Essay Sample on Comparing New Right and New Left: 1980s Political Movements

Introduction

The New Right has been used in various countries as a descriptive term for policies and groups that are conservative. On the other hand, the New Left is comprised of a broad political movement that started in the 1960s and 1970s and it consisted of educators, activists, and other personnel in the western culture who campaigned for a broad range of reforms and social change on issues such as; civil rights, gender roles, gay rights, abortion, and Drugs (Desai, R., 1994, p. 14). In 1980, Reagan ushered in a relentless political force called the New Right, primarily made up of vocal and conservative Evangelical Christians whose principles dominated the political sphere (Cowling, M., 1989, p. 9). Considered the most influential wing of the Republican Party, they sought to steer the country on the path to prosperity and piety. Their underlying religious agenda was laced into legislature because they believed morality was the sole focus. The conservative right condemned secular culture and the normalization of sexual themes in music and film. Conservative Christians believed that popular culture was harmful to children, and its vulgarity was an attack on Christian values. Therefore, the new right can be described as conservative because of its use and association with the conservative groups is significant.

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Both the new left and the new right viciously pounced on industrial civilization alienation fought for individuals, and finally, they evoked beloved community images that established harmony amongst the communitarian and the antinomian traditions. The new right is essential as it cuts through all the societies' expectations. The new right is a grass-roots coalition for American conservatives that led collectively to conservative ascendancy or republican ascendancy as stated by scholars. Contrary to the New Left, the New right consists of conservative activists who voiced their opposition on several different issues including; homosexuality, ERA (Equal Rights Amendment), affirmative action, abortion, the Panama Canal treaty and taxations forms (Smith, A., 2014, p. 36).

The New right newness refers to both the redefined and reinvigorated conservative political activity forms and mobilization of previously disorganized middle-class suburban. In the 1960s and 1970s, the New right rapidly grew in organizations such as the Young American for freedom and college republicans (Crawford, A., 2011, p. 41). These organizations were vital as they helped in the sharing of demographic characteristics such as suburban, white, Protestant, and middle class. However, the organizations were frustrated since they had a perception concerning the decline of mortality during the 1960s and 70s (Crawford, A., 2011, p. 41). The frustration also included the rampant drug use, increase of open and public sexuality displays as well as increased race riots, lawbreaking rates, civil rights unrest and the protest engagements in contradiction of the Vietnam War.

Besides, the New Right conservative was often held responsible for the nation's ills relating to liberalism that was seen as a mismanagement contribution and moreover the federal government rampant corruption contributor. The New rights, therefore, had a significant impact on Education as it based on conservative traditions from the 1980s to 90s (Lowndes, J., 2008, p. 102). Therefore, the New right sees itself as being similar to Functionalists who believe in individuals freedom with less central control. The New right is absolute in free-market ideologies within the learning system intending to reduce public expenditure (Whitty, G., 2009, p. 330). Policies of the New Right then are essential as they help in the reduction of social inequalities that have not been guaranteed a higher priority since they do not believe in issues that are a response to the state.

New rights are mainly after national prosperity and they, therefore, believe that a competitive economy requires competitive schools that would seek to outperform each other by the league tables and OFSTED (office for standards in education, children's services, and skills) information. It, therefore, enabled the nation and schools, in particular, to be on the run to ensure that their competitors do not defeat them. It led to the realization of dreams in various countries since the New Right activated competition in most places. The New right, therefore, views education as a significant issue in the socialization process; because they believe that education can help socialize children via the religious assemblies, citizenship lesson and the National Curriculum (Cockett, R., 1995, p. 97).

The New right requires educational policies that will help in the increment of marketing principle choices in order to raise the standards (Green, D., 2007, p. 138). For instance, is an institution or rather a school is successful; it will attract the attention of parents and students who will be eager to send their children to those schools. Also, children will be pleased if taken to successful schools and therefore will push their parents to take them to the successful schools in the country. Hence, the New Right believes that the parents will then have the obligation and right to take their children to successful schools hence getting the support of parental choice purely because of its success. The New Right also believes that successful schools will be in a position to gather sufficient momentum to capitalize on their successes. Besides, they note the primary roles of education as being the developer of knowledge and skills necessary for the completion of the outside market (Whitty, G., 2009, p. 330). Thus this makes the New right believe that Schools should be managed in a similar to how business is managed something termed to as Kentucky Fried schooling by Hargreaves.

The belief of the New right is therefore central not only in education, business but also in other affairs like politics. New Right believes that learning in any place helps in instilling drive, initiative, and enterprise ideas to the person's minds. Therefore in order for this drive to be realized, the New Right believes that it is only through competition, motivation, and improvement of standards that will help an organization that requires growth and profits to realize its dreams (Scruton, R., 2014, p, 121). The existence of choice enhances competition as compared to places whereby there are limited or rather no comprehensive alternatives. With excellent managerial skills and highly trained and qualified personnel, the organization will be in a position to provide equal opportunities hence resulting in rapid growth and target realizations in the organization.

The formation the New Right was due to the increased sexuality, crimes rise, abortion liberalization in public arenas and social unrest that was caused by the Vietnam War which had dismayed the members (Hanley, S., 1999, p. 158). The New right, therefore, had an obligation in ensuring that they curb down all these issues so that the nation could return to its formal state. For instance, the connection to the Soviet Union enabled them to run against president Ford Gerald of the Republican presidential nomination who was behind all these issues. Therefore the New Right creation was to relax tensions with the union through peaceful negotiations that will, in the long run, enable it to uphold its morals.

Most people in the United States were not in a happy state due to the social changes that had occurred in the 1960s and 70s (Crawford, 2011, p. 78). It was because Roe versus Wade passed the right to abortion, which against human rights as it destroyed the rights of the unborn child. Antifeminists rose up and rallied against the eroding traditional behaviors. Americans were shocked by the sexual permissiveness that was displayed in magazines and films. Vocal gay rights were embraced, leading to the rice of divorce, crime rates, and behavior deterioration cases (Crawford, 2011, p. 79). The New Right, therefore, came up to the help which was a combination of conservative business bigwigs and Christian religious leader who claimed the reclamation of environmental and labor regulations which undermined the American firm's competitiveness in the market. New Right was therefore essential as it aided in the reduction of behavior deterioration while enhancing improvement of competitiveness in the market.

Most of the New Right's ideologies took the pessimistic view of human and social nature (Hanley, S., 1999, p. 153). Major policies that are looked at in the New Rights are Welfare state dismantlement, nationalized industries privatization, business deregulation and the restructuring of a national workforce that helped increase the economic and industrial flexibility in the market (Levitas, R., 1988). The New Right also enhances an individual's responsibility. Individual responsibility can be termed to as the state or condition in which one is a position to take charge of the activities he or she is doing. Therefore this is one of the things that enabled the organization in realizing rapid growths and improvements in the organization. Through individual responsibility, one in a position to ensure that all activities are done in the best manner since he has the power vested in him to control the activities.

Additionally, Mrs. Thatcher believed in the necessity to strengthen the private sectors via privatization of the nationalized industries thus enabling her to reject arguments concerning the socialist which were used traditionally to support public ownership (Desai, R., 1994). Thus via the aid of the New right, she was in a position to emphasize the private property belief that encouraged individuals to acquire shares in privatized industries. Therefore we can note that the New Right is essential as it led one to get shares in the right manner, thus curbing down the cases of ownership that were rampant in the United States. Also, The New Right enables one to use the appropriate recommended procedures to acquire what they are in need for not like it was in the past whereby the behaviors of the citizens had deteriorated leading them to use dubious means to acquire what they needed such as the shares in different institutions.

The new right is linked to functionalism as it centered on consensus. It comprises a set of concepts that have influenced conservative parties in the past (Wendelken, D., 1996, p. 18). The New Right is pessimistic about modern society, which emphasizes most of the traditional values. It mainly bases its theories on the capitalist society ideas that encourage choices on how individuals earn and spend their money and the services in which they need to pay. The New Right Socialists believe that the states excessive intervention such as welfare states needs to be avoided. Avoiding them will aid in smooth economy workings as it interferes with the working. They also believe that free markets accompanied by competition are one of the efficient techniques of creating savings in public services and the business world at large.

The New right tends to be against the State's welfare since they believe that it inspires individuals to be reliant on the benefits. The dependency culture theory put down by Murray assumes that the underprivileged personnel requires taking up accountability for their situations because dependency helps in the creation of unemployment, which in the long run results to poverty. The underclass concept is used to offer a description of those dependent on welfare benefits. It is a class of the regular working class that is branded by long-term lack of jobs, high crime levels, and unsteady families. Regarding the New Right, the bene...