Paleoconservatism

Paleoconservatism is a political philosophy and a paternalistic strain of conservatism in the United States stressing American nationalism, Christian ethics, regionalism, traditionalist conservatism, and non-interventionism. Paleoconservatism's concerns overlap with those of the Old Right that opposed the New Deal in the 1930s and 1940s as well as with paleolibertarianism. By the start of the 21st century, the movement had begun to focus more on issues of race.

The terms neoconservative and paleoconservative were coined by Paul Gottfried in the 1980s, but the term originated following the outbreak of the Vietnam War and a divide in American conservatism between the interventionists and the isolationists. Those in favor of the Vietnam War then became known as the neoconservatives (interventionists), as they marked a decisive split from the nationalist-isolationism that the traditionalist conservatives (isolationists) had subscribed to up until this point. Paleoconservatives press for restrictions on immigration, a rollback of multicultural programs and large-scale demographic change, the decentralization of federal policy, the restoration of controls upon free trade, a greater emphasis upon economic nationalism and non-interventionism in the conduct of American foreign policy.

Historian George Hawley states that although influenced by paleoconservatism, Donald Trump is not a paleoconservative, but rather a nationalist and a right-wing populist. Hawley also argued in 2017 that paleoconservatism was an exhausted force in American politics, but that for a time it represented the most serious right-wing threat to the mainstream conservative movement. Regardless of how Trump himself is categorized, others regard the movement known as Trumpism as supported by, if not a rebranding of, paleoconservatism. From this view, the followers of the Old Right did not fade away so easily and continue to have significant influence in the Republican Party and the entire country.

Terminology

The prefix paleo derives from the Greek root παλαιός (palaiós), meaning "ancient" or "old". It is somewhat tongue-in-cheek and refers to the paleoconservatives' claim to represent a more historic, authentic conservative tradition than that found in neoconservatism. Adherents of paleoconservatism often describe themselves simply as "paleo". Rich Lowry of National Review claims the prefix "is designed to obscure the fact that it is a recent ideological creation of post-Cold War politics".

Samuel T. Francis, Thomas Fleming, and some other paleoconservatives de-emphasized the conservative part of the paleoconservative label, saying that they do not want the status quo preserved. Fleming and Paul Gottfried called such thinking "stupid tenacity" and described it as "a series of trenches dug in defense of last year's revolution". Francis defined authentic conservatism as "the survival and enhancement of a particular people and its institutionalized cultural expressions".

Ideology

Paleoconservatives support restrictions on immigration, decentralization, trade tariffs and protectionism, economic nationalism, isolationism, and a return to traditional conservative ideals relating to gender, race, sexuality, culture, and society.

Paleoconservatism differs from neoconservatism in opposing free trade and promoting republicanism. Paleoconservatives see neoconservatives as imperialists and themselves as defenders of the republic.

Paleoconservatives tend to oppose abortion, gay marriage, and LGBTQ rights.

Human nature, tradition, and reason

Paleoconservatives believe that tradition is a form of reason, rather than a competing force. Mel Bradford wrote that certain questions are settled before any serious deliberation concerning a preferred course of conduct may begin. This ethic is based in a "culture of families, linked by friendship, common enemies, and common projects", so a good conservative keeps "a clear sense of what Southern grandmothers have always meant in admonishing children, 'we don't do that'".

Pat Buchanan argues that a good politician must "defend the moral order rooted in the Old and New Testament and Natural Law"—and that "the deepest problems in our society are not economic or political, but moral".

Southern traditionalism

According to historian Paul V. Murphy, paleoconservatives developed a focus on localism and states' rights. From the mid-1980s onward, Chronicles promoted a Southern traditionalist worldview focused on national identity, regional particularity, and skepticism of abstract theory and centralized power. According to Hague, Beirich, and Sebesta (2009), the antimodernism of the paleoconservative movement defined the neo-Confederate movement of the 1980s and 1990s. During this time, notable paleoconservatives argued that desegregation, welfare, tolerance of gay rights, and church-state separation had been damaging to local communities, and that these issues had been imposed by federal legislation and think tanks. Paleoconservatives also claimed the Southern Agrarians as forebears in this regard.

Opposition to Israel

Paleoconservatives are generally critics of Israel and supporters of the Arab cause in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; they have argued that supporting the country damages foreign relations with the Islamic world and American interests abroad. Buchanan has asserted that "Capitol Hill is Israeli occupied territory". Kirk argued that "Not seldom has it seemed... as if some eminent Neoconservatives mistook Tel Aviv for the capital of the United States". During the Israel-Hamas War, paleoconservative Tucker Carlson argued Israel was guilty of war crimes, and that President Joe Biden's support of the country risked American complicitness in the actions.

Notable people

Philosophers and scholars

• Mel Bradford (1934–1993)
• Paul Gottfried (born 1941)
• E. Christian Kopff (born 1946)
• William S. Lind (born 1947)
• Clyde N. Wilson (born 1941)

Commentators and columnists

• Pat Buchanan (born 1938), White House Communications Director (1985–1987), 1992 and 1996 Republican presidential candidate, 2000 Reform Party presidential nominee
• Peter Brimelow (born 1947)
• Tucker Carlson (born 1969)
• John Derbyshire (born 1945)
• Thomas Fleming (born 1945)
• Samuel T. Francis (1947–2005)
• Robert Novak (1931–2009)
• Steve Sailer (born 1958)
• Joseph Sobran (1946–2010)
• Taki Theodoracopulos (born 1936)

Notable organizations and outlets

Organizations

Main article: List of paleoconservative organizations

• Abbeville Institute
• John Birch Society

Periodicals and websites

• The American Conservative
• Chronicles (magazine)
• Observer & Review
• Intercollegiate Review
• Taki's Magazine

See also

• Alt-right
• Alt-lite
• American nationalism
• Anti-globalization movement
• Criticism of multiculturalism
• Cultural conservatism
• Fusionism
• Liberal conservatism
• Libertarian conservatism
• National conservatism
• National liberalism
• Neoconservatism
• Old Left
• Old Right (United States)
• Paleolibertarianism
• Radical right (United States)
• Reactionary
• Right-libertarianism
• Right-wing populism
• Social conservatism in the United States
• Traditionalist conservatism in the United States
• Groypers or "neo-paleoconservatism"

References

Bibliography

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External links

• Paleoconservatism at the Encyclopædia Britannica
• Media related to Paleoconservatism at Wikimedia Commons