Wow - this is one of the best pieces of political commentary I’ve read all year. As someone who is probably more sympathetic to the alt-right project than you are, this is a poignant reminder of the importance of Christian ethics and morality in politics as well as old fashioned liberalism (in defense of individual liberty.) I had no idea how bad some of the rhetoric has gotten on the right (and left!) and your piece shocked me back into reality!
I would love to see more exposure of Charles Haywood and his influence on the alt right. He seems to be a shadowy figure with undue influence and once you know a bit more about him you start to see his tentacles everywhere. I think he funds a lot of right influencers and pundits.
I'll be honest, I'm uncomfortable seeking to draw a parallel even to Scrooge here, given that Scrooge was just one guy running his one-man stingy Scrooge show, and so there's no ambiguity whatsoever around where to place the guilt for who the Scrooge show hurts. I'm just not prepared to make claims that confident here.
These posts give evidence to what George Orwell wrote in The Road to Wigan Pier: "Though seldom giving much evidence of affection for the exploited, he is perfectly capable of displaying hatred ... against the exploiters." Orwell continues: "It is strange how easily almost any ... writer can lash himself into frenzies of rage against the class to which, by birth or by adoption, he himself invariably belongs.”
The fact that AmRef would like a protestant Franco, and also that they trade in Marxist flavored rhetoric coin, may seem incongruous on the surface but are not unrelated. "The rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them".
I've been going through changes in my political philosophy and theology over the last couple years, from a more classical liberal/libertarian and Escondido R2k position to a Kirkian nat-con/post-liberal and magisterial two kingdom position. This has mostly been facilitated by reading authors like Bradford Littlejohn, James R. Wood, Joe Rigney and others. All of whom I found through the Davenant institute. Brad and Joe have both also written for the American Reformer, in fact Brad's piece "Why all Politics is Post-Liberal" on the American Reformer was pivotal in my shift (not to mention his Ad Fontes article "Christian Nationalism or Christian Commonwealth? A Call for Clarity") and Rigney currently has a great article out on the site "The Everyman’s Guide to Protestant Political Thought".
That being said I have been wary because of these writers connection to New Saint Andrews and or Moscow Idaho. I want to steer clear of any Wilsonian federal vision, kinism, and theonomy. That wariness also extends to the Theopolis institute as well because even though I like Peter Leithart, James Wood, and Alastair Roberts the very presence of Steve Wilkins on the staff is enough to make me take everything they put out with a grain of salt.
But as Neil Shenvi points out in the linked article above even Doug Wilson is shocked at some of the crazy things the dissident right is saying, and seeing how those people on the "woke right" responded to the death of an image bearer, it definitely makes me take a hard look at some of the things I'm becoming a part of. I hope the nat-con/post-liberal movement can effectively reform and remove these negative elements of the movement
So, I can spill a little tea here and kind of catch you up a bit on how things have split apart since Brad wrote that 2022 piece. In short, Davenant and American Reformer had a rather nasty divorce. You're not going to find guys like Littlejohn or Roberts writing there these days. Others have also registered concern with the turns they've taken. I definitely think it's been a big mistake for them to collaborate with people like Stephen Wolfe or run positive pieces about Haywood. And in general they're very much on board the Trump train. So none of that is in line with what either Davenant or Theopolis is doing now. But I still talk to Timon Cline and he's still generally well-liked among people I respect.
On the other hand, I think Davenant for their part has made unforced errors, and sometimes they've conducted themselves online in high-handed ways that turned people off and accelerated the schism with AmRef guys. The COVID years were especially key there. Both Littlejohn and Roberts made rhetorical choices I very much disagreed with.
I don't agree with everything Shenvi does either, and we disagreed especially sharply in the discourse around Meg Basham's recent book about evangelical dalliances with the woke left.
All to say, there's room to criticize just about everyone in this discussion for different things. But that's pretty normal! Also, you mention James Wood--James I consider a bestie and can't really think of major areas of disagreement. Nitpicks here and there. He works a little harder than me to be friends with everyone. ;)
Wow, I was not privy to all that, thanks for the update. lol. I agree that the AmRef collaboration with Stephen Wolfe is definitely not a good look, though I don't know who Haywood is. Just wondering what side of the Meg Basham divide did you come down on?
Meg is a friend and I think her book was a much needed corrective/recapitulation of an embarrassing few years that a lot of people wanted to memory-hole.
James Lindsay has a podcast on Christian Nationalism that includes an expose of Charles Haywood. Mr. Haywood has a lot of influence on many known figures. Look into The Worthy House.
Wilson is definitely a theonomist, but he strongly rejects kinism. In fact, he is roundly mocked as a boomer liberal by the dissident/alt right for refusing to countenance Jew hate and race 'science'. He's also written against Haywood's "no enemies ro the right"
I can't speak to the fv issue, but just wanted to say that the Moscow crew is on the side of the angels against the alt-right
Wow - this is one of the best pieces of political commentary I’ve read all year. As someone who is probably more sympathetic to the alt-right project than you are, this is a poignant reminder of the importance of Christian ethics and morality in politics as well as old fashioned liberalism (in defense of individual liberty.) I had no idea how bad some of the rhetoric has gotten on the right (and left!) and your piece shocked me back into reality!
