Irving Kristol, A Great Conservative Thinker

Irving Kristol, the Godfather of Neoconservatism has written some pretty profound things in his life, but all of them pale in comparison to a master work of political thought he penned in 2000 titled "The Two Welfare States". Indeed, it might the most important political science treatise since some strange old Greek took a break from fooling around with young men and earned his place in the pantheon.

The source of this pieces excellence? Its Kristol's brilliant revolutionary thesis which he supports with scrupulously collected facts. You see, according to this conservative sage, there are two kinds of welfare states, Maternal and Paternal, as he says:

Fathers want their children to grow up to be self-reliant, self-supporting, and able to cope with a recalcitrant world. Mothers want their children to be as completely protected as possible from such a world and to be gratefully attached to them as long as they live; the avoidance of risk gets a very high priority. The original welfare state, from 1900 to 1945, was largely paternalistic in conception, since the trade unions (overwhelmingly male) played such a crucial role in bringing it into being.

After World War II, however, as women entered the labor force as well as educational institutions in large numbers, and as feminist ideas became popular, the welfare state came gradually to be seen less as a helping hand for those in need—a "safety net"—and more as a communal exercise in "compassion" toward an ever-expanding proportion of the population. That was the point of the complaint lodged by many feminists against Margaret Thatcher—she had a "manly" rather than "womanly" conception of social policy.

I never realized that 50 years of economic and social policy could explained with a few lazily thought out gender stereotypes, but thanks to Mr. Kristol, I realize that's the case. He doesn't even need to mention one government program or one actual change in policy to make his point either, his logic is that compelling: Look! Women are working for the Government! That can only mean that the welfare state has become feminized! See, even though Social Security and Medicare are two programs intended to help the elderly, one of them is part of the maternal welfare state because it was made after 1960. I guess that means that AFDC (Aid to Families With Dependent Children or "welfare" as we know it, which was part of the New Deal) is part of the paternal welfare state that aimed to foster self-reliance, because it was made before all those damn broads started getting jobs. Oh, but wait, Kristol the Great has some more insights to impart for the benefit of us not smart enough to have their work subsidized by Conservative think thanks backed by special interests:

Creating this extensive, in some cases massive, maternal welfare state, has been an extraordinary achievement, in view of the fact that it was created, as it were, ex nihilo. It was not a response to any visible popular demand, but was propelled by the thinking and writing of social scientists and journalists—an instance of what Daniel Patrick Moynihan, back in the late 1960s, foresaw as the "professionalization of reform." This version of the welfare state was officially recognized, and inaugurated and financed, by Lyndon Johnson. There is considerable evidence in the memoirs of his White House staff that LBJ had no clear idea of what he was doing. That did not, of course, matter.

Thank God for Irving Kristol, without him I never would have realized the anti-democratic origins of the Great Society (the "Maternal Welfare State" as Big K calls it). Yes, its true that Johnson put foward the idea in an election year, but he was advised by policy experts (imagine that, a President asking other informed people for advise, the absuridity of it all!) instead of Joe Sixpack and so LBJ's reforms are actually dictatorial fiats imposed by a distant elite on hostile populace. Well, this has well reasoned essay completely changed my world view. Death to the Weak!