After reading, and thoroughly enjoying," Making Sense of the Alt-Right", I felt compelled to explore the Alt-Right's intellectual predecessors and was delighted to learn that Hawley had written an entire book on the subject. Right-Wing Critics of American Conservatism presents itself as a warning to the conservative movement and documents the various groups whose ideological inclinations are at odds with one or more elements of the mainstream right. While conservatives have enjoyed widespread electoral success and maintain a hold on right-wing political power, their movement’s future hangs in the balance as the United States undergoes rapid demographic and social changes.
Chapter 1 begins with formulating an operational definition of "left" and "right". Hawley identifies "left-wing" movements as those which treat equality as the highest political value. That is, left-wing movements seek to minimize the economic and social inequalities that exist between different classes, races, genders etc. The "right-wing" label, then, refers to those intellectual movements which don't assign equality to the highest rung. The next section briefly outlines the ideological convictions of what Murray Rothbard referred to as the "old right"; namely, the right-wing thinkers of the pre-WW2 era who were staunchly opposed to the left-leaning political climate. Hawley remarks that these individuals "had scant resemblance to American conservatives today" and it is tempting to consider what they would have thought of American conservatism in its contemporary manifestation. The rest of the chapter is devoted to the origins of the conservative movement and the major players who were involved in formulating a coherent political philosophy.
The next chapter describes how the budding conservative movement frequently engaged in “purges" as it sought to define the boundaries of acceptable discourse within its own borders. When an organization or individual wandered too far outside the bounds of tolerable rhetoric or action, such as expressing racial or anti-Semitic sentiments, the major leaders of the conservative movement would decry and shun these "dissidents" and keep them at arm's length. This would also occur when one of these objectors would find themselves at odds with one of the conservative movement's foundational elements and publicly voice their hostilities towards it. Hawley mentions Ayn Rand and the Objectivists, the John Birch Society, and many others who were booted out of the conservative tent for demonstrating their unwillingness to conform with the movement's sensibilities.
Chapter 3 is dedicated to the group of writers and activists whom Hawley collectively refers to as "localists." These individuals desired the return of small-scale agrarian communities and rejected the cultural and economic consequences of urbanization. These men stressed the importance of intermediate institutions--such as churches and schools -- that existed between the individual and the state and served to cultivate a sense of common culture while preserving the group identity of the people who resided within that community.
Chapter 4 is relatively short and introduces the idea of "secular conservatizes" as those individuals who align themselves with conventional conservative causes but deviate on the issue of religion. Ayn Rand is revisited again as well as other writers and journalists, and we see the degree to which traditional Christian conservatives constitute a robust force within the organized conservative movement.
Chapters 5 and 6 are dedicated to the mainstream libertarian movement and their radical, anti-statist counterparts. These chapters are noteworthy since, up until now, no other right-wing groups discussed have displayed the level of prominence that is enjoyed by the mainstream libertarian movement. It's think-tanks and publications receive generous funding from wealthy donors and libertarian policies have continued to gain influence within the political scene. Hawley admits that libertarians do not yet have the level of support from the electorate as do conservatives, but he makes a convincing case for their potential to supersede the mainstream right should we see a decline in their ability to wield political/intellectual authority.
Chapters 7-9 deal with the paleoconservative movement, the European new-right, and American white nationalism. Hawley’s organization of these chapters is appropriate since the three movements are, to some degree, interrelated and rank in increasing order according to their proclivity for radicalism. The chapter on white nationalism has an antiquated feel to it since many of the “first generation” activists and intellectuals associated with the movement are either deceased or elderly. It is quite a remarkable occurrence, then, that a new white nationalist movement (Alt-Right) should emerge in the months following the publication of this book, and given Hawley’s record for documenting these fringe movements it is unsurprising that he would write a book on the Alt-Right.
The concluding chapter assumes a somber tone as it attempts to outline the reasons for mainstream conservatism’s decline. There are several pressing factors that hold sway over conservatism’s fate, but the salient one is the country’s changing demographics. White, middle-class voters have long been the primary constituents of the GOP and as this crucial sector of the population recedes in number, the Republican Party—and the conservative movement hitched to it -- will have a challenging time reaching out to large swaths of the American electorate who are less than sympathetic to right-wing causes. In Hawley’s final assessment, he maintains that the mainstream libertarian movement will be the most likely group to fill the vacuum of right-wing political influence if the conservative movement should follow its current trajectory. Had I read this book last year I would have agreed with this estimation. Recent circumstances, however, have forced me to look in the direction of a smaller, more obscure group: the Alt-Right. Although this movement has a Sisyphean task in front of it, its members are able to conveniently side-step traditional methods of disseminating ideas and can direct the public’s attention towards them. Regardless, conservatives should acknowledge their current predicament and act accordingly if they are to maintain control within the political arena.
Right-Wing Critics of American Conservatism offers a glimpse into the world of right-wing thought and presents a clear account of the numerous ideological currents that seek the mantle of political power in the United States. This book should be widely read by conservatives but why worry about the future of your movement when Donald Trump’s tweets threaten to uproot the societal foundations of the United States? I look forward to Hawley’s future work and hope that he will retain his dispassionate and balanced tone as it is of paramount importance in this hysterical political climate.
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