Thanks so much for reading!
I would love to see more exposure of Charles Haywood and his influence on the alt right. He seems to be a shadowy figure with undue influence and once you know a bit more about him you start to see his tentacles everywhere. I think he funds a lot of right influencers and pundits.
An alternate Dickensian perspective on celebrating the death of a bad man:
https://gaty.substack.com/p/go-scrooge-yourself
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to you too!
I'll be honest, I'm uncomfortable seeking to draw a parallel even to Scrooge here, given that Scrooge was just one guy running his one-man stingy Scrooge show, and so there's no ambiguity whatsoever around where to place the guilt for who the Scrooge show hurts. I'm just not prepared to make claims that confident here.
These posts give evidence to what George Orwell wrote in The Road to Wigan Pier: "Though seldom giving much evidence of affection for the exploited, he is perfectly capable of displaying hatred ... against the exploiters." Orwell continues: "It is strange how easily almost any ... writer can lash himself into frenzies of rage against the class to which, by birth or by adoption, he himself invariably belongs.”
The fact that AmRef would like a protestant Franco, and also that they trade in Marxist flavored rhetoric coin, may seem incongruous on the surface but are not unrelated. "The rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them".
I've been going through changes in my political philosophy and theology over the last couple years, from a more classical liberal/libertarian and Escondido R2k position to a Kirkian nat-con/post-liberal and magisterial two kingdom position. This has mostly been facilitated by reading authors like Bradford Littlejohn, James R. Wood, Joe Rigney and others. All of whom I found through the Davenant institute. Brad and Joe have both also written for the American Reformer, in fact Brad's piece "Why all Politics is Post-Liberal" on the American Reformer was pivotal in my shift (not to mention his Ad Fontes article "Christian Nationalism or Christian Commonwealth? A Call for Clarity") and Rigney currently has a great article out on the site "The Everyman’s Guide to Protestant Political Thought".
That being said I have been wary because of these writers connection to New Saint Andrews and or Moscow Idaho. I want to steer clear of any Wilsonian federal vision, kinism, and theonomy. That wariness also extends to the Theopolis institute as well because even though I like Peter Leithart, James Wood, and Alastair Roberts the very presence of Steve Wilkins on the staff is enough to make me take everything they put out with a grain of salt.
But as Neil Shenvi points out in the linked article above even Doug Wilson is shocked at some of the crazy things the dissident right is saying, and seeing how those people on the "woke right" responded to the death of an image bearer, it definitely makes me take a hard look at some of the things I'm becoming a part of. I hope the nat-con/post-liberal movement can effectively reform and remove these negative elements of the movement
So, I can spill a little tea here and kind of catch you up a bit on how things have split apart since Brad wrote that 2022 piece. In short, Davenant and American Reformer had a rather nasty divorce. You're not going to find guys like Littlejohn or Roberts writing there these days. Others have also registered concern with the turns they've taken. I definitely think it's been a big mistake for them to collaborate with people like Stephen Wolfe or run positive pieces about Haywood. And in general they're very much on board the Trump train. So none of that is in line with what either Davenant or Theopolis is doing now. But I still talk to Timon Cline and he's still generally well-liked among people I respect.
On the other hand, I think Davenant for their part has made unforced errors, and sometimes they've conducted themselves online in high-handed ways that turned people off and accelerated the schism with AmRef guys. The COVID years were especially key there. Both Littlejohn and Roberts made rhetorical choices I very much disagreed with.
I don't agree with everything Shenvi does either, and we disagreed especially sharply in the discourse around Meg Basham's recent book about evangelical dalliances with the woke left.
All to say, there's room to criticize just about everyone in this discussion for different things. But that's pretty normal! Also, you mention James Wood--James I consider a bestie and can't really think of major areas of disagreement. Nitpicks here and there. He works a little harder than me to be friends with everyone. ;)
Wow, I was not privy to all that, thanks for the update. lol. I agree that the AmRef collaboration with Stephen Wolfe is definitely not a good look, though I don't know who Haywood is. Just wondering what side of the Meg Basham divide did you come down on?
Meg is a friend and I think her book was a much needed corrective/recapitulation of an embarrassing few years that a lot of people wanted to memory-hole.
James Lindsay has a podcast on Christian Nationalism that includes an expose of Charles Haywood. Mr. Haywood has a lot of influence on many known figures. Look into The Worthy House.
Wilson is definitely a theonomist, but he strongly rejects kinism. In fact, he is roundly mocked as a boomer liberal by the dissident/alt right for refusing to countenance Jew hate and race 'science'. He's also written against Haywood's "no enemies ro the right"
I can't speak to the fv issue, but just wanted to say that the Moscow crew is on the side of the angels against the alt-right