Equality is bullshit. Hierarchy is essential. The races are different. The sexes are different. Morality matters and degeneracy is real. All cultures are not equal and we are not obligated to think they are. Man is a fallen creature and there is more to life than hollow materialism. Finally, the white race matters, and civilisation is precious. This is the Alt-Right.
– Millennial Woes
Hillary Clinton’s newest offensive against Donald Trump’s campaign involves the vilification of a political movement that until recently was reputedly hiding in the ‘far reaches of the internet’ from which ‘dark conspiracy theories’ are allegedly being forged. This denunciation was aimed at an increasingly popular congregation known as the ‘Alternative Right.’ This crowd was recently labelled as ‘Trump’s Shock Troops’ by the BBC in an overt reference to Nazi Germany, and as ‘white supremacists’ as well as ‘a paranoid fringe group’ by Clinton herself, during the speech she gave in Reno, Nevada. How close is Clinton to the truth – is the ‘Alt-Right’ really solely composed of racist, intolerant, neo-Nazis and of other non-kosher superficial labels? Warm, hot, cold!
The ‘Alt-Right’ is a term commonly thought to be coined by self-described ‘Identitarian’ Richard Spencer, founder of the ‘Alternative Right’ blog and president of the National Policy Institute. This, however, is not accurate, as the first person to coin the term in relation to developments within American politics was Paul Gottfried (although, admittedly, Richard Spencer popularised the term). Meanwhile, the movement itself is an amalgamation of all ‘alternative’ right wing views that are today considered heterodoxy. This means that the views of one person who considers himself to be part of the ‘Alt-Right’ can be, though do not necessarily have to be, radically different to another. These views can range from disillusioned libertarians who previously supported Ron Paul, but upon becoming ‘race realists’ have adopted cultural conservatism (more specifically, Hoppean Paleolibertarian views); to traditionalists; to ethno-nationalists; to European nationalists; to fascists; to ‘neo-nazi’ types who gleamingly partake in ‘Alt-Right’ discourse as it fits their racial and fascist agenda; to edgy teenagers and young adults who want to ‘troll’ liberal left types by gratuitous displays of right-wing rhetoric and create controversy. All these folks have their place in the Alternative church of the right. All of them have a use when combating ‘the Cathedral’, the ‘Alt-Right’ term for everything left-wing and mainstream, through many political dimensions. This philosophy is not quite as simple as Hillary makes it out to be in her speech, and contrary to popular opinion, is not just a rowdy mob of ‘hateful bigots.’ Although she is right about one part – it is a growing threat to the political status quo of the West.
Though many mainstream media outlets seem to imply that the popularity of the ‘Alt-Right’ arose through Trump’s campaign, their political thought was already present before Trump. In fact, they were the de facto precursor to Trump’s rise. It was the ‘Alt-Right’ that breached the membrane of obscurity into mainstream politics by breaking down the message and political thought of its forerunner philosophy (which we will get to later) into soundbites, memes, ironic humour, and simple educational infographics about race, culture, sex and IQ differences. It was the Alt-Right who discovered and chose Trump as their ‘mascot’ for this election, not the other way around (although, there are rumours of Trump’s campaign officials reading Alt-Right sites and even partaking in the discussion).
Despite the presence at some level of dissonance and incongruence in the multitude of ‘Alt-Right’ beliefs, which can cause division within the movement – often with harsh criticism and trolling of other ‘sections’ of the Alternative Right, with the more National Socialist inclined elements calling the Libertarians ‘lolbertarians’, and in return the National Socialists are called ‘Stormweenies’[1] – it is generally agreed that there are certain overarching ideals that all on the ‘Alt-Right’ subscribe to. These include: the disgust with politically correct culture; the recognition of cultural Marxism’s effect on western society; and the continued destruction of Occidental civilisation. This is what unites the various factions into the Alt-Right.
