The Death of Intellectualism and the Rise of the MAGA New Right

The Strauss-Jaffa Tradition and Extremism

• 💡 The Straussians, particularly through figures like Harry Jaffa, influenced the idea that extremism is not a vice in defense of liberty.
• 🎯 This tradition allows for various forms of conviction, including race essentialism or religious nationalism, as long as one believes they possess the ultimate truth.
• 🔑 Barry Goldwater famously adopted the line, "There is no such thing as being too extreme if you're in pursuit of liberty."

The Claremont Institute and Post-Liberalism

• 📌 The Claremont Institute, while rooted in a Jaffa-esque commitment to the American founding, has become corrupted by dogmatic attachment and a turn towards nivism and insularity.
• 🚀 Michael Anton's "Flight 93 Election" essay exemplifies their alarmist, catastrophizing outlook, advocating for counterrevolutionary measures.
• 🧠 Post-liberals, often socially conservative Catholics, critique liberalism (small 'l') as inherently flawed due to its rancid individualism, which erodes social bonds and community.
• ⚠️ Patrick Denine's "Why Liberalism Failed" argues that liberalism's success leads to its failure by dissolving societal ties, necessitating a strongman to fix the resulting problems.

Critiques of Liberalism and the "New Right"

• 🎯 Post-liberals often view emancipatory movements (women's rights, civil rights) as contributing to the breakdown of traditional social structures.
• 📈 While some post-liberals engage with critiques of neoliberal economics and propose policy ideas that might appeal to the left, they also advocate for abandoning the separation of church and state and imposing moral principles through state power.
• ⚡ The "new right" encompasses various factions, including Natcons (National Conservatives), who prioritize homogenous culture, language, history, and religion over creedal Americanism.
• 🚩 Figures like Yoram Hazony defend nationalism, which can easily tip into ethnationalism, and Christian nationalism is seen by some as a necessary force against "woke neo-religion."

Immigration and the Rejection of Liberalism

• 🚧 Immigration is a central issue for the new right, with figures like Michael Anton advocating for secure borders, economic nationalism, and ending birthright citizenship.
• 🗣️ The fearmongering around immigration often overrides facts about immigrant contributions and the principles of liberal internationalism.
• 💔 The failure of political systems to provide decent lives and paths to citizenship exacerbates the issue, making reasonable discussion difficult when confronting what are described as fascistic forces and bigotry.