What is feeding the rise of the extreme right?
With the election of President Donald Trump in 2016, extremist elements of the modern American political right have been emboldened and have become more vocal than ever in their expression of political views that espouse a complex mix of populist, nativist, collectivist authoritarian and conspiracy inspired right-wing ideologies.
Many of these ideas have emerged from the once ignored fringes of the American conservative movement.
At times a far-cry from the ideas of William F. Buckley’s originally ‘libertarian’ panoply of ideas including limited government, free trade and free market intellectual conservatism and the pro-immigration and relatively optimistic political outlook of President Ronald Reagan, the modern extreme-right often have adopted white nationalist ideas mixed with ‘anti-egalitarianism’ — a clean break with the fundamental political influences of both mainstream American political parties.
Influenced by a myriad of sources including the corporate funded Tea Party movement and historic white supremacy, this overall movement — today referred to as the alt-right — has coalesced over the past two decades essentially attempting to purge the moderate factions from the already extremely conservative Republican party.
Building up momentum with the election of President Barack Obama, the movement grew to include a nativist movement which thrived on the false accusation that the president was born in Kenya — and was thus unfit to be president.
The growing movement however is also arguably drawn from the ‘radical’ wing of the U.S.’s libertarian movement who shed their fear of identity politics in favor of the white nationalist ideas espoused by alt-right.
Other aspects of the movement are drawn from online communities which circulate overtly anti-democratic and ‘neo-fascist’ ideas such as the ‘neo-reactionary’ dark enlightenment ideology which calls for a return to absolute monarchism.
The dark enlightenment movement is, however, notable in that it eschews white nationalism and overt anti-semitism.
The dark enlightenment ideology which has now become popular in certain circles of the extreme-light is spearheaded by English philosopher Nick Land and blogger Curtis Yarvin the latter of whom has ties to both former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and billionaire investor and ‘radical’ libertarian Peter Thiel.
Powered by this combination of older — and newer — ideas, this extremist right wing movement with direct and in-direct corporate ties chose to rebrand itself the ‘alternate-right’ so as to soft-pedal its white nationalist associations and make itself more appealing to mainstream conservative recruits.
