Conservatism And Its Discontents

American Rattlesnake ^ | June 27, 2016 | Gerard Perry

[OddLane]

A few additional notes regarding George Hawley’s fascinating look at dissent within the right:

Notwithstanding the Trump Ascendancy, his belief that moderate libertarianism-or conservatarianism, as some have dubbed it-will exert the greatest influence over mainstream conservatism in the years ahead holds some merit. The disdain the modern conservative movement has for genuinely libertarian ideas is reflected in the figure of Jonah Goldberg, someone whom every group described in Professor Hawley’s book would view with contempt, at best. The fact that his publication has gone out of its way to publish writers who present a watered-down, libertarian lite perspective merely demonstrates the resonance of certain libertarian ideas within the broader conservative public.

Much like William F. Buckley’s attempts to modulate and co-opt organic conservatism years ago, the editors of National Review are now attempting to channel popular discontent on the right, this time manifesting itself in the form of libertarian activism, for their own purposes.

Personally, I think these efforts will be as successful as NR’s Against Trump broadside. That said, I do believe that the Republican Party will continue to trend in the direction of Rand Paul and Justin Amash as the deep unpopularity of its current Chamber of Commerce/K Street-dominated policy platform becomes inescapable to even the most tone-deaf politician.

While paleoconservatism, per Paul Gottfried, as an organized political philosophy may well be dead, many of the strands which animated its brief hold upon the public consciousness remain intact. Shorn of useless nostalgia for a bygone era and esoteric, internecine conflicts, its central tenets remain appealing to a broad minority of the electorate...

[PGalt]

red (read) BUMP

[headstamp 2]

“Although the grip of neoconservatives upon the Republican Party has been permanently broken, they still have a multi-billion dollar intellectual infrastructure and-in the form of Hillary Clinton-an enormous potential influence over future White House foreign policy.”

And there it is.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

Thanks for the link. This appears to be a great read.

If great thinkers like Joe Sobran, Pat Buchanan, etc. are now considered persona non grata by the offical "right" then there is something definitely wrong with the official "right".