As conservatives, or at least people on the Right, we obviously venerate tradition and conventional morality. However, particularly for those of us under 30 who have never known anything other than this remarkably stupid leftist world we inherited, we have no idea what a traditional conservative society even looks like. It is impossible for us to be reactionary, even if we wanted to be—we would just be making something up. It is one thing to fight in defense of certain institutions and moral codes having lived underneath them—it is another thing to rebuild them entirely once they have been completely destroyed and you have no firsthand knowledge of how they operate. I don’t think such an effort can win. I would love to be proven wrong.
The vague temperament that is emerging at Takimag and certain schools in Europe which Richard calls the Alternative Right values tradition but cannot appeal to it for legitimacy. The legitimacy was stripped long ago by the attack from the left and by the corruption and cowardice of traditional sources of authority. Therefore, almost out of necessity, the Alternative Right gets inspiration from new sources. One is leftist writers whose writings on power, deconstruction, and cultural hegemony can easily be turned against the left wing establishment that rules “our” civilization. Another is right wing writers who come from outside establishment conservative traditions in both Europe and America and who could serve as the beginnings of a new tradition. And finally, biology, sociobiology, and sociology are important influences and I would argue the last is the most important when it comes to Game.
I think this is why many young right wingers are intellectually fascinated with the idea of Game. It derives from a viewpoint that is certainly not “conservative” but is mortally dangerous to left wing concepts about sexuality, egalitarianism, feminism, and gender roles. In fact, it completely destroys them.
At the same time, traditionalists and conservatives can quite compellingly argue that it is an ethical and practical dead end, a surrender to social decay, a way to exploit and even profit from the collapse of moral standards. Lawrence Auster at the invaluable View from the Right took on Game in August in a discussion well worth reading for anyone interested in this.
Even though the topic is somewhat, well, silly, I think the core question raised by this is important. In the absence of any accepted or legitimate authorities or institutions that conservatives can rally around, how are we supposed to operate as non-liberals in a fundamentally liberal world?
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Re: Stalking Game
As conservatives, or at least people on the Right, we obviously venerate tradition and conventional morality. However, particularly for those of us under 30 who have never known anything other than … [Read More]
Posted by Kevin DeAnna on October 22, 2009
The Usual Suspects