tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16355954.post5512149427806342357..comments2024-03-28T08:57:53.180+00:00Comments on Darwinian Conservatism by Larry Arnhart: The Collapse of Trump's Republican Party in 2020Larry Arnharthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619785331100785170noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16355954.post-33183011991171161092019-10-29T08:34:45.111+00:002019-10-29T08:34:45.111+00:00No single election, including the one next year, i...No single election, including the one next year, is going to be definitive. "Events, dear boy, events." And these are not predictable.<br /><br />However, the long-term trend is obvious. The question is, what is likely to happen to the US as a result of permanent liberal Democratic rule -- even with strong Republican obstructionism -- in the world as it is evolving? <br /><br />China's rise seems inexorable. There seems to be wide agreement that the optimistic view of a 'New World Order' after 1990 has failed -- I'm surprised that so much of the Democratic establishment is still committed to the project of American world hegemony. <br /><br />Then there are the economic/social developments in the US. I believe many social conservatives, in the base, are also economic 'liberals' -- that is, they don't hate the New Deal and the changes it brought in. <br /><br />It would be a tricky project, to assemble a coalition of people who are (1) for a strong defense, but for its being used to defend America, i.e. who are non-interventionists without being peaceniks; (2) adherents to the general outlook of the Enlightenment, but cautious about deep social changes in things like sexual behavior, i.e. tolerant but not non-judgemental; (3) not against sensible state measures -- which will have to be paid for through taxation -- to ameliorate the sharp contradictions of capitalism, without encouraging welfare dependency; and (4) not hostile in a reflexively, ethnically-chauvinist way to immigration, but also very aware of the impossibility of Open Borders. <br /><br />I think it's technically possible to do that -- think a Tulsi Gabbard/Mick Huckabee coalition, and in a crude way that's what Trump hinted at in his campaign. However, it would take extraordinarily good luck to realize this, probably a leadership on the level of Lincoln or Churchill.<br /><br />If we don't get that, more likely is something much much worse, perhaps sparked by a combination of American military humiliation abroad, followed or preceded by a Great Depression. The most likely outcome is the growth of a very unpleasant genuinely white-supremacist movement among the white population.<br /><br />There is another alternative, which might occur, and might not be so bad: the peaceful (hopefully) separation of the US into Blue and Red components. This sounds mad at the moment, of course. Doug1943https://www.blogger.com/profile/03833632801624062004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16355954.post-80836200430248142272019-09-17T02:33:26.533+01:002019-09-17T02:33:26.533+01:00You’ve set a good mark for judgment after the elec...You’ve set a good mark for judgment after the election. If Trump loses, it’ll sure look like you’re right. But what if he wins, and a number of those Orange Co. seats come back?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16355954.post-83596423609396064892019-09-16T11:18:23.802+01:002019-09-16T11:18:23.802+01:00Thanks, Les.Thanks, Les.Jonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16355954.post-52914965128144868222019-09-16T02:28:56.357+01:002019-09-16T02:28:56.357+01:00Jon, the fusionism referred to was an idea develop...Jon, the fusionism referred to was an idea developed by Frank Meyer and adopted by the conservative movement in the 50's. The members of the conservative movement were all opposed to the New Deal, but had some strong ideological disagreements, in particular libertarians vs traditionalistic social conservatives. Meyer proposed they unite on what they agreed upon, and put aside their differences, and this is what the conservative movement did, though with ongoing tensions. <br /><br />Les BrunswickAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16355954.post-36939899531337392752019-09-15T19:07:31.320+01:002019-09-15T19:07:31.320+01:00It seems to me that there are two types of elites ...It seems to me that there are two types of elites in this country. Oglesby mentioned this years ago in his book. The Yankee Cowboy War was in part a discussion of the struggle between the Eastern Establishment types like the Rockefellers and Kennedy's versus westerners like Howard Hughes and Richard Nixon. I'm not sure how different things are today from 1976 when Oglesby's book came out. Jonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16355954.post-53534030993185838022019-09-15T10:28:28.537+01:002019-09-15T10:28:28.537+01:00Les, you are pointing to the absurdity of Anton...Les, you are pointing to the absurdity of Anton's populist rhetoric of the virtuous People against the evil Elites. Either the Koch brothers are not part of the Elites, or they belong to the virtuous Elites.Larry Arnharthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14619785331100785170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16355954.post-64930043935644299512019-09-15T01:47:25.874+01:002019-09-15T01:47:25.874+01:00"The Democratic Party represents "half t..."The Democratic Party represents "half the country and all our elites," Anton admits"<br /><br />Huh? Is Anton actually arguing that the rich and megarich who support the Republican tax cuts and deregulation policies are all Democrats, or they are not part of the elite, or what? <br /><br />-- Les BrunswickAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16355954.post-36141227137537771272019-09-14T02:52:09.966+01:002019-09-14T02:52:09.966+01:00I think the Fusionism that Rothbard had in mind wa...I think the Fusionism that Rothbard had in mind was the Fusionism that Karl News and Carl Oglesby had in mind; one between the Old Right and the New Left. Oglesby wrote my favorite nonfiction book on the JFK assassination, but I think the only conservative these days who is a fan is Bill Kaufman.Jonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16355954.post-33207667290444903142019-09-13T18:19:25.320+01:002019-09-13T18:19:25.320+01:00Fusionism, Again is linked twice. I awas surprised...Fusionism, Again is linked twice. I awas surprised to see Rothbard and Kirk mentioned. They strike me as part of the Old Right and Fusionism seems like a newer movement than that.Jonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07465013255057574351noreply@blogger.com