The ascent of far-right radicalism across the European and North American mainstream has prompted numerous concerns about the implications for women’s rights, the environment, immigration, etc., across the liberal and left-wing end of the political spectrum. However, what I believe is an under-discussed element of this rise of the radical right is its increasingly apparent ideological replacement of moderate, traditionally-conservative values.
Though, personally, I am in no sense a proponent of even moderate conservatism, I believe this shift is highly dangerous, as it fundamentally eliminates the most— and I say this sincerely— conceptually beautiful features of a traditional conservatism, leaving only a paranoid suspicion and stigmatisation.
Firstly, it’s crucial to acknowledge the main issues still embedded in moderate conservatism, namely its hierarchical belief that inequality is natural, and in many ways deserved. This is a harmful narrative that can easily be used to justify or accept keeping prejudicial and authoritarian systems in place, without even attempting to resolve or improve upon them. Another, related issue, for similar reasons, is its inherent fear of change and a preference for control through established structures.
Still, hesitancy towards change and viewing restrictions as necessary to maintain order can also be natural, human responses to newness and feelings of uncertainty, resulting from a lack of awareness or knowledge about different ideas. This makes them feel unfamiliar, and hence daunting, prompting scepticism. But when this scepticism is exploited and provoked by radical narratives intentionally seeking to stoke fear amongst people who already hold such uncertainties, it can easily become a violent and irrational hatred. This hatred is then targeted at minority groups, who are painted as different, and hence dangerous, or as exploiting the state. And once they’ve embraced it, it becomes exceedingly difficult to help individuals see outside of this highly exclusionary mindset, which produces extremely polarised and stubborn political situations.
Traditional conservatism is also about community values. Religious teachings like ‘loving one’s neighbour,’ in isolation, hold important meanings about caring and having empathy for others. Of course, in practice, these phrases are frequently used to incite precisely the opposite behaviour, but this has only gotten increasingly aggressive since the rise of more extreme forms of the political right, which are built on generating more violently reactionary emotions. For instance, I imagine it’s much easier to explain why welfare isn’t evil to someone who cares about the poor in their community, than to someone who thinks the poor are ‘undeserving’ and just haven’t worked hard enough.
Interestingly, while seeking to restrict globalisation and personal rights, like abortion, the radical right seems rather open to technological and neoliberal economic developments: changes that seem fundamentally opposed to those fading, traditional conservative values.
An appreciation of the beauty of old art, history, and its architectures— these are all conservative tendencies that possess a more sentimental and touching nature that is socially important, but holds little place in right-wing radicalisms that prefer values of individualised dominance, technocracy, and geopolitical hard power.
“Nigel Farage” by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
The Rise of Reactionaries and the Loss of Conservative Sentimentalities
The ascent of far-right radicalism across the European and North American mainstream has prompted numerous concerns about the implications for women’s rights, the environment, immigration, etc., across the liberal and left-wing end of the political spectrum. However, what I believe is an under-discussed element of this rise of the radical right is its increasingly apparent ideological replacement of moderate, traditionally-conservative values.
Though, personally, I am in no sense a proponent of even moderate conservatism, I believe this shift is highly dangerous, as it fundamentally eliminates the most— and I say this sincerely— conceptually beautiful features of a traditional conservatism, leaving only a paranoid suspicion and stigmatisation.
Firstly, it’s crucial to acknowledge the main issues still embedded in moderate conservatism, namely its hierarchical belief that inequality is natural, and in many ways deserved. This is a harmful narrative that can easily be used to justify or accept keeping prejudicial and authoritarian systems in place, without even attempting to resolve or improve upon them. Another, related issue, for similar reasons, is its inherent fear of change and a preference for control through established structures.
Still, hesitancy towards change and viewing restrictions as necessary to maintain order can also be natural, human responses to newness and feelings of uncertainty, resulting from a lack of awareness or knowledge about different ideas. This makes them feel unfamiliar, and hence daunting, prompting scepticism. But when this scepticism is exploited and provoked by radical narratives intentionally seeking to stoke fear amongst people who already hold such uncertainties, it can easily become a violent and irrational hatred. This hatred is then targeted at minority groups, who are painted as different, and hence dangerous, or as exploiting the state. And once they’ve embraced it, it becomes exceedingly difficult to help individuals see outside of this highly exclusionary mindset, which produces extremely polarised and stubborn political situations.
Traditional conservatism is also about community values. Religious teachings like ‘loving one’s neighbour,’ in isolation, hold important meanings about caring and having empathy for others. Of course, in practice, these phrases are frequently used to incite precisely the opposite behaviour, but this has only gotten increasingly aggressive since the rise of more extreme forms of the political right, which are built on generating more violently reactionary emotions. For instance, I imagine it’s much easier to explain why welfare isn’t evil to someone who cares about the poor in their community, than to someone who thinks the poor are ‘undeserving’ and just haven’t worked hard enough.
Interestingly, while seeking to restrict globalisation and personal rights, like abortion, the radical right seems rather open to technological and neoliberal economic developments: changes that seem fundamentally opposed to those fading, traditional conservative values.
An appreciation of the beauty of old art, history, and its architectures— these are all conservative tendencies that possess a more sentimental and touching nature that is socially important, but holds little place in right-wing radicalisms that prefer values of individualised dominance, technocracy, and geopolitical hard power.
“Nigel Farage” by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Share this:
Like this:
Related