Indeed, the philosophical incompatibility between the separate groups seems to be disappearing, with the libertarians of the Alt-Right appropriating certain elements of fascism via the embracing of the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and twisting Hoppean thought. These libertarians enjoy making memes about ‘physical removal, so to speak’ (A reference to Hans-Hermann Hoppe’s statement about the necessity to separate and remove ‘communists and democrats’ from a libertarian society), ‘free helicopter rides’ (Pinochet’s preferred method of executing communists), and ‘unleash the cops’ (a reference to Rothbards piece on ‘Right-Wing Populism’ where he proposes radical social and economic reforms). Alternatively, there are some libertarians who adopt more traditionalist Catholic beliefs: distributism, monarchism and aristocratic ideals…
Ethnic Nationalism
In contrast to civic nationalism, which espouses nationhood based on citizenship, the neoreactionaries define ‘nation’ in terms of race, civilisation, national identity. This is seen as a necessity in order to ensure the continuity of the race, ethnicity or nation.
In the case of the Alt-Right, the Americans have transfused the idea of ethnic nationalism based solely on white racial identity. Indeed, Americans have no other choice but to resort to white nationalism as they have no other European identity to which they can turn to; whether English, German, French, Polish, Irish, or other. None fits as the US is a melting pot of white identities, with many migrant waves arriving ever since its conception. The alleged difference between these waves and the current waves of immigration is that the ones who came before integrated into the American way of life, meanwhile many of the current ones are hostile, preserve their own identity and through the willingness of the liberal state, are eroding the core of Americanism.
“Most whites do not have a racial identity, but they would do well to understand what race means for others. They should also ponder the consequences of being the only group for whom such an identity is forbidden and who are permitted no aspirations as a group.”
– Jared Taylor
Why isn’t there something akin to the ‘Alt-Right’ in Britian and Europe?
There is, it’s just the Beeb and Grauniad haven’t reported on it. The Traditional Britain Group is the British equivalent of the American Renaissance but the current relative shortfall of the TBG in comparison to their American counterparts is not due to any kind of fault of the organisation itself, but rather, that Britain itself is not yet primed for the return of the real right. Arguably, the Traditional Britain Group, (many of whom are also part or affiliated with the Libertarian Alliance) and its members do not consider themselves part of the ‘Alt-Right’ – and rightly so; the Alternative Right is an almost exclusively American idea, while the Neoreaction is not. Nevertheless, there have been numerous ‘Alt-Right’ volk who attended the conferences or even gave speeches (think: Richard Spencer), and there should be no shame on the side of the TBG for associating or even affiliating with a growing popular crowd which espouses many of its tenets. Moreover, there are many other Britons who openly espouse Neoreactionary views, one such notable person is the Youtuber Millennial Woes, who is considered to be the hearth fire of the British Alt-Right, having recorded many commentaries on the movement and its beliefs. Let us also not forget that the milquetoast interpretation of the Alt-Right was largely being popularised by the infamous Breitbart journalist Milo Yiannopoulos, who should not entirely be shunned by the more radical elements on the Alt-Right. Indeed, he provides an outlet for the more down-to-earth Alt-Right and Trump sympathisers, whether it be through his university tours, the creation of the Young British Heritage Society which aims to fight leftism on campus and promote free speech, or through his constant mockery of feminism and the left.
On the European mainland, the most significant ideological counterpart is the French ‘Generation Identity’ a pan-European socio-political movement that started in France in 2002. The Identitarians finds their roots in the Nouvelle Droite – the European New Right, ancestor-philosophy of the Alt-Right. They describe themselves in their manifesto ‘We Are… Generation Identity’:
“Generation Identity is a fighting community which brings together young men and women from across French-speaking Europe… We call upon young people to raise their heads high: in the face of foreign riffraff, in the face of those who want to police our lives and thoughts, in the face of the homogenisation of nations, in the face of the tidal wave of mass immigration, in the face of a school system which hides the history of our nation from us to prevent us from loving it, in the face of a pretended coexistence which is becoming a nightmare…”
Is there a place for the left in the Alt-Right?
Yes and no. The left did have influence on the way the Alt-Right came about. The left-libertarian author Keith Preston was an early speaker at the American Renaissance and a contributor to the old Alternative Right blog. He penned his own left-anarchist critique of the Frankfurt School, and his own Anarcho-pluralism stance opposes mass-immigration. His leftism opposes the corporate state. His anti-imperialism and anti-interventionism means he lines up with the Alt-Right on foreign policy. The goals of the radical right and left were bound to meet at some point, for the fruitful benefit of both movements! This is not to say that there are many, if any at all, self-ascribed leftists amongst the Alt-Right, that would be an error by definition, yet the example needed to be pointed out.
