had an impact on the policy concept of the Democratic Party.

since the end of the cold war, conservatives have stepped up their efforts to "seize" think tanks and universities in an attempt to make the conservative social movement in the United States continue to develop and have a greater impact on social politics. A survey by the National Committee of Compassionate Charities found that from 1992 to 1994, 12 major conservative foundations in the United States provided $21 million in funding to research institutes, universities, think tanks, media and interest groups, among which the traditional foundation advertised as "free market" received the most funding, with $8.9 million, followed by the American Enterprise Institute with $6.9 million. Cato Institute, $3.9 million, Hudson Institute, $3.3 million and Manhattan Institute, $2.1 million. Veric's Freedom Committee received $5 million, William Kristol's National Interest and Public Interest Magazine received $1.9 million, New Standard received $1.7 million, Porto Horoz's Review received $1 million, and another $3.2 million was given to the TV programs of William Buckley Jr. and Ben Wattenberg. Among the famous universities, the University of Chicago, the bastion of conservative ideas, received the most funds, reaching more than 1 million US dollars, followed by Harvard University with more than 9.6 million US dollars, George Mei Sen University with more than 8 million US dollars, and Yale University with more than 5.9 million US dollars. These think tanks and universities have had a great influence on American social policy (such as welfare reform, affirmative action, social security, education reform), economic policy (such as balanced budget, tax reduction, etc.) and foreign/defense policy (such as NATO's eastward expansion, the revision of the new Japan-US security treaty, and the proposal of NMD) in the past decade. Conservatives clearly know that ideas have an impact, so investing in ideas is more aggressive.