From the middle of the twentieth century, think tanks have played
an indelible role in the rise of American conservatism. Positioning
themselves against the alleged liberal bias of the media, academia,
and the federal bureaucracy, conservative think tanks gained the
attention of politicians and the public alike and were instrumental
in promulgating conservative ideas. Yet, in spite of the formative
influence these institutions have had on the media and public
opinion, little has been written about their history. Here, Jason
Stahl offers the first sustained investigation of the rise and
historical development of the conservative think tank as a source
of political and cultural power in the United States.
What we now know as conservative think tanks--research and
public-relations institutions populated by conservative
intellectuals--emerged in the postwar period as places for
theorizing and "selling" public policies and ideologies to both
lawmakers and the public at large. Stahl traces the progression of
think tanks from their outsider status against a backdrop of New
Deal and Great Society liberalism to their current prominence as a
counterweight to progressive political institutions and thought. By
examining the rise of the conservative think tank, Stahl makes
invaluable contributions to our historical understanding of
conservatism, public-policy formation, and capitalism.