The 1970s were a crucial decade in the resurgence of the American right, and one of the distinguishing features of this period was the complacency of the radical and centre left.

The long standing desire to undo the New DealThe New Deal Full Description:A comprehensive series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It represented a fundamental shift in the US government’s philosophy, moving from a passive observer to an active manager of the economy and social welfare. The New Deal was a response to the failure of the free market to self-correct. It created the modern welfare state through the “3 Rs”: Relief for the unemployed and poor, Recovery of the economy to normal levels, and Reform of the financial system to prevent a repeat depression. It introduced social security, labor rights, and massive infrastructure projects. Critical Perspective:From a critical historical standpoint, the New Deal was not a socialist revolution, but a project to save capitalism from itself. By providing a safety net and creating jobs, the state successfully defused the revolutionary potential of the starving working class. It acknowledged that capitalism could not survive without state intervention to mitigate its inherent brutality and instability.
Read more had been an article of faith among the magnates and intellectuals who established right wing think tanks like the Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation.

These were characters who were not only interested in the deregulationDeregulation Full Description:The systematic removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain business activity. Framed as “cutting red tape” to unleash innovation, it involves stripping away protections for workers, consumers, and the environment. Deregulation is a primary tool of neoliberal policy. It targets everything from financial oversight (allowing banks to take bigger risks) to safety standards and environmental laws. The argument is that regulations increase costs and stifle competition. Critical Perspective:History has shown that deregulation often leads to corporate excess, monopoly power, and systemic instability. The removal of financial guardrails directly contributed to major economic collapses. Furthermore, it represents a transfer of power from the democratic state (which creates regulations) to private corporations (who are freed from accountability).
Read more of industry and sweeping tax cuts, but who were far more ideological in their thinking. They were influenced by Friedrich Von Hayek and other Mont Pelerin SocietyMont Pelerin Society Full Description:An exclusive international organization founded by Friedrich Hayek and others to combat the rise of state planning and social democracy. It served as the primary intellectual incubator for neoliberal thought, playing a long-term strategic role in shifting global economic consensus. The Mont Pelerin Society was the “thought collective” behind the neoliberal counter-revolution. Established when free-market ideas were politically marginalized, it brought together economists, philosophers, and historians to refine and propagate individualist economic theories. Critical Perspective:Critically, this group exemplifies the “long game” of ideology. They understood that to change policy, they first had to change the intellectual climate. By building a network of think tanks and academic departments, they successfully waited for a crisis (stagflation) to present their pre-packaged ideas as the only viable solution, effectively manufacturing a new “common sense” that favored the elite.
Read more luminaries and believed that the growth in the size of the state and its ability to tax would lead eventually to tyranny.

Here is this week’s podcast about the origins of this intellectual revolt and the murky sources of its funding.