Final answer:
The goals of the New Right, emphasizing a smaller government, cutting social welfare, and traditional values, influenced the evolution of liberalism by offering an ideological opposition that pushed liberals to reconsider and redefine their advocacy for expanded individual opportunity through state intervention.
Step-by-step explanation:
The evolution of liberalism can be observed through the contrast and reaction to the goals of the New Right. During the 1980s, the New Right arose out of a desire to address what conservatives perceived as the shortcomings of liberalism, such as an expansive federal government and extensive social welfare programs. The New Right's appeal to traditional values and its orientation towards the past can illuminate the shifting landscape of liberalism.
The New Right aimed to decrease government size (excluding military), lower taxes, and cut back on social welfare, positioning itself against liberal policies that aimed for social equity through affirmative action and progressive taxation. They also sought a revival of what they considered traditional American values. This new conservative wave introduced tensions within politics, as it attracted some who opposed broader civil rights while others sought to renovate rather than fully revert to the past. Conservatives promoted limited government, with many supporting an end to segregation, but on different terms compared to liberals.
In response, liberalism continued to evolve, focusing on the enlargement of individual opportunity as a central aim. The liberal perspective has traditionally sought to harness the power of the state to ensure a broader distribution of opportunity and services. Thus, the rise of the New Right during the 1980s provided an ideological foil for liberalism, which had to adapt and redefine itself in the face of conservatism's resurgence.