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Notes -
Tyler Cowen published an analysis of the “new right” today.
https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2022/10/classical-liberalism-vs-the-new-right.html
He illustrates the new right as a reaction against two factors: the pretty crazy level of what we’ve come to call wokeness on the left, and the capture of most of the main cultural institutions by the same left.
At the same time, there are signals that the woke left is declining in power and relevance (not quite a sure thing yet, but he lists a few signs that we’re trending this way).
Tyler does a good job in my opinion of fairly representing the views of the new right, while also laying out his own disagreements with the philosophy. These center around the idea that the new right is unlikely to be able to create a high trust society. Indeed, since 2016 we have had a precipitous decline in trust in our society, and while almost no one would disagree with this, the different sides would place the blame on different factors.
He finishes the piece:
Overall I think it’s an important piece and potentially a lot of the more thoughtful members of the new right might get a lot out of reading it.
Political movements often do a good job at identifying problems in society, but it’s usually their own internal quirks and flaws that end up being magnified if and when they do come to power. Politics tends to progress as these flaws become exposed, as one side reacts against the excesses of the other, and vice versa.
Whatever the case may be, it leads one to wonder whether the woke left and the new right are short term aberrations, specific to what will be looked back upon as a short period of time, or whether these are indeed the feedstock of long lasting ideologies that we’ll be stuck with.
The most basic issue is that the right is correct to mistrust the government, academia, the MIC and the corporate-activist superstructure. Those institutions had maintained the facade of neutrality for a long time, but decided to burn it all to damage Trump. Now the elites need a new pack of grifters to control this diffuse mob that doesn't trust all their carefully controlled outlets.
Tucker and DeSantis are some of the early attempts to get controlled opposition out in front of this distrust, but they won't be the last. Eventually the "new right" will be either discredited, destroyed or co-opted (probably all three). Just like the "new left" forty years ago, only these poor bastards aren't going to wind up in tenured academic positions once their "revolution" fails.
Are you suggesting that Tucker and Desantis are intentional establishment plants meant to lead the new right astray, or am I misunderstanding the use of controlled opposition? If you believe this, who are the genuine leaders or influencers of the new right?
Tucker's definitely a plant. His dad was an ambassador, head of Voice of Democracy and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Being the semi-respectable right-leaning face of official propaganda is basically the family business. DeSantis is just another politician trying to court the energetic vote of his own party, but if anyone thinks politicians are loyal to their constituents, I have two bridges to sell.
... you can absolutely just betray the interests of your parents. The children of monarchists or even aristocrats became revolutionaries, the children of russian elites became communists, children of union bosses become nazis, children of nazis become psychoanalysts, etc. Why can't that happen?
And every influential group will be overrepresented as relatives of every other influential group because of social selection and genes.
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You don't mean to imply that DeSantis the Yale BA, Harvard JD, Navy JAG who at Guantanamo and Iraq dealt with the legal side of treatment of prisoners interrogated for intelligence purposes is not a man of the people do you?
The first couple of pieces of evidence are solid, but his complicity in the US torture programme doesn't disqualify him from the title "man of the people". It would, had it been unpopular at the time, but it wasn't.
Less the popularity of the programs and more the involvement with the TLAs running those programs might be considered a demerit.